By The Income Tracker · Updated 8 September 2026 · 5 min read
The short answer
You do not need a joint account or a shared banking login to budget as a couple. Pick a split for the shared costs (equal, proportional to income, or a joint bills pot), then import each person's bank CSV into one ledger. Transfers between you are skipped automatically, so nothing double-counts.
Three models, pick one
Proportional is the fairest and the least used, because it needs a quick calculation. Do it once: add both take-home pays, work out each share, apply it to the monthly bills total. Revisit when a pay packet changes.
Model
How it works
Best when
50/50
Shared bills split down the middle; everything else is personal
Incomes are similar
Proportional
Each pays the share of bills that matches their share of income (earn 60% of the total, pay 60% of the bills)
Incomes differ a lot
Yours, mine, ours
Both pay an agreed amount into a joint account that covers bills; personal accounts stay personal
You want one place to watch the bills and privacy everywhere else
See both banks without sharing a login
Budgeting apps built on open banking want both of you to connect your accounts to the same app, which means both of you trusting the same company with everything. A CSV does the same job with none of that. Each person exports their own statement from their own bank, and the files go into one ledger on one device.
Each partner exports last month as a CSV from their own bank. The CSV guides cover every major UK bank.
Import both files into the same ledger in The Income Tracker.
Money sent between you (the monthly bills contribution, paying each other back) is recognised as a transfer and skipped, so it never shows as spending.
Categorise once; the app remembers merchants for both of you.
What to look at together
The shared bills total, and whether the split still feels fair.
The surplus, and where it should go: joint savings, a shared goal, or a split.
One category each that surprised you. Not to argue about it; to notice it.
Keep the personal stuff personal
The point of separate accounts is that nobody audits the other's coffee. Keep personal spending in one coarse category per person if you like, and spend the review time on the joint numbers. A budget that feels like surveillance does not last.
The Income TrackerTrack it free. No account, no bank login.
Do couples need a joint account to budget together?
No. Agree a split for the shared bills and track both accounts in one ledger. A joint bills account is convenient, not essential.
How should couples split bills when one earns more?
Proportionally. Each pays the same percentage of the bills as their percentage of the combined income. It keeps the same amount of disposable income in proportion for each of you.
Can we track two different banks in one app without sharing logins?
Yes. Each of you exports a CSV from your own bank and both files go into one ledger in The Income Tracker. Nothing connects to either bank.