Hello, how do I categorize a mortgage payment amount in QBSE? The payment is a lump sum which includes the mortgage interest and principal

Hello there, don64,

You can split the payment and use the correct category for the transaction. For example, the mortgage interest amount is deductible. Then, the mortgage principal is not.

Have you also set up the home office in QBSE? If not, here's how:

1. In QuickBooks Self-Employed, go to the Taxes menu.
2. Select the Annual tab.
3. Select the Home office expenses section.
4. Select Add a home office or Current home office if you already entered the square footage.
5. Select a tax year.
6. Select the Simplified method or Regular method tab.
7. Enter your estimated home office square footage.
8. When you're done, select Save.

Here's an article to learn more: Categorize home office expenses and enter square footage in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Also, I recommend checking with an accountant to make sure you're recording this correctly. 

Let me know if you have other questions.

That's all well and good. His problem is one level more complex than mine (since I don't have a home office). I didn't think about the property tax aspect but mine is escrowed too. 

But how can this be automated? 

I booked it to mortgage payment (gross) under expense and I plan to true it up at the end of year when I get my mortgage statements. 

Nobody wants to do this every month manually lol

That's all well and good. His problem is one level more complex than mine (since I don't have a home office). I didn't think about the property tax aspect but mine is escrowed too. 

But how can this be automated? 

I booked it to mortgage payment (gross) under expense and I plan to true it up at the end of year when I get my mortgage statements. 

Nobody wants to do this every month manually lol but there's no other way (short of a lookup table or a mortgage calculator function plus wrapper algorithm) to know what should be allocated to P and I and so on.

Hello there, @hhrvqrj.

Let me shed some light regarding the automation of expense allocation for mortgage in QuickBooks Self-employed.

In QuickBooks Self-Employed, you can record mortgage payments as expenses. However, it does not automatically split the payments into principal, interest, and escrow components. You will need to manually categorize the mortgage payments and make adjustments at the end of the year when you have detailed mortgage statements available.
 

Moreover, you can check out this article to learn about Schedule C categories and how to categorize transactions in QuickBooks: Schedule C and expense categories in QuickBooks Solopreneur and QuickBooks Self-Employed

Let me know whenever you have queries about the automation of expense allocation for a mortgage in QuickBooks Self-Employed. We're always around to assist you further. Stay safe and well!