Add an income source

To add an income source, go to the Income page, click Add Income, and enter your pay rate, pay type, and how often you're paid. Beyond Payday uses those numbers to estimate your take-home pay (for W-2 jobs) or the taxes you'll owe (for 1099 and self-employment income), and rolls everything into your household's totals.

Steps

1. Go to Income (opens in a new tab) and click Add Income.
2. Choose an Income Type. Types are grouped for easy searching — Employment (Employee (W-2), Freelancer or contractor (1099), Business Profit (Schedule C)), Government (Social Security Retirement, Unemployment Insurance, Veterans Benefits, and more), Support (Child Support, Alimony/Spousal Support), Retirement (Pension, Annuity, IRA/401k Distribution), Disability, Passive (Rental Income, Investment Income, Royalties), Business, and Other.
3. Enter your pay rate in Salary, or your benefit in Amount. Hourly and daily entries use Hourly Rate or Daily Rate. Set Amount is per to the unit that amount is in: Hour, Day, Month, or Year.
4. Set Paycheck frequency (or Payment frequency for benefits) — how often the money actually arrives: Weekly, Every 2 Weeks, Twice a Month, Monthly, or Annually. It can differ from the step above: a $75,000 salary is per Year but might be paid Every 2 Weeks.
5. Enter Last Payday (or Last Payment Date for benefits) — the most recent date you were paid. Beyond Payday uses it to project your future pay dates on the Bills calendar. For Twice a Month, your two paydays come from this date: the 1st or 15th means the 1st and 15th; the 28th or later means the 15th and the last day of the month; any other day means that day and the day 15 days before or after it (for example, the 5th and 20th).
6. For W-2 income, add any paycheck withholdings on the Deductions tab (see Add paycheck deductions). Most income types, including W-2, 1099 and self-employment, also have an Estimated Tax Rate field so Beyond Payday can estimate taxes on that income.
7. Click Add to save.

How it works

Current amounts and annual contribution limits use today in your saved account time zone when available, otherwise your browser’s. They refresh when the day changes; a month you choose in Compare Months remains your selected comparison.

• Current overview totals include enabled recurring income active today, using any saved start/end dates. Future, ended and one-time entries stay available to edit but do not inflate your ongoing income. Dated calendars still show eligible one-time payments on their payment date.

• New Social Security, pension, annuity and IRA/401k distribution entries start with an amount per Month and Monthly payments. Changing the type after entering an amount, or editing a saved source, keeps its existing amount and schedules.

• For an IRA/401k Distribution, turn on From a Roth account? if the money comes from a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k). The tax estimate on the Income page then counts it as not taxed. It assumes the account is over 5 years old and you're 59½ or older. Leave it off for a traditional IRA or 401(k). The tax estimate is only turned on for some accounts.

• Benefit income does not have payroll taxes added. Its Estimated Tax Rate is the income tax withheld from the payment; use 0 if none is withheld. If the type has no payer field, the card and cash-flow forecast use the benefit name.

• Your pay rate and pay frequency combine into a monthly and yearly total — that's what shows up in your household's income totals on the dashboard.

• Take-home pay vs. estimated tax: W-2 income shows a Take-Home Pay figure — "what you actually get to keep" after taxes and deductions. 1099 and self-employment income instead show your Gross Income, an Estimated Tax Obligation — including a flat 15.3% Self-Employment Tax (this covers both the employee and employer share of Social Security and Medicare that a W-2 job would otherwise split with you) and a Quarterly Estimated Tax reminder — and a Take-home pay figure at the bottom. Half of the self-employment tax is subtracted before your tax rate is applied, the same as on a tax return.

• Estimated Tax Rate is income tax only. Enter your federal, state and local income tax rate. Leave out Social Security and Medicare — Beyond Payday adds them for W-2 pay (or self-employment tax for 1099 work) on its own.

• Use the Breakdown selector at the top of the Income page to view every income source by Daily, Weekly, Every 2 Weeks, Twice a Month, Monthly, or Yearly amounts — this only changes the display, not what you entered.

• Each income source belongs to one person in your family, so Beyond Payday can total income per person as well as for the whole household.

Good to know

• Only Employee (W-2) income unlocks the Deductions, Bonus, Stipends, Tips, and Travel tabs, plus employer 401(k) match tracking. Freelancer or contractor (1099) income only allows Tips. Business Profit (Schedule C) income doesn't support any of these add-ons.
• Beyond Payday doesn't connect to your bank or payroll provider — every number here is typed in by you, or scanned from a paystub on Pro.
• "Pre-tax" means money taken out of your paycheck before taxes are calculated, like a traditional 401(k) contribution — it lowers your taxable income. You'll see this term again when you add deductions.
• Adding income is free on every plan — only the AI paystub scanner is Pro-gated.