{
  "slug": "irregular-income-budget",
  "title": "Irregular Income Budget Calculator",
  "heading": "Irregular Income Budget Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/irregular-income-budget",
  "summary": "Turn lumpy freelance income into a steady monthly paycheck.",
  "description": "Pay yourself a fixed salary from a variable business. This sets a safe monthly draw from your lowest recent months and shows the surplus to hold back.",
  "formula": "Draw = lowest month × (1 − tax set-aside) × (1 − safety margin).",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=irregular-income-budget",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "low",
      "label": "Lowest month last year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4200,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "avg",
      "label": "Average month",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 8800,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "taxSet",
      "label": "Tax set-aside",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 28,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 50
    },
    {
      "id": "safety",
      "label": "Safety margin on draw",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 10,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 40
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "draw",
      "label": "Safe monthly paycheck",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "surplus",
      "label": "Average monthly surplus",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "tax",
      "label": "Tax to hold back / mo",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "annual",
      "label": "Annual salary to self",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Lowest month last year: 4200 $",
      "Average month: 8800 $",
      "Tax set-aside: 28 %",
      "Safety margin on draw: 10 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Safe monthly paycheck: $2,722",
      "Average monthly surplus: $3,614",
      "Tax to hold back / mo: $2,464",
      "Annual salary to self: $32,659"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter lowest month last year ($).",
      "Enter average month ($).",
      "Enter tax set-aside (%).",
      "Enter safety margin on draw (%).",
      "Read your safe monthly paycheck on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "low": 2500,
        "avg": 5300,
        "taxSet": 17,
        "safety": 6
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "low": 4200,
        "avg": 8800,
        "taxSet": 28,
        "safety": 10
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "low": 6700,
        "avg": 14100,
        "taxSet": 45,
        "safety": 16
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the irregular income budget calculator work?",
      "a": "Pay yourself a fixed salary from a variable business. This sets a safe monthly draw from your lowest recent months and shows the surplus to hold back. The underlying maths is: Draw = lowest month × (1 − tax set-aside) × (1 − safety margin)."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "4 values: lowest month last year, average month, tax set-aside, and safety margin on draw. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the safe monthly paycheck result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-emergency-fund",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/self-employed-quarterly-set-aside"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Irregular Income Budget Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/irregular-income-budget)"
}