Explore the bank reconciliation case published in IRS Publication 583. The worksheet starts with the official illustration and lets you change the entries to see how each adjustment affects the result. Both sides of the original case reach the same adjusted balance. Use the load button to restore that case after experimenting. The amounts describe an IRS teaching illustration, rather than a current account, fee schedule or estimate of what a business should hold.
Worked example: IRS bank reconciliation
| Item | Amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Bank statement balance | 1,458.12 |
| Add deposit 1/28 | 701.33 |
| Add deposit 1/31 | 516.08 |
| Subtract outstanding checks | 526.50 |
| Adjusted bank balance | 2,149.03 |
| Checkbook balance | 2,153.03 |
| Add book correction | 6.00 |
| Subtract bank service charge | 10.00 |
| Adjusted book balance | 2,149.03 |
Published amounts from IRS Publication 583, Recordkeeping System Example. The original table is shown separately from editable inputs.
How it works
Adjusted books = ledger balance - unposted fees + unposted interest - unposted NSF items + signed book corrections.
Difference = adjusted bank - adjusted books.
Method source: IRS Publication 583. Amounts are calculated in whole cents. The tool reports the arithmetic of your inputs and does not update your records.
Trace the bank-side adjustments
The IRS case begins with the bank statement balance in the table below. Two deposits appear in the checkbook but are not credited on the statement. The illustration adds both deposits to the bank balance. They remain separate rows in this worksheet so you can follow the supporting deposit references and see the effect of changing or removing one amount.
The case also lists the outstanding checks. Those checks are deducted from the bank-side subtotal. They are already recorded in the checkbook, so the illustration does not deduct them again on the book side. Open the outstanding checks register if you want to practice totaling the individual checks before returning to this completed case.
Trace the book-side adjustments
The published checkbook balance differs from the statement balance. The IRS illustration describes a deposit recorded below its actual amount. It adds the correction to the checkbook balance. That correction appears in the signed book-error field here, where a positive value increases the book balance. The deposit timing adjustments remain on the bank side.
The statement also includes a bank service charge that was missing from the checkbook. The case subtracts that charge from the book balance. This explains why bank-only entries can require book adjustments even when the bank statement itself is correct. The original illustration does not need an interest or NSF adjustment, so those tool fields start at zero as unused inputs.
Experiment without changing the source case
Change one amount and observe the resulting difference. Removing a deposit lowers the adjusted bank balance. Increasing the service-charge input lowers the adjusted book balance. The difference is calculated as adjusted bank less adjusted books, so its sign identifies which entered adjusted total is higher. Restore the original inputs with the load button when you want to compare against the official example.
The editable tool is a way to inspect the arithmetic. Any changed amount is your input, not a revised IRS fact. The static table keeps the published illustration unchanged, and the source link lets you review the original recordkeeping example. Use your own statement and ledger balances for a real reconciliation rather than copying the case totals into current records.
Use the example as a review pattern
Follow the separation between timing items on the bank side and supported adjustments on the book side. The IRS says the adjusted bank statement balance should equal the adjusted checkbook balance after reconciliation. A remaining difference calls for checking the earlier comparisons. Do not enter the difference itself as an unsupported correction to force the worksheet to match.
Print the original case for a paper walkthrough, or export CSV to see the item lists and calculated totals. The browser keeps your edited version locally until you clear it or reload the official case. Keep the source table in view while experimenting so you can distinguish the published numbers from the changes you have made.
Questions about this tool
Where do the worked amounts come from?
The worked amounts are from the static recordkeeping illustration in IRS Publication 583. Your own worksheet should use the records for the period you are reviewing.
Are entries sent to a server?
Calculations run in the browser. Entries are saved only in local browser storage when it is available. CSV files download to your device.
Official sources
- IRS Publication 583: checking account reconciliation and recordkeeping illustration
- Federal Student Aid Handbook: reconciliation adjustment categories
Data as of 2026-10-05. Published illustrations are static teaching cases, not live account data.