How Rollover works
Rollover decides whether what is left in a category, or what you overspent, carries into the next month.
Updated October 30, 2026
Rollover is a setting on each category. When it is on, the category's Balance at the end of a month carries into the next month. When it is off, each month uses only its own amounts.
Off and on
A month's Balance is Budgeted - Spent + the Balance carried in from the month before. For an income category, it is Received - Budgeted + the amount carried in.
- Rollover off (the default): nothing carries. Money left over does not carry, and overspending does not carry.
- Rollover on: the month's Balance carries into the next month. A negative Balance carries too, so overspending reduces next month's Balance. For an income category, the amount above or below plan carries.
Example
Groceries has $600.00 budgeted each month. Rollover is turned on in September and stays on.
| Month | Spent | Balance with Rollover off | Balance with Rollover on |
|---|---|---|---|
| September | $540.00 | $60.00 | $60.00 |
| October | $580.00 | $20.00 | $80.00 |
| November | $700.00 | -$100.00 | -$20.00 |
| December | $560.00 | $40.00 | $20.00 |
With Rollover on, October is $600.00 - $580.00 + $60.00 = $80.00. November is $600.00 - $700.00 + $80.00 = -$20.00. December is $600.00 - $560.00 - $20.00 = $20.00.
Turn Rollover on or off
Every category row has a Rollover button. On a computer, it is in the Rollover column. On a phone, it is at the end of the row's second line. An arrow on the button means Rollover is on. Circular arrows mean it is off.
- The button affects the month you are viewing and the months after it, until you change it again in a later month. Earlier months keep their setting.
- A month's setting decides whether that month's Balance carries into the next month. If you turn it on in September, September's own Balance does not change. October's does.
- If you turn it off in November, October's Balance still carries into November. November's Balance does not carry into December.
- Rollover turns on by itself for a category when you save a goal tracked by it, or restore an archived one. A month where you turned Rollover off stays off, and so do the months after it until you turn it on again. Archiving or deleting the goal does not turn Rollover off. The goal's progress does not depend on Rollover.
- Hiding a category does not change Rollover. A hidden category with Rollover on keeps carrying its Balance. The Hide dialog offers to turn Rollover off for the current month so the balance stays in that month. See Manage categories and groups.
- Changing Rollover is not an undo step. Undo on the Annual Budget Plan page restores the whole year, so it also reverses Rollover settings you changed after the action you undo.
Where carried amounts show
- Budget: the category's Balance, the Balance in the headline band and the bar under the category name all include the carried amount. In Group view, an expense group line reads "includes $80.00 carried from earlier months". When any category carried an amount in, "Carried over: $X" appears under the Balance in the headline band. The Balance card in the Month summary lists the carried amounts and the three largest. See How the Budget page works.
- Reports: in the one-month view of the Plan vs actual report, a category that carried money in shows a line such as "$600.00 plan + $80.00 carried". A category that carried an overspend in shows "− $20.00 carried in from last month". When a category carried money in, its plan bar draws that room as a hatched part, and the legend under the list names it Carried in.
For what to do when a category is overspent, see A category is overspent.