Freelance Budget Spreadsheet – Irregular Income & Tax Set-Aside Tracker (Excel & Google Sheets)

Freelance income is lumpy. This spreadsheet makes it manageable.

Log every payment as it arrives and the template automatically sets aside ~25% for taxes, tracks your spending by category, and shows how big your cash buffer is — so you can pay yourself a steady "salary" even when clients pay unevenly.

FEATURES

• Income Log — date, client, type, amount; automatic tax set-aside and take-home per payment (300 rows)

• Expense Log — category dropdown, payment method, automatic month/type (500 rows)

• Categories — 18 starter categories (rename them!), monthly and annual budgets

• Monthly Summary — income, tax set-aside, take-home, expenses, left over, running buffer balance, and budget vs. actual by category

• Quarterly Tax Set-Aside — targets by quarter with typical US estimated-tax due dates and a column to log what you paid

• Dashboard — year-to-date totals, average month, highest/lowest month, months of expenses your buffer covers, suggested steady monthly "salary", plus charts (income vs. expenses, buffer balance, spending by category)

• Adjustable settings: year, tax rate, baseline monthly need, starting buffer

• Sample data included so you can see how it works (easy to clear)

• PDF how-to guide

WORKS WITH

Microsoft Excel (desktop/web) and Google Sheets (free) — upload the .xlsx and save as a Google Sheet.

PLEASE NOTE

• Digital download — no physical item.

• The 25% set-aside is a budgeting rule of thumb, not tax advice. Check your real rate with a tax professional.

• For personal use. Reselling or sharing the file is not permitted.