When to Mark an Account Separate and When to Hide It

luannbrenner

I'm still confused about when to mark an account separate and when to hide it. When I mark it separate in 2023, are 2021 transactions associated with that account still included in reports? When should I hide a report? Which choice includes all transactions from that account in reports but doesn't show it in reports if it now has a zero balance?

splasher

I use Separate for accounts that I do not want included in my networth.  An example is a debit card from my health insurance company that I "earn" money on and then use to pay for co-pays and over the counter meds.  I can't spend it on just anything, just medical bills.  I don't claim it as income and the paid bills can't be used for tax deductions since it really is a partial refund of my monthly health insurance payment.

I hide accounts that are no longer active, like bank CDs once they have matured.  I also hid a closed car loan.  Hiding accounts just takes them out of the Account Bar but does not remove them from the networth report (overtime) unless you customize the report to not include them.

Chris_QPW

luannbrenner said:

Which choice includes all transactions from that account in reports but doesn't show it in reports if it now has a zero balance?

There isn't any such option.  There might be some reports that don't include zero balance accounts, but it certainly isn't one of the separate/hide options.

In general, you can see the effect of Separate best on the Account bar.
When you use this option on an account it goes to this section:


And it isn't included in the Net Worth.

When you hide an account, it goes to one of these sections:


And is still included in the New Worth.

If you look at any of the customizing of the reports for accounts, you will see this:


The point here is not only are they not shown in the list above, but they also aren't included by default either.  One has to select the Show Separate accounts check box to include those accounts in a report.

"Hide" on the other hand isn't treated any differently than a "non-hidden' account in the reports.