When you mark a transaction as Shared, Halfway calculates how much each person is responsible for.

Example: A $100 dinner split 50/50.

• You paid: $100
• Your share: $50
• Partner's share: $50

Since you paid $100 but only "owed" $50, your partner now owes you $50. This is added to the running "Who Owes Whom" balance.

While your household has a default split ratio (like 50/50 or income-based), not everything fits that rule. You can override the split for a specific transaction.

How to set a custom split

1. Open the transaction details.
2. Click on the Split dropdown.
3. Select Custom.

Two ways to split

• By Percentage: Enter a specific ratio like 70/30 or 60/40. Perfect for when one partner uses a shared item more than the other.
• By Amount: Enter exact dollar amounts (e.g., you pay $120, they pay $80 for a $200 total). Great when you can easily separate who ordered what on a combined receipt.

When to use this

Use custom splits for one-off expenses where the default ratio doesn't apply. For example, if you buy groceries but throw in a $50 video game just for yourself, you can split the total by exact amount so you pay for your game, and the rest is shared.

Looking to set a default split ratio for an entire category, so it applies automatically every time? See "Setting a different split percentage for each category" below.

Your household has one overall default split (like 50/50, or based on income), but not every category should necessarily follow it. Halfway lets you set a separate default split ratio for individual categories, so it's applied automatically every time, no need to adjust it transaction by transaction.

Example

• Household default: 50/50
• Rent: set to 60/40, since one partner earns more
• Groceries: left at the 50/50 default

Every Rent transaction now automatically splits 60/40, and every Groceries transaction stays 50/50, without you touching anything at the transaction level.

How to set it up

1. Go to Settings > Organization > Categories.
2. Find the category you want to adjust (e.g., Rent).
3. Use the split slider to set that category's ratio.
4. Repeat for any other category that should split differently from your household default.

Seeing the effect

Your Settlement Report shows both your Household Split (the overall default) and your Effective Split (the real, blended split once all your category overrides are factored in) - so you can see at a glance how these per-category adjustments add up over a whole month.

Looking to override the split for just one specific transaction instead of a whole category? See "Setting a custom split ratio" above.

The "Who Owes Whom" number on your dashboard is a net total of all shared expenses that haven't been settled yet.

We sum up everything you paid for the household vs. everything your partner paid. The difference is the balance. This simplifies things so you don't have to pay each other back for every single coffee.

When you pay your partner back (via Venmo, Zelle, cash, etc.), you need to tell Halfway so the balance resets:

1. Click the Settle Up button on the dashboard.
2. Enter the amount you paid.
3. Click Record Payment.

This will create a settlement transaction and reduce the "Who Owes Whom" balance.

Refunds automatically impact the "Who Owes Whom" balance when marked as Shared. They work just like regular expenses in Halfway, but in reverse.

Example

If Partner A pays $1,000 for a shared expense (50/50 split), Partner B owes $500. If a $200 refund later comes in and is marked Shared (50/50):

• Partner B's debt is automatically reduced by $100 (their half of the refund).
• Partner B now owes $400.

Bank-Synced vs Manual Refunds

• Bank-synced refunds: Refunds from connected accounts automatically show a green badge with their category name and come into your Review Queue for classification.
• Manually added refunds: If you add a transaction yourself, it won't have this badge but works exactly the same for balance calculations. Simply set the transaction type to "Income" and mark it as Shared.

Partial Refunds

Partial refunds work the same way. Simply ensure the transaction reflects the partial amount returned, and split it accordingly.

Key Advice: For consistency, always try to match the same split ratio on the refund as you used on the original purchase.

When partners earn different incomes, splitting rent 50/50 can feel unfair. The partner earning less ends up spending a larger percentage of their income on housing. Here is how to split rent proportionally using Halfway.

How income-based rent splitting works

If Partner A earns $5,000 per month and Partner B earns $3,000 per month, the combined income is $8,000. Partner A earns 62.5% and Partner B earns 37.5%. For a $2,000 rent payment:

• Partner A pays: $1,250 (62.5%)
• Partner B pays: $750 (37.5%)

Both partners spend the same percentage of their income on rent (25%), which feels fair.

Setting this up in Halfway

1. Make sure both partners have entered their incomes in Settings > Household.
2. When one partner pays rent, log it as a transaction and mark it as Shared.
3. Halfway automatically applies your income-based split ratio to that expense.
4. The settlement balance updates to reflect each partner's fair share.

Using the free calculator

If you want to calculate a fair rent split before signing up, try the free Rent and Mortgage Split Calculator. It works for both renters and homeowners.