# Create, edit or merge categories

Create, edit or delete income, expense and savings categories in Settings → Categories, and merge two by deleting one into the other.

## Choose income, expense or savings

Every category in **Settings → Categories** has a type: **Income**, **Expense** or **Savings**. The type decides which budget total the category counts toward: **Income**, **Expenses** or **Savings**.

- **Income** is for money you earn, such as salary or interest.
- **Expense** is for spending, such as rent, food or bills.
- **Savings** is for money you set aside, such as transfers to a savings account.

A category's type doesn't change a transaction's direction. A refund in an expense category is still money coming in. Categories have no hide setting, but a budget only counts the categories you choose for it. To leave one out, select **Edit budget** and untick it in **Categories**. To keep a single transaction out, [exclude it](https://treasury.sh/help/edit-transactions#exclude) instead.

Transfers between your own accounts aren't categorized automatically. To see how they count, read [Transfers between your accounts](https://treasury.sh/help/transfers#handling).

## Create a category

New accounts start with a set of starter categories. You can change them or add your own.

1. In **Settings → Categories**, select **New Category** (the +).
2. In **Create Category**, enter a **Name** of up to 50 characters.
3. Choose a **Type** and a **Color**.
4. Optionally add a **Description**, then select **Create**.

Each category needs its own name. A new category isn't added to your existing budgets. Its transactions don't count in a budget until you add it with **Edit budget**.

A description helps Treasury's automatic categorizing tell similar categories apart, so "Groceries and household supplies" works better than none.

## Edit a category

You can rename a category or change its type, color or description at any time.

1. In **Settings → Categories**, find the category. The tabs filter by **Income**, **Expense** or **Saving**.
2. Open its **Open menu** (the ⋯), then select **Edit**.
3. Make your changes in **Edit Category**, then select **Save Changes**.

![The Edit Category dialog with a preview, Name, Type, Color, Description and the Save Changes button](https://treasury.sh/help/category-edit-dialog.webp)

Its transactions keep the category under its new name. Changing the type moves the category's amounts to a different total in every budget that includes it.

## Delete a category

1. In **Settings → Categories**, open the category's **Open menu** (the ⋯), then select **Delete**.
2. If the category has transactions, choose **Make transactions uncategorized** or **Reassign to another category**.
3. Select **Make Uncategorized & Delete**, or pick a category and select **Reassign & Delete**. A category with no transactions shows **Delete Category**.

Your transactions are never deleted, only their category changes. The category also leaves every budget that included it, along with the amount you planned for it. Recurring items in that category become uncategorized.

To delete several at once, tick their boxes and select **Delete**. Confirm with **Delete 2 Categories**, for example. Their transactions all become uncategorized.

> [!CAUTION]
> Deleting a category can't be undone. A new category with the same name won't bring back its budget amounts.

## Merge two categories

Treasury has no merge button. To combine two categories, delete the one you no longer want and move its transactions to the other.

1. In **Settings → Categories**, open the menu of the category to remove, then select **Delete**.
2. Choose **Reassign to another category** and pick the category to keep.
3. Select **Reassign & Delete**.

![The Delete Category dialog for Entertainment with Reassign to another category chosen](https://treasury.sh/help/category-delete-dialog.webp)

You can only reassign to a category of the same type, such as expense to expense. Budgets don't move the planned amount over, so add it to the kept category with **Edit budget**. Recurring items in the deleted category become uncategorized, so set their category again in **Recurring**.

## Change a transaction's category

A transaction's category is set on the transaction itself, in **Transactions**. To change one, see [Change the category](https://treasury.sh/help/edit-transactions#edit). To change many at once, see [Edit many transactions at once](https://treasury.sh/help/edit-transactions#bulk).

Treasury can also categorize new transactions for you. To choose how much it does, see [Auto-categorize transactions](https://treasury.sh/help/auto-categorize).

Treasury AI can explain your spending by category, but it can't create, change or delete categories. You can also open **Help & feedback** at the bottom of the sidebar, or in **Settings** on a phone.

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Open Categories in Treasury: https://app.treasury.sh/settings/categories

Page: https://treasury.sh/help/categories

Last checked against the app: 2026-11-04