Do you feel clueless and helpless when tax season rolls around? Whether you freelance or have a more traditional 9-to-5, estimate taxes year round with Excel templates. Free Excel tax templates help you track earnings and expenses all year to make tax time much easier to manage.
Please note that these templates are only guides and aren’t meant to replace CPAs or tax preparation services. They’re only to help you estimate taxes.
If you’re the type who doesn’t pay much attention to bank statements, itemized credit card statements, or even how much income is coming in, the Tax Tracker Excel Template is perfect for you. The detailed guide on the GoSkills site explains how to get the most from the template to easily see an overview of income, expenses, and taxes.
Keeping track of expenses and deductions makes it difficult to estimate taxes. The 1099 Expenses Spreadsheet from Keeper has all the expense/deduction categories you need in a handy spreadsheet. Enter all your expenses to calculate your estimated deductions. This is ideal for estimating your actual taxable income. The template is a Google Sheets template, but once you load it, download it to use in Excel.
Not everyone needs a more advanced Excel tax template. The Simple Blue Tax Estimator is perfect if you just want to quickly calculate taxes owed or a refund. The template is a good way to estimate federal taxes for both individuals and self-employed. It looks like a basic tax form. Just make sure to check the IRS website for the current year’s tax bracket.
Knowing how to estimate quarterly taxes is essential as an independent contractor. A great start is knowing your adjusted gross income, which defines your tax bracket and percentage. The Adjusted Gross Income Calculator lets you input income, deductions, and expenses to better understand your tax obligations. Then, divide that by four to get your quarterly estimates.
If you love to dig into tax forms, you’ll love getting a tax estimate via the Federal Income Tax Spreadsheet. Every year, Glenn Reeves updates the template to include most tax forms, along with instructions on how to use them. It’s a more complicated template than others on this list, but it’s a good way to get a head start on tax preparation.
Often, personal budget templates are a great help in estimating taxes, even with quarterly taxes as a freelancer. The Personal Monthly Budget template features sections for income, expenses, memberships, and even taxes. Create a new copy each month to track income, expenses, and estimated taxes so that you’re prepared when tax season arrives.
If your income varies from month to month, it makes it even harder to estimate taxes. The Freelance Income Projection template by Christy Tucker helps you track your actual earnings and make estimates on what you’ll make each month. Use this data to estimate quarterly taxes and federal taxes. While it’s not exact, it’ll get easier to see income patterns to make better estimates, as you use it again and again, each year. The template is in Google Sheets format. Download it to Excel once it’s opened in Google Sheets.
One thing I love about the Income Tax Calculator Template by Lido is that everything is thoroughly explained. You could use the details to create your own template if you want. It’s rather basic, but it does a great job of estimating taxes based on income, deductions, and interest payments. It even includes calculations based on your tax bracket. You’ll need to update bracket details each year for more accurate results. Once again, download this one to Excel after opening in Google Sheets.
While the Freelancers Tax Deductions template by Sheetlist was designed for Canadians, it can easily be adapted to any currency. It’s designed for freelancers and independent contractors to track projects, expenses, and even home expenses related to your business. Keeping track of everything in one sheet makes it easy to visualize income and better estimate taxes. Download this one to Excel after opening in Google Sheets.
Keeping track of income and taxes owed is much easier with the right Excel template. You can even use budget templates, like these Google Sheets budget templates, to track income and estimate taxes based on a set percentage. Or, track your finances with these free Notion budget templates. However you do it, you’ll be ready when tax season arrives.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Crystal Crowder.
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Crystal Crowder - Staff WriterCrystal Crowder has spent over 15 years working in the tech industry, first as an IT technician and then as a writer. She works to help teach others how to get the most from their devices, systems, and apps. She stays on top of the latest trends and is always finding solutions to common tech problems.
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