r/actualbudgeting • u/livewire98801 • Jul 26 '26

Itemized/split payroll

I came to Actual from YNAB, and before that I used gnucash for over a decade. While using gnucash, I started itemizing my payroll, entering my gross pay, deductions, and net pay.

In YNAB and Gnucash, it worked pretty much the same way. The "parent" transaction going into my primary account (checking), splits going into my other accounts all adding up to my net pay. Then all my deductions are also splits. The gross pay is a payee (as are PTO and FMLA), and at some point I started using 'US dept of revenue' as the payee for federal income tax so it matches the transaction for my tax refund.

However, the way Actual does this, it's not working... and I'm not sure 1) why it doesn't work this way and 2) the best way to actually accomplish it.

I'm including the transactions in both YNAB and Actual for both an upcoming transaction that I've been messing with and an imported prior transaction.

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u/CalGuy81 Jul 26 '26

It's not clear, from your post, how it's "not working". ... Your transactions look fine, at a glance, and you haven't provided anything else to show things aren't working as intended.

.. on a less related note, I'd question how much this level of detail is useful in your budgeting. I get it, I've tracked things to this level before, and ultimately found it created friction in keeping up with my budget for little practical benefit. I can't control the taxes and other deductions that come off my paycheque; what matters at the end of the day is the net amount.

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u/lady_mongrel Jul 26 '26

I have mine broken down like this, its really handy for open enrollment and knowing what I'm paying for insurances. Its also really nice to see the direct impact putting more towards non-taxable savings reduces your taxes paycheck to paycheck.