Entering Medicare Part B Payment Deducted From Social Security Deposit

fbock1887

I come to this version of Quicken directly from 2005. Its database became corrupted and rather than start over with it I opted to upgrade to this latest on-line version.

In 2005 I set up a scheduled transaction for the gross amount of my Social Security benefit that I then split between the Part B premium going to an insurance category and the remainder which was direct deposited by the SSA to my checking account. The checking account was manually reconciled with the paper statement from the bank. In this manner I knew the amount paid to Part B and the gross amount of my SS benefit.

I presume that would still work if I manually entered checking account activity but I opted instead to have that checking account information downloaded to Quicken from the bank.

So I'm left with some questions:
1) Is it possible in the current version to do what I did with 2005 as I currently have it configured, i.e. bank information downloaded into Quicken?
2) If the answer to (1) is no how do I enter the Part B premium and have it properly accounted for? I can't see how to make the funds for it to appear without messing up the overall accounting of income and expenses?
3) Additionally if the answer to (1) is no how can I use Quicken to track my gross SS Benefit?

Jim_Harman

1) Yes - Set up a Reminder for the SS Income. You can set the date to Monthly on the nth Wednesday, to match when your SS is deposited.

In the Reminder, make a split with the full amount of the SS as a positive number and the deduction as a negative number. The net amount is deposited to your checking account and will match the downloaded transaction from the bank.

Rocket J Squirrel

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7863666/faq-how-to-record-social-security-income-customize-day-of-month-for-schedule 

Jim_Harman

The Paycheck wizard is one way to do it. That creates a reminder and split transaction for you.

The other place to create and manage reminders is by clicking on the Manage Manual bills and income button at the top right of the Bills & Income tab.

If the amount downloaded from your bank matches the net amount deposited and the dates are close, Quicken will match the transactions and there will be no duplicate.

In Edit > Preferences > Downloaded transactions, the top 2 checkboxes should be un-checked. This will give you an opportunity to review and if necessary manually match  each downloaded transaction before it is entered in your register.

mrzookie

@fbock1887

I use the paycheck function for this purpose, and it works well. I have it set for the 3rd Wednesday of each month, with all deductions included. Its a reminder - it will not be entered into your checking account register unless you manually do it by clicking the "enter" button. I typically "enter" the paycheck into the register the day before its due, then let the download from my bank "match" to it.

Jim_Harman

You can also set a reminder to auto-enter a set number of days before the due date, so you don't even need to click on it. 

mrzookie

@fbock1887

I don't have that problem with my report. Perhaps its the way you set up your SS category? Is it possible you've got 2 SS income category entries that are both being populated? Check the categories in the report and make sure there's only one. If, by some chance there are 2, you can deselect one and see if it solves the problem. If it does, be sure to deselect that same one in all reports and then consider deleting the duplicate category.

Jim_Harman

1) Yes - Set up a Reminder for the SS Income. You can set the date to Monthly on the nth Wednesday, to match when your SS is deposited.

In the Reminder, make a split with the full amount of the SS as a positive number and the deduction as a negative number. The net amount is deposited to your checking account and will match the downloaded transaction from the bank.

fbock1887

I went to Tools/Manage Bill and Income Reminders/Add/Income Reminder and therein saw no way to either split an amount or enter the nth Wednesday. Only specific dates was the option presented. Am I in the wrong area?

Rocket J Squirrel

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7863666/faq-how-to-record-social-security-income-customize-day-of-month-for-schedule 

fbock1887

I remain confused. As I stated in my response to what I think Jim Harman's suggestion I was unable to set up a reminder. In following the link provided by Rocket J Squirrel the screenshot was titled "Edit Income Reminder." Both suggestions lead to Reminders.

Probing around in Quicken I went to Planning and Added a paycheck which seemed to fulfill the functionality of what I'm trying to accomplish. Is this the proper thing to have done? If it is I'm still left with the concern that I'll have double entries in my checking account. That is, a record will be generated when I enter the paycheck in addition to the entry that will be downloaded from the bank.

Jim_Harman

The Paycheck wizard is one way to do it. That creates a reminder and split transaction for you.

The other place to create and manage reminders is by clicking on the Manage Manual bills and income button at the top right of the Bills & Income tab.

If the amount downloaded from your bank matches the net amount deposited and the dates are close, Quicken will match the transactions and there will be no duplicate.

In Edit > Preferences > Downloaded transactions, the top 2 checkboxes should be un-checked. This will give you an opportunity to review and if necessary manually match  each downloaded transaction before it is entered in your register.

mrzookie

@fbock1887

I use the paycheck function for this purpose, and it works well. I have it set for the 3rd Wednesday of each month, with all deductions included. Its a reminder - it will not be entered into your checking account register unless you manually do it by clicking the "enter" button. I typically "enter" the paycheck into the register the day before its due, then let the download from my bank "match" to it.

Jim_Harman

You can also set a reminder to auto-enter a set number of days before the due date, so you don't even need to click on it. 

fbock1887

Thanks to both Jim Harman and mrzookie for this latest input. I have entered the paycheck and will double check my account tomorrow to verify that the double entry concern is taken care of by Quicken.

fbock1887

The double entry concern was automatically taken care of by Quicken. Thanks to all who helped me through to a successful outcome.

fbock1887

One hiccup I've noticed is that the report at Reports/Spending/Itemized Categories adds the social security net amount twice to the total income. It appears once in the bank Statement as the net deposit and again contained within the gross amount in the Paycheck. Have I done something incorrectly or is this just an anomaly with which I'll have to contend?

mrzookie

@fbock1887

I don't have that problem with my report. Perhaps its the way you set up your SS category? Is it possible you've got 2 SS income category entries that are both being populated? Check the categories in the report and make sure there's only one. If, by some chance there are 2, you can deselect one and see if it solves the problem. If it does, be sure to deselect that same one in all reports and then consider deleting the duplicate category.

fbock1887

mrzookie, you are correct. I made the suggested change to my wife's SS paycheck and it eliminated the double entry. Thanks