Transparency
Corrections Log
Last updated 2026-05-22
This is the public record of substantive corrections made to Calc.Cards calculators and reference pages. Every change here moved the affected page's "Last updated" date forward. We do not log cosmetic edits (typo fixes, layout adjustments, copy polish) โ only changes to the math, cited data, methodology, or editorial substance.
Corrections come from three sources: reader-submitted error reports, our own quarterly review of cited primary sources for updates, and routine sanity-checks against textbook examples. If you spot something that looks wrong, please email hello@calc.cards.
Categories:
- Formula โ the underlying math changed (corrected a formula error, fixed a rounding bug, etc.). Highest severity.
- Cited data โ a number we cite (IRS limit, FHA threshold, rate context) moved and we refreshed it.
- Methodology โ we changed a default, an assumption, or how the calculator handles a particular input. The math itself was correct under the old setup.
- Editorial โ the article's explanation, FAQ, or worked example changed substantively. The widget itself is unchanged.
Recent corrections
Refreshed default interest rate and conforming-loan-limit references against the current Freddie Mac PMMS and FHFA conforming-loan-limit tables.
Expanded the FAQ to clarify that BMI is interpreted differently for muscular athletes and for adults over 65; added a pediatric callout pointing to the CDC BMI-for-age percentile.
Standardized the activity-multiplier ladder to the Mifflin-St Jeor convention (1.2โ1.9) across all calorie / TDEE pages for internal consistency.
Updated default catch-up contribution amounts and IRA / 401(k) annual limits to the current IRS Publication 590-A / 590-B figures.
Reworked the extra-payment worked example after a reader pointed out that the prior example showed savings without accounting for the matching reduction in the total payment count.
Loosened the front-end debt-to-income default from 28% to 31% to reflect contemporary conventional-lender underwriting norms; flagged the change in the FAQ.
Fixed a rounding error in the periodic-contribution growth term that produced a ~$2 discrepancy on long horizons; verified against a textbook worked example.
Refreshed the default APR ranges against the most recent Experian State of the Auto Finance Market report; updated the trade-in handling to net the value before computing financed amount.
Bumped default elective-deferral and total-contribution limits to the IRS current-year figures; updated the catch-up contribution callout for the 50+ band.
Switched the displayed default from Harris-Benedict to Mifflin-St Jeor to match clinical convention since 2005; both formulas remain available as a toggle.
Reordered the snowball-vs-avalanche FAQ entry to lead with the behavioral-finance case for snowball; the prior version implied avalanche was strictly mathematically dominant, which is true on paper but understates the completion-rate evidence for snowball.
Added the US Navy circumference formula as the default and demoted the BMI-derived body-fat estimate to a secondary toggle, since the BMI-derived estimate has substantially higher mean error in published validation studies.
Refreshed the federal Direct Loan interest-rate defaults for the current academic year; updated the SAVE-plan section to reflect the latest Department of Education guidance.
Calibrated the default operating-expense ratio against NAREIT published benchmarks (30โ40% of gross rent for residential investment properties); surfaced the ratio used so users can override.
Increased the default waste factor from 0% to 5% to reflect real job-site overage; flagged that 10% is a more conservative budget figure for irregular pours.
How corrections work
When a correction lands, three things happen:
- The relevant page is edited โ either the calculator widget's formula, a cited number in the article, or an FAQ answer.
- The page's "Last updated" date moves forward to the date of the correction.
- An entry lands on this log with the date, page, category, and a short summary of what changed. We don't append a separate "Editor's Note" on the article itself; the change is integrated into the article, and the audit trail lives here.
We do not silently revise cited numbers without logging the change. The point of this log is to make Calc.Cards' editorial behavior inspectable: anyone can check whether the figure we display today is the same one we displayed six months ago, and if it isn't, why not.
For the editorial process behind every change, see the editorial team page. For the master methodology document, see how Calc.Cards computes things.