Family Budget Calculator

Put two incomes, childcare, kids' costs and the yearly bills in one monthly plan. See what is left, what each child costs, how much of your income childcare takes, and whether a change in work still pays after childcare.

Free · no signup · runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded

Jump to result: Surplus $191.67

1. Your household

The calculator starts with Example A. Change any number and the result updates.

Adults in the household

2. Monthly take-home income

Use the amount that reaches your bank account after taxes and payroll deductions. US dollars, no currency symbol needed. A blank field counts as $0.

3. Monthly costs

Lines marked flexible are the ones a family can usually change from month to month. A blank field counts as $0.

Shared household costs

Child costs

4. Costs that come once or twice a year

Enter the yearly amount. Each row is divided by 12 and added to the month, so camp, school costs and holidays do not surprise you.

Your monthly result

Income minus everything you plan to pay or put aside.

Surplus

$191.67 left each month

Monthly income: $6,800.00
Monthly costs: $6,250.00
Yearly costs set aside: $358.33
Planned each month: $6,608.33
Remainder: $191.67

Give the $191.67 a job: add it to Savings and goals or to a yearly cost you want to set aside for.

What the kids cost

Child costs per month: $1,500.00
Cost per child: $750.00
Childcare share of income: 16.2%

Child costs are childcare, kids' activities and yearly costs marked for the children. Shared costs such as housing and food are not split per child.

Who pays what (by income)

Earner 1 pays: $4,081.62
Earner 2 pays: $2,526.71

Each earner covers the same share of the plan as their share of the two take-home incomes, after other income pays its part. One option among several, not a rule.

Use it again

Choose Save on this device.
Come back when pay, childcare, school costs or a yearly bill change, and at the start of each school year.
Choose Restore saved plan, change the numbers, then choose Save again. The new plan replaces the old one.
At month end, compare what you spent with each line and update the plan.
On another device or browser, use your CSV or printed copy. The saved plan stays in this browser.

Nothing is saved until you choose Save on this device.

Privacy: the calculator runs in your browser and nothing you type is uploaded. Save on this device keeps your numbers and yearly-cost names in this browser's local storage, unencrypted, until you choose Delete saved plan or clear your browser data. Anyone who uses this browser can open it, so do not save on a shared device.

Compare a scenario: second income vs childcare

Does a change in work still pay after childcare? Change pay, childcare and extra work costs. Every other number stays the same as your current plan.

MoneyCoach family budget calculator

· USD per month · 2 adults, 2 children

Line	Entered	Per month
Earner 1 take-home	$4,200.00	$4,200.00
Earner 2 take-home	$2,600.00	$2,600.00
Other income	$0.00	$0.00
Housing and utilities	$2,100.00	$2,100.00
Groceries and household	$1,000.00	$1,000.00
Transport	$550.00	$550.00
Health and insurance	$400.00	$400.00
Debt minimum payments	$250.00	$250.00
Phone, internet and subscriptions	$150.00	$150.00
Childcare and school fees	$1,100.00	$1,100.00
Kids' activities, clothes and allowance	$200.00	$200.00
Savings and goals	$300.00	$300.00
Adult personal spending	$200.00	$200.00
School supplies and activities (yearly, children)	$600.00	$50.00
Summer camp and school-break care (yearly, children)	$1,800.00	$150.00
Holidays and birthdays (yearly, household)	$1,000.00	$83.33
Car maintenance and registration (yearly, household)	$900.00	$75.00

Monthly income: $6,800.00

Planned each month: $6,608.33

Remainder (surplus): $191.67

Child costs per month: $1,500.00

Cost per child: $750.00

Childcare share of income: 16.2%

Split by income: Earner 1 $4,081.62, Earner 2 $2,526.71

Yearly costs are divided by 12 and rounded to the cent per row. Informational tool, not financial advice. Nothing in this plan was uploaded. moneycoach.ai/free-tools/family-budget-calculator

How we calculate

Monthly income = Earner 1 + Earner 2 + other income. With one adult, Earner 2 is not counted.
Yearly costs: each row is divided by 12 and rounded to the cent, half a cent up. We round each row, not the total, so you can check every line. Three $100.00 rows are $8.33 each, so the set-aside is $24.99, not $25.00.
Planned each month = all monthly costs + the yearly set-aside.
Remainder = income − planned. Above zero is a surplus, below zero is a shortfall.
Child costs = childcare and school fees + kids' activities + yearly rows marked for the children. Cost per child divides that by the number of children.
Childcare share = childcare and school fees ÷ monthly income, shown to one decimal. With no income it shows n/a.
Split by income (two adults): other income pays its part of the plan first. Each earner pays the rest in proportion to their take-home pay. The two amounts always add up to the plan.
Shortfall help lists the flexible lines (groceries, phone and subscriptions, kids' activities, savings, personal spending), largest first, when they can cover the gap. It never tells you which line to cut.

What the calculator does not do

It does not calculate taxes. Enter take-home pay, not gross salary.
Cost per child leaves out shared costs such as housing and food, so the real cost of a child is higher.
It does not know local prices. Use the benchmarks below to compare your plan with what families typically need where you live.
A monthly set-aside is not a due date. If a yearly bill is due soon and nothing is saved yet, you need more than the monthly share.
It works in US dollars and keeps one plan per browser.

