Transfers between your own accounts
Published October 27, 2026
Money you move from one of your accounts to another is not income and not an expense. But on statements it looks like both: a withdrawal in one account and a deposit in the other. When you work out monthly figures for California's FL-150 or Florida's Form 12.902(b) or (c), each transfer you miss makes your expenses or your income too high, or both. This guide shows how transfers appear and what the forms' own lines say. It is general information, not legal advice.
How one transfer becomes two errors
| Transaction | Checking statement shows | Savings statement shows | If both are counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly transfer to savings | Withdrawal, $300.00 | Deposit, $300.00 | $300 a month of expenses that were not spent, and $300 a month of income that was not earned |
| Moving money back to cover a bill | Deposit, $500.00 | Withdrawal, $500.00 | The same, in reverse |
| Cashing out a payment app to your bank | Deposit, $85.00 | App: transfer to bank, $85.00 | The $85 counted as income twice: once when it arrived in the app and again in the bank |
Over 12 months, a $300 monthly transfer counted as spending adds $3,600 to your expenses, or $300 a month to the average. Counted as a deposit on the other side, it adds the same to income.
How to spot them
- The description. Banks label them: "Online transfer to SAV ...1234", "Transfer from CHK", "Internal transfer". The last digits usually match one of your own accounts.
- The pair. The same amount leaves one account and arrives in another on the same day or within a few days.
- Payment apps. Venmo, PayPal, Cash App and similar apps hold a balance. Moving money between the app and your bank is a transfer. Payments to other people through the app are not.
- Accounts you did not include. If money goes to an account whose statements you are not using, there is only one side of the pair. That is where judgment comes in.
When it is not just a transfer
Some movements look like transfers but may be something else. Each of these is a decision for you, and if you are unsure, for a lawyer or your court's self-help center:
- Regular saving. California's FL-150 has an expense line for it: item 13n, "Savings and investments". Whether a monthly transfer into savings belongs on that line is your call. The arithmetic point stands either way: count it once, not twice.
- Transfers to or from a spouse, partner or relative. An account in someone else's name is not one of your own accounts. Money from a relative may be a gift or a loan, and the forms have places for some of these: FL-150 item 8 is "one-time money", and Florida's lines include "Any other income of a recurring nature". See irregular income.
- Joint accounts. If you include a joint account's statements, transfers between it and your own accounts are internal, but spending from it may be shared. How to show shared spending is your decision.
- Money moved to an investment account. Florida's long form lists investment and brokerage accounts among assets in Section III, and digital wallets too: "Cash (in digital wallets, including but not limited to Venmo, Apple Wallet, and PayPal)". The balance is an asset question; the transfer itself is not spending.
Credit card payments are the same problem
Paying your own credit card from checking is a transfer of the same kind when the card's own statements are in your set: the purchases on the card are the spending, and the payment is the same money again. See credit card payments versus purchases.
Why it matters for the totals
Both forms add your expense lines to a total: line r of FL-150 item 13, line 28 of Florida's short form, line 120 of the long form. Florida's summary then sets net income against those expenses and shows a surplus or deficit. A missed transfer inflates the total and, on the Florida form, moves the surplus or deficit by the same amount.
Financial Affidavit Numbers looks for transfer pairs across all the statements you upload. Where both sides are present, it treats the pair as one movement of your own money by default and shows it so you can change that; where only one side is present, it flags the item for your decision. It gives monthly figures for each form line and does not fill in the FL-150 or the Florida affidavit.
Common questions
Are transfers between my accounts income on a financial affidavit?
Money moved between your own accounts is the same money changing place, so counting it as income or as an expense double counts it. Transfers to or from accounts in someone else's name are a different question, and the decision on those is yours.
Do I list savings deposits as an expense on the FL-150?
Item 13n of the FL-150 is 'Savings and investments'. Whether your transfers to savings go on that line is your decision. Either way, count the transfer once, not as an expense in one account and income in the other.
How do I find transfers in my bank statements?
Look for descriptions such as 'transfer to' or 'transfer from' with the last digits of one of your accounts, and for the same amount leaving one account and arriving in another within a few days. Payment app cash-outs to your bank are transfers too.
Is a Venmo transfer to my bank income?
Moving your own app balance to your bank is a transfer. The payments people sent you in the app are a separate question, and whether they are income depends on what they were, which is your decision.
Turn your bank and card statements into monthly figures by form line →More guides: FL-150 monthly averages from bank statements · How many bank statements for the FL-150 · FL-150 item 13, line by line · FL-150 last month vs average monthly · FL-150 vs FL-142 · When the FL-150 is filed or served · Florida short form vs long form · Florida: weekly and biweekly to monthly · Florida financial affidavit, section by section · Florida financial affidavit deadline · Credit card payments vs purchases · Irregular income on a financial affidavit · Financial affidavit tools compared · A financial affidavit in a spreadsheet