> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.guito.pt/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Refunds > Link money you were paid back to the expense it covers, so your spending shows what you actually paid. Money someone pays you back isn't income: it lowers what an expense cost you. A friend who sends you their share of a dinner you paid for, a flatmate who pays you back half the rent, a shop that refunds a return. Link that money to the expense it pays back and the expense's category shows only what you really paid, while the money coming in stops counting as income. You'll find the **Refunds** section on every transaction's page, under **Transactions** (`/transactions`). ## How a refund is counted * **It lowers the expense instead of counting as income.** The linked amount counts as negative spending in the expense's category, whatever category the incoming money has. An €80.00 dinner in **Restaurants** with €20.00 paid back counts €60.00 in restaurants, and the €20.00 doesn't appear under income. * **It counts in the expense's month.** A December dinner paid back in January lowers December's restaurant spending, and January doesn't gain income it never had. * **Account balances don't change.** Linking a refund only changes how the two transactions are counted. * **Budgets count it the same way.** The refund comes off the budget for the expense's category, in the cycle the expense fell in. See [Budgets](/en/features/budgets). Lists still show each transaction on its own date and with its own amount. An expense with a refund carries the ↺ mark (**Refunded**), and the refund shows where it counts, for example **Refund · Restaurants**. On the expense's page, the **Refunds** section sums up how much has come back (for example, **All paid back**), and each refund says how much it covered (**Paid back €20.00**). > [!NOTE] > > You don't have to link a refund. Money that comes in under an expense category (the €700 towards the rent filed under **Rent**, say) already counts as negative spending in that category, in the month it arrived. Linking it to the expense makes it count in the expense's month and the right category, even if the incoming money is filed under another one. See [Cash flow](/en/concepts/cash-flow). ## Add a refund to an expense **1. Open the expense** In **Transactions**, click the expense you were paid back for. **2. Choose Add refund** In the **Refunds** section, choose **Add refund**. **3. Pick the money that came in** **Recent** lists incoming transactions in the same currency, from a week before the expense onwards. The ones that match what's left, or an even share of it (**Same amount**, **1/4 of the amount**), come first, then the closest in date. To look further back, type a word from the description or the amount in **Search transactions**. Money filed under an income category, such as your salary, only shows up when you search. **4. Say how much, if asked** If the incoming amount is more than what's left to pay back, guito asks **How much is for this expense?**. The rest stays free for another expense. One expense can have several refunds: for a dinner for four, use **Add another refund** to add one for each friend who paid you back. And one refund can cover several expenses: if a friend sent you the money for dinner and the cinema in one go, link it to the first expense, then, on the refund's page, choose **Use the rest on another expense**. ## Mark incoming money as a refund You can also start from the money you received. Open it and choose **Mark as a refund**. The list shows expenses in the same currency up to a week after the money came in, and **Search expenses** looks across every date. If the expense isn't in guito (you paid with a card from another bank, for example), choose **The expense isn't listed** and pick the **Expense category**. The money then lowers spending in that category, in the month it arrived. ## Refunds paid in cash When someone hands you their share in notes and coins, or pays it into an account that isn't in guito, there's no incoming transaction to pick. Open the expense, choose **Add refund** and then **Received in cash**, just below the search box. Enter the amount and the date and, if you like, **Who paid you back?**. **Where did the money go?** is set to **No account** by default: the refund only lowers what the expense cost, and no balance changes. If you keep that cash in one of your manual accounts, such as a wallet, pick it instead and the amount is added to that account's balance as a new transaction. Only manual accounts in the expense's currency are offered, and **Create account…** sets one up without leaving the form. If the person later sends you the money by bank transfer, linking that transfer to the expense offers to **Replace the cash refund from** them (with their name, the amount and the date). It comes ticked when the amounts match, so the same money is only counted once. If the expense has no room for both, the cash refund has to be replaced. ## Automatic shop refunds Money that comes in under **Purchase refunds** is linked automatically to your latest earlier purchase at the same store, in the same currency, made up to 120 days before and with room for the whole refund. From then on it counts in the category and month of that store purchase, and its line in the **Refunds** section says **automatic**. * **With no matching purchase, it counts as income.** If the purchase was older, at another store or under a different name, the refund's page offers **Mark as a refund** so you can pick it yourself. * **Only this category.** No other income category is ever linked automatically: wages from a shop you work at stay wages. * **Once removed, it stays manual.** If you remove an automatic refund, that money counts as income from then on and is never linked automatically again. You can still link it yourself with **Mark as a refund**. ## Remove a refund In the **Refunds** section, open the **⋯** menu next to the refund and choose **Remove refund**. In the app, press and hold the line or swipe it to the left. Both transactions go back to how they were. A cash refund that added the amount to an account is removed with **Remove and delete**: the transaction it created in that account is deleted along with it. ## What can't be a refund * **Transactions in different currencies.** The refund and the expense must be in the same currency. * **Transfers between your own accounts.** Moving your own money around doesn't pay back an expense. * **Split transactions.** Incoming money that has been [split](/en/features/split-transactions) can't be a refund, and a refund can't be split. A split expense can still be paid back: the refund is shared across its parts in proportion to each. While an expense has refunds, it can't be moved to **Transfers** or change currency, and its amount can't drop below what's been paid back. Remove the refunds first. If you exclude an expense from cash flow, the refunds linked to it are excluded too. ## Frequently asked questions > **The money arrived in a different month. Which month does it count in?** > > The expense's month, once the refund is linked to it. In the transaction list, the refund still sits on the day it arrived. > **Why did a shop refund end up as income?** > > Because no matching purchase was found: same store, same currency, up to 120 days before, with room for the whole amount. Open the refund and choose **Mark as a refund** to pick the expense. > **The refunds in a category add up to more than I spent there. What happens?** > > The category stays at €0 that month, never below, and the difference counts as income. > **Does adding a refund change my account balance?** > > No, except for a cash refund where you picked an account under **Where did the money go?**: then the amount is added to that account's balance. ## Related pages > **[Transactions and cash flow](/en/features/transactions)** > > View, filter and correct your transactions. > **[Cash flow](/en/concepts/cash-flow)** > > How guito counts income and spending, and why a refund lowers an expense. > **[Budgets](/en/features/budgets)** > > How refunds come off each budget's spending. > **[Split a transaction](/en/features/split-transactions)** > > Divide one expense across several categories. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.