The steps follow the federal Making a Budget guide: list your expenses, list your income, subtract, then track what you spend. The consumer.gov budget worksheet is a printable version of the same idea.

Last updated 9 October 2026.

Worked examples

These households are made up to show how the numbers connect. They are not targets. Example A is what the calculator shows when the page loads.

Example A: two parents, two kids, a small surplus

2 adults, 2 children

Earner 1 take-home pay: $4,200.00
Earner 2 take-home pay: $2,600.00
Monthly income: $6,800.00

Monthly costs are $6,250.00. Four yearly costs are spread over the year (yearly → per month):

School supplies and activities: $600.00 → $50.00
Summer camp and school-break care: $1,800.00 → $150.00
Holidays and birthdays: $1,000.00 → $83.33
Car maintenance and registration: $900.00 → $75.00

$6,250.00 + $358.33 set aside = $6,608.33 planned. $6,800.00 − $6,608.33 = $191.67 surplus. The calculator suggests giving that $191.67 a job, for example savings.

Child costs are $1,100.00 childcare + $200.00 activities + $50.00 school + $150.00 camp = $1,500.00, so $750.00 per child. Childcare takes 16.2% of income. Split by income, Earner 1 pays $4,081.62 and Earner 2 pays $2,526.71.

Scenario B: one parent cuts back to part time

Earner 2 drops to $1,300.00 and childcare falls to $500.00. Income becomes $5,500.00 and the plan $6,008.33, so the family is $508.33 short each month. Scenario B leaves them $700.00 less each month than the current plan. The saved childcare does not make up for the lost pay here.

Example C: a single parent, $229.17 short

1 adult, 1 child

Take-home pay: $3,100.00
Child support: $400.00
Monthly income: $3,500.00

Monthly costs are $3,700.00. One yearly cost, School supplies at $350.00, adds $29.17 a month. Planned: $3,729.17. $3,500.00 − $3,729.17 = $229.17 short.

The flexible lines add up to $900.00, which is more than the gap, so the calculator lists them largest first:

Groceries and household: $500.00
Phone, internet and subscriptions: $100.00
Kids' activities, clothes and allowance: $100.00
Savings and goals: $100.00
Adult personal spending: $100.00

The parent decides. One way to close $229.17: groceries and household down $129.17 and adult personal spending down $100.00. Rent, transport and health stay as they are. Cost per child is $1,029.17, and childcare takes 25.7% of income.

Compare your plan with local costs

This calculator works with your own numbers. It cannot tell you what is normal where you live. For what a family your size typically needs in your county, use the Economic Policy Institute's Family Budget Calculator. It estimates the income a family needs for a modest but adequate standard of living, for one or two adults with up to four children, in every US county and metro area. Compare its childcare and housing lines with yours.

To get your kids involved in money decisions, the CFPB's Money as You Grow has activities and conversation starters by age.

Next steps

New to family budgets? Read our step-by-step family budget guide.
Want a simple starting split? Try the 50/30/20 budget calculator.
Want every dollar planned line by line? Use the zero-based budget planner.
Saving for one big yearly cost by a date? Learn how a sinking fund works.
Need more categories? See our list of budget categories.
Comparing apps? Read what to look for in a family budgeting app.

Track this plan together in MoneyCoach. Set budgets per category and share them with your partner through Family Sync. The calculator above works fully without it.

Get MoneyCoach on the App Store

Family budget calculator FAQ

What are the components of a family budget?

Start with take-home income from each earner plus any regular other income, such as child benefits or child support. Then list shared costs (housing, groceries, transport, health, debt minimums, phone and subscriptions, savings, personal spending), child costs (childcare, school fees, activities, clothes) and the costs that come once or twice a year. The calculator uses exactly these groups. For a longer list of categories, see our budget categories guide.

How do I budget for annual costs like a family vacation?

Divide each yearly cost by 12 and set that amount aside every month. A $1,800 summer camp becomes $150 a month. The calculator does this per row and adds the result to your monthly plan, so a big bill does not surprise you. If you want to save toward one goal by a date, a sinking fund is the next step.

How should two parents split family costs?

There is no single right answer. Common choices are an equal split, a split in proportion to take-home pay, or a custom split you agree on. The calculator shows the proportional split: each earner pays the same share of the plan as their share of the two incomes, after other income has covered its part.

How do I calculate household income for a budget?

Use take-home pay: the amount that reaches your bank account after taxes and payroll deductions. Add each earner's monthly take-home pay and any regular other income. If pay arrives every two weeks, multiply one paycheck by 26 and divide by 12 for a monthly figure.

Does this calculator save or send my numbers?

The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded. Nothing is stored unless you choose Save on this device; then the plan is kept in this browser's local storage until you delete it or clear your browser data. Avoid saving on a shared device.

More on income: read what annual income means.

Privacy: the calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to MoneyCoach. A plan is stored only if you choose Save on this device, and only in this browser.

Prepared by MoneyCoach with AI assistance. Last updated 9 October 2026. Not personal financial advice. Report a correction.

Important Disclaimer

This tool is for educational and planning purposes only. It does not provide financial, tax, or legal advice. Results are estimates based on your inputs and may differ from real-world outcomes.