Self-employed income and expenses spreadsheet template
A working Excel template for a UK sole trader: one sheet of income, one sheet of expenses, and a summary that totals both for the tax year you choose. Every expense is given one of the fourteen headings used on the full Self Employment pages of the tax return, so each total already has a box to go in. Free, no sign-up and no email address.
What is in it
| Sheet | One row per | What it does for you |
|---|---|---|
| Income | Sale or invoice | Date, customer, invoice number and amount. |
| Expenses | Cost | Date, supplier, invoice or receipt number, amount and a category chosen from a dropdown of the fourteen expense headings — goods and materials, subcontractors, staff, travel, premises, repairs, office costs and the rest. |
| Tax year summary | Category | Income, each expense heading and the difference, for the dates at the top — 6 April to 5 April by default. Live SUMIFS, so change the two dates and the whole sheet follows. Costs you have not categorised are shown on their own line rather than lost. |
Why the categories are fixed
A free-text category column is where an expenses spreadsheet goes wrong. “Fuel”, “petrol” and “van” become three categories, and at the end of the year somebody has to merge them by hand. This template offers a dropdown of the fourteen expense headings on the full Self Employment pages (SA103F) instead, with the return's own wording beside each total on the summary sheet.
It records and totals; it does not decide what is allowable. Two headings in particular need care: business entertainment sits under advertising on the return but is not normally allowable, and depreciation has a heading but is not an allowable deduction — capital allowances are claimed separately. If your turnover is below the VAT threshold you may be able to use the shorter return, which asks for one expenses total. Treat the summary as tidy figures to take to your accountant or to HMRC's guidance, not as tax advice.
Which amount to enter
If you are not VAT registered, enter what you actually paid, VAT included — it is part of your cost. If you are VAT registered and reclaim the VAT, enter the net amount. The template has one Amount column on purpose, so there is no second column to be summed by mistake.
Filling it in without typing
The template is the easy half. The work is turning a year of supplier invoices and receipts — PDFs, scans, phone photos — into those rows. That is what Invoices to Spreadsheets does: its export carries date, supplier, invoice number, net, VAT and total. The category stays yours to choose, because the invoice never says which heading a cost belongs under. Try one invoice free, without an account.
Is the self-employed expenses template free?
Yes. Download it, use it, change it. No account, no email address, no card.
Which expense categories does it use?
The fourteen expense headings on the full Self Employment pages of the UK tax return (SA103F): cost of goods bought for resale or goods used; construction industry payments to subcontractors; wages, salaries and other staff costs; car, van and travel expenses; rent, rates, power and insurance costs; repairs and maintenance of property and equipment; phone, fax, stationery and other office costs; advertising and business entertainment costs; interest on bank and other loans; bank, credit card and other financial charges; irrecoverable debts written off; accountancy, legal and other professional fees; depreciation and loss or profit on sale of assets; and other business expenses.
Can I change the tax year?
Yes. The summary sheet has a From date and a To date, set to 6 April 2026 and 5 April 2027. Change them and every total recalculates. You can keep several years of rows in the same file.
Does it work out my tax?
No. It totals your income and your expenses by heading for the period you choose. What is allowable, which allowances apply and what you owe depend on your circumstances; use HMRC’s guidance or an accountant for that.
Is a spreadsheet enough for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies from 6 April 2026 to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, with lower thresholds planned for later years. It requires digital records and quarterly updates sent through compatible software. A spreadsheet can hold the records, but it needs bridging software to send them to HMRC — check HMRC’s list of compatible software before relying on one.
Does it work in Google Sheets or Numbers?
Yes. It is a standard .xlsx file, the formulas are SUMIFS and SUM, and the category dropdown is ordinary data validation. Set your locale before importing so dates and £ parse as dates and numbers.
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