Tax Set-Aside Tracker

Who this is for

Put tax money aside as each payment lands. You choose the percentage, and for every payment received the sheet works out what should go into the tax pot, records what you actually moved and keeps the pot balance. Any shortfall against your own target shows up in the summary rather than when the bill arrives.

Sole traders and freelancers who are paid gross and settle their own tax later, especially anyone whose income arrives in uneven amounts from several clients.

What this helps you track

• Each payment received, who it came from and when
• The amount to set aside at the percentage you have chosen
• What you actually transferred to the tax pot, and what came out of it
• The pot balance after every entry
• How far behind (or ahead of) your own target the pot is

How to use it

1. Write the business name and tax year, and the pot's opening balance.
2. Enter your own set-aside percentage. Work it out from your past bills or ask your accountant; none is suggested here.
3. Record each payment on the day it arrives: the date, who paid and the amount received.
4. Move money to the pot and write what you actually transferred; when you pay a tax bill from the pot, enter it as paid out.
5. The amount to set aside, the running total and the pot balance are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, multiply and add down the page.
6. Check the shortfall figure each month and top up the pot before it grows.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What percentage should I use?

That depends on your income, your expenses and the rules where you are, so none is given. Many people base it on what last year's bill came to as a share of what they were paid, and change it when their circumstances change.

Why record the transfer separately from the amount to set aside?

Because they are often different. You may round up, move money weekly rather than per payment, or skip one when cash is tight. Keeping both shows the shortfall honestly instead of assuming the transfer was made.

How do I record paying the tax bill?

Enter it on its own line in the paid out column with the date, leaving the received columns empty. The pot balance drops by that amount and the sheet carries on from there.

Should payments that include sales tax go in at the full amount?

Enter them the way you account for them. If you collect sales tax and pay it over separately, many people set that part aside on its own; check the rules where you are and keep the method the same all year.