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How are bills calculated in The Sims 4?

Sims 4 bills: how they are calculated

Bills in The Sims 4 are a tax on your household's billable value, in brackets: 1.8% up to §20,000, 2.7% up to §30,000, 3.15% up to §50,000, 4.9% above §50,000. A household worth §40,000 pays §945 before power and water. Lot traits, traits and neighborhood plans multiply it. Here is the formula and every multiplier.

The formula

The game taxes each slice of the household's billable value at its own rate, like income tax brackets. The bills arrive in the mailbox on Monday.

Slice of the valueRate
§0 to §20,0001.8%
§20,000 to §30,0002.7%
§30,000 to §50,0003.15%
Above §50,0004.9%
  • §20,000 at 1.8% = §360
  • §10,000 at 2.7% = §270
  • §10,000 at 3.15% = §315

Weekly tax: §945, before power, water and the multipliers below.

The billable value is the game's own count of what the household is worth for bills. The code that adds it up didn't survive decompiling, so this page doesn't say which objects count. The bills panel also lists power and water, priced at §0.60 a unit.

Everything that changes the bill

Reason (as the bills panel says it)Multiplies×
Tiny Homethe whole bill×0.5
Power Conservation Neighborhood Action Planpower×0.5
Water Conservation Neighborhood Action Planwater×0.5
Modern Development Action Planproperty tax×1.2
Green Initiatives Neighborhood Action Planpower×1.5
Green Initiatives Neighborhood Action Planwater×1.5
Bill Surcharge Items on Lotthe whole bill×1.5, ×2, ×2.5
Bill Discount Items on Lotthe whole bill×0.9, ×0.75, ×0.6
Failure to comply with Neighborhood Action Plansthe whole bill×1.2
In compliance with Neighborhood Action Plansthe whole bill×0.8
Off-the-Grid Property Tax Discountproperty tax×0.75
Bills are lower here to compensate for any...strangeness.the whole bill×0.75
From Kingdom Tax Levelthe whole bill×0.8, ×0.9, ×1.1, ×1.2
From Frugal Livingthe whole bill×0.75
Preparedness Discountthe whole bill×0.5
From Nature Conversationalistthe whole bill×0.9

Below 1 lowers the bill. Some come in steps, like the kingdom tax level of Royalty & Legacy. Frugal Living is the Frugal reward trait, and Neighborhood Action Plans come with Eco Lifestyle.

If you don't pay

  1. The game warns you 24 Sim hours before it shuts a utility off.
  2. It shuts one utility off, then another every 48 Sim hours while the bills stay unpaid.
  3. 1 Sim hour after the last utility goes off, the repo man can come and take objects to cover the debt.

Short on simoleons? The motherlode cheat adds §50,000.

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