---
title: "Living Together: How to Split the Bills | TakeControl"
description: "Living together or moving in? Split the deposit, furniture, rent and utilities that repeat monthly, and see who owes whom. Free to get started."
canonical: "https://gettakecontrol.app/en/living-together/"
language: "en"
---

# Living together? Split the bills fairly from day one.

Security deposit, movers, furniture, rent and utilities: track it all in one place, pick a fair split and see who owes whom.

[Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/takecontrol-split-expenses/id6790032465)

[Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.takecontrol.app)

Free to get started · iOS and Android

![A couple sits among moving boxes in a bright new apartment; she wears a coral-orange sweater and holds a phone, he holds a coffee cup](https://gettakecontrol.app/assets/moving-in/moving-in-couple-hero-v2.webp)

Less math in the new place. More time to make it home.

-   Rent, utilities and internet added automatically each month
-   Split 50/50, by income or by exact amount
-   A household balance that updates with every expense

## The new place comes with a list of bills.

According to a 2019 Pew Research Center analysis, 59% of US adults ages 18 to 44 have lived with an unmarried partner at some point. Moving in together is common, but agreeing on the bills is still the hard part.

### Moving costs hit before the first month

Security deposit, first month’s rent, movers, furniture and the first big grocery run. One of you fronts it, the other promises to pay back later.

### Recurring bills arrive every month

Rent, electricity, gas, internet, renters insurance and streaming come due on different days and on different cards.

### Nobody remembers who bought what

The couch was one person’s, the TV was shared, the bed went on the other’s credit card. Without a record, the math gets lost.

## How to organize your household bills.

Three steps so your new place does not start with mental math.

1

### Create a group for your home

Add whoever is moving in with you. Household bills stay separate from trips and friends.

2

### Add recurring bills once

Rent, utilities and internet go in as recurring expenses. Moving costs and furniture, as one-off or installment purchases.

3

### See who owes whom

TakeControl updates the balance with every expense and shows the monthly settle-up, no spreadsheet needed.

[Read our guide to managing recurring household expenses as a couple](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/blog/manage-recurring-household-expenses-couples/)

## How should you split bills when you live together?

50/50, by income or by exact amount. You can use one rule for rent and another for groceries.

### 50/50

Each of you pays half. Works well when your incomes are similar.

### By income

The higher earner pays a larger share of rent and bills.

### Exact amount

For the bigger bedroom, the parking spot or anything only one of you uses.

### Example: rent split by income

Pedro earns $6,000 a month and Carol earns $4,000. Rent and household bills come to $3,000 a month. Split by income, it looks like this:

Share of combined income

 Pedro **60%**

 Carol **40%**

Pedro pays **$1,800**

Carol pays **$1,200**

Want to try it with your own incomes?

[Use the free calculator](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/calculators/split-couple-expenses/)

## Built for life at home.

From the bills that come due every month to the big purchases of moving day.

### Recurring bills

Add rent, utilities, internet and subscriptions once. The app adds them again every month.

### Household budget

Set a monthly limit for groceries and the home and see how much you have spent.

### History and notes

Note who bought each piece of furniture and keep the receipt. Two years from now, nobody has to remember.

### Installment purchases

A couch paid in 12 monthly installments is added one payment at a time, each in its own month.

### Friendly reminders

Send a light reminder for the monthly settle-up without turning the conversation into a bill.

### Balance on your home screen

The widget shows your household balance and budget without opening the app.

Available for iOS and Android

## Spreadsheet or app?

A household spreadsheet works until the first bill that changes amount or the first installment purchase. In TakeControl, the balance updates as you add expenses.

### Spreadsheet

It works, but someone has to keep it up.

| Date | Expense | Amount | Split |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3/1 | Rent | $2,400 | =C2*60% |
| 3/5 | Internet | $70 | =C3/2 |
| 3/10 | Couch | $900 | =C4*60% |

-   **Manual math**You check the balance yourselves.
-   **Retyped every month**Rent and bills entered again and again.
-   **Forgotten installments**An installment purchase becomes a lost row.

