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How the calculator works
The starting example: Alex takes home 32,000 kr a month and Sam 48,000 kr. Rent, bills, insurance and groceries come to 20,000 kr a month.
- 50/50. Both pay 10,000 kr. That's 31% of Alex's pay and 21% of Sam's.
- By income. Each share is your pay divided by the combined pay: 32,000 of 80,000 is 40%. Alex pays 8,000 kr and Sam 12,000 kr, and both spend exactly 25% of their pay on the home.
- Same left over. The household has 60,000 kr left after shared costs, so 30,000 kr each. Alex pays in 2,000 kr and Sam 18,000 kr. In effect, that's pooling everything.
The calculator works in any currency: amounts come out in the one you enter.
Which model should you choose?
Split 50/50 when the lower take-home pay is at least about 85% of the higher one. The difference between the models is then small enough not to be worth the percentages. Beyond that, splitting by income is usually fairer: you each spend the same share of your pay on the home rather than the same number of kronor.
Aim for the same left over when you have children together, or when one of you earns less because of something you decided together, such as parental leave, studying or part-time work. Whatever the model, the shared standard of living should be one the lower earner can comfortably afford.
What counts as shared
Rent or housing costs, electricity, broadband, home insurance, groceries and household supplies, furniture, and subscriptions you both use. Clothes, the gym, your own phone and commute, and debts from before you met are personal. Holidays, eating out, the car and pets are worth agreeing on in advance. The guide on whether couples should split 50/50 or by income covers the grey areas and what to do when one of you owns the home.
Make it a standing order
What makes any model last is a joint account you both pay into on payday, with the rent and bills coming out by direct debit and a card for the groceries. Add a small buffer for irregular costs, and check the split twice a year and whenever either income changes.
Frequently asked questions
Should we use take-home or gross pay?
Take-home pay, what actually lands in the account after tax. That's the money the bills are paid from. If either of you has variable pay, commission or irregular fees, use the average over the last six months.
What about parental leave?
Recalculate with the parental benefit instead of the salary. Many couples switch to the same-left-over model for those months, so the parent at home isn't paying half the rent out of a smaller income.
Does this work for flatmates?
Rarely. Between friends it's fairer for rent to follow room size and for groceries and bills to be split evenly. The guide to splitting rent and bills with housemates shows how to price the rooms.
Why can the same-left-over model show a minus?
If one of you earns much less, the other covering all the shared costs still isn't enough for you both to have the same left. The higher earner then also sends money across. In practice it's fully pooled finances.
Is a percentage split fair if one of us owns the home?
Split the running costs, such as the fee and the interest, by your chosen model. Repayments on the owner's loan build the owner's equity, so they're the owner's to pay. The couples guide works through an example.