My boyfriend, 45, makes $30,000 more than me — but we still split our bills equally. Am I getting ripped off here?

Let’s say, for example, that Ted and Angela have been living together for close to a year. Ted is 45 and makes $30,000 more than Angela, but the couple is still splitting their bills 50-50. Angela is fed up with the arrangement, but Ted believes a shared split is only fair.

So, who is right in this situation, and what should the couple do?

Ted and Angela are definitely not alone in choosing a 50-50 split. According to the Wall Street Journal, research from Splitsville, an expense-splitting platform, revealed that most couples stick with an even split, which is the app’s default setting.

In fact, an even split is the universal approach most couples take not just in the United States, but in other countries as well. YouGov reports that 46% of couples with two working partners split their bills 50-50 in Britain.

However, although splitting expenses in half is common, it’s not necessarily the fairest approach or one experts recommend.

“I’ve dealt with this situation many times in my practice, and what most couples have done is they’ve allocated the split based on the percentage of income rather than just a 50/50 split,” Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant (LPA) and the founder of Saggio Management Group, told Moneywise. “I found that to be the most fair.”

Susan Trombetti, matchmaker and CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking, agreed, telling Moneywise, “for some couples, a 50/50 split works perfectly well, particularly if they have similar incomes and financial priorities. But when there is a significant income gap, I often see couples splitting expenses proportionally based on income, which seems more fair. That way, both people are contributing, but neither person is carrying a disproportionate financial burden.”

Why a proportional split may be a better approach

Splitting expenses proportionally, rather than evenly, can be better because it may be more equitable and can avoid one person feeling more financial strain than the other.