### TakeControl

Your household balance takes care of itself.

![Pedro and Carol’s group in TakeControl with percentage-based splitting and shared expenses](https://gettakecontrol.app/assets/couples/takecontrol-couples-en.webp)

-   **Automatic balance**Always current for both of you.
-   **Recurring bills on autopilot**Rent and internet are added for you.
-   **Flexible splitting**Pick a rule for each expense.

### Start your new home with organized bills.

Download for free and set up your household group today.

[Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/takecontrol-split-expenses/id6790032465)

[Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.takecontrol.app)

## Everything that goes into living together.

Calculators and guides to plan the move and agree on the bills before the first one arrives.

-   ### [Cost of moving in together](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/calculators/cost-of-moving-in-together/)
    
    Estimate your move-in costs and monthly budget before you sign the lease.
    
-   ### [Split rent by room](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/calculators/rent-split/)
    
    Bigger bedroom, private bathroom or parking: work out what each person pays.
    
-   ### [Joint or separate accounts](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/blog/joint-vs-separate-bank-accounts-couples/)
    
    The pros and cons of each setup for couples sharing a home.
    
-   ### [A couple’s cost of living](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/blog/couple-cost-of-living/)
    
    How much a couple spends each month and how to build a household budget.
    
-   ### [Annual expenses](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/blog/budget-annual-expenses-couples/)
    
    How to prepare for the bills that only come once a year, like insurance.
    
-   ### [Living with roommates](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/blog/shared-house-financial-agreement/)
    
    The money agreement you need when you share a house with more people.
    

## Questions about splitting bills when you live together.

Straight answers to agree on the bills before you carry in the first box.

How do you split bills when moving in together?

List your recurring bills (rent, electricity, gas, water, internet, renters insurance), your variable costs (groceries, takeout) and your moving costs. Pick a rule for each group of expenses: 50/50, by income or by exact amount. In TakeControl, recurring bills repeat automatically and the app shows your balance with every expense. For everyday couple expenses, see how to [split expenses as a couple](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/couples/).

Should we split rent 50/50 or by income?

If your incomes are similar, 50/50 usually works. If one of you earns much more, splitting by income keeps rent from weighing more on the lower earner: with incomes of $6,000 and $4,000, the split is 60% and 40%. Try it with your own numbers in the [couple expense split calculator](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/calculators/split-couple-expenses/).

Who pays the security deposit when a couple moves in together?

There is no fixed rule. If only one of you has the cash, that person pays and the other pays back their share over time. Add the deposit to your household group with a note on who paid. Deposit limits depend on your state: in California, for example, most landlords have been limited to one month’s rent since July 1, 2024. The deposit usually comes back when the lease ends, and your record shows whose share is whose.

What about furniture only one of us paid for?

Things one person bought with their own money for personal use can stay out of the group. Anything for the home that one person paid for should go in the group, with a note on who paid. That way, if you ever move out, it is clear who paid for what.

Does living together make us common-law married?

Not on its own. Only a handful of states, such as Texas, still recognize new common-law marriages, and even there you generally need to agree that you are married and present yourselves as a married couple. In most states, unmarried partners do not get the property rights of a married couple, so some couples sign a cohabitation agreement. If in doubt, talk to a family law attorney in your state.

How do we split bills with roommates?

Create a group for the home and agree on what is shared (rent, utilities, cleaning supplies) and what is personal. Rent can be split by room size with the [rent split calculator](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/calculators/rent-split/), and utilities equally. Read our guide to the [financial agreement for a shared house](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/blog/shared-house-financial-agreement/).

What if someone moves out mid-month?

Work out the share for the days that person lived there and add that month’s bills with the exact amount. Then check the final balance in the group and record the settle-up. The history shows everything each of you paid since moving in.

Is there a free app to split household bills?

Yes. TakeControl is free to start, with up to 6 groups and up to 8 expenses a day, recurring bills and budgets. [TakeControl PRO](https://gettakecontrol.app/en/pricing/) unlocks unlimited entries and no ads.
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