Decorator & Sole Trader Self Assessment Prep Pack 2025/26 (Excel + Google Sheets + PDF guide)

Self Assessment is easier when your records are tidy. This pack gives you one workbook to keep through the 2025/26 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026), then hand to your accountant or use to fill in your own return. The online return and payment are due by 11:59pm on 31 January 2027.

What's in the workbook (10 tabs)

• Start Here: quick start, key dates and the GOV.UK sources used
• Income: up to 600 payments, with gross amount, materials charged, CIS deducted and cash received
• Expenses: up to 1,000 rows. 22 categories for decorators, including paint and sundries, brushes and tools, van and fuel, subcontractor labour, phone, insurance and protective clothing. Each category shows the SA103S (short) and SA103F (full) box it feeds. Business-use % for part-personal costs
• Mileage: flat-rate amounts worked out at the 2025/26 GOV.UK rates (45p for the first 10,000 car or van miles, 25p after, 24p for motorcycles)
• CIS Summary: by tax month and by contractor, with a check against your monthly CIS statements
• Return Totals: your totals by SA103S and SA103F box heading, plus 11 checks (dates outside the tax year, missing categories, CIS mismatches, van costs plus flat-rate mileage, missing receipts)
• Payments on Account: key dates, a simple estimate of the 31 January balancing payment and the first and second payments on account, and a "money set aside" log
• Year-End Checklist: 19 tasks with a status drop-down
• For Your Accountant: a one-page summary of your figures, expenses by box, a document checklist and questions to ask
• Settings: your business name, vehicle method (flat-rate mileage or actual costs), rates and lists

PDF guide (8 pages)

• How to use each tab with screenshots, which decorator expense goes in which SA103 box, and the GOV.UK facts used, with sources

Formats

• 1 × Excel workbook (.xlsx). Also works in Google Sheets (upload to Drive, then File > Save as Google Sheets) and LibreOffice
• 1 × PDF guide (A4)
• Delivered as one .zip download
• The workbook is blank and ready to use

Please note

• This is a prep and organising tool, not tax advice; check with HMRC or an accountant. It adds up the figures you type in and shows where they usually go on the SA103 forms. It does not work out your tax or National Insurance, it is not HMRC-approved software and it cannot send anything to HMRC.
• It assumes you are a sole trader who is not VAT registered and uses cash basis (the GOV.UK default). If that is not you, ask an accountant.
• Where HMRC's form notes do not name a specific box (for example hand tools, and subcontractor labour on the short form), the pack uses the nearest box and says so. Totals are not affected, but check with your accountant.
• Rates, boxes and dates are for the 2025/26 tax year and come from GOV.UK and the 2025–26 HMRC forms (checked 28 October 2026). Rules change, so check GOV.UK each tax year.
• Digital download. Nothing is posted. You get the files straight after payment.
• For use in your own business. Please don't resell or share the files.

Black and gold design by S.H Decor.