Quarterly Tax Tracker for Freelancers

Who it’s for

It’s made for US freelancers, contractors, creators and side-hustlers who pay estimated taxes four times a year. The workbook starts fresh for the 2027 tax year; change the year on Setup to track another one.

No tax rate is built in. You type a self-employment rate and the income tax rates that apply to you, from your tax professional or last year’s return, so nothing goes stale when the rules change.

What’s inside, tab by tab

Start Here

Three steps, one colour rule (yellow cells are where you type) and quick answers.

Setup

Tax year, currency, your own rates, the estimate method, the four periods and due dates (prefilled with the usual IRS calendar, editable), up to 40 clients and 30 expense categories with a deductible %.

Income

1,500 rows for payments received, with platform fees. Month and quarter come from the date.

Expenses

1,500 rows with category and an optional business % for costs that are only partly business.

Quarterly Taxes

Income, expenses and profit per period, federal and state amounts due by each date, a log of payments made and a Paid / Due soon / Overdue status.

Monthly Summary

Every month’s profit, a set-aside suggestion, what you actually set aside and your tax savings balance.

1099 Tracker

For each client, what your records say they paid vs the amount on their form, with Matches / Differs by / Waiting.

Dashboard

Income, expenses, profit, estimated tax, next payment, tax paid, savings balance, 1099s received and two charts.

Two ways to estimate

“As I earn” works out tax on your profit so far, minus what you’ve already paid. “Equal quarters” splits a yearly amount you type, for example a safe-harbor figure, into four. Platform fees are handled too: profit uses the net, the 1099 check uses the gross.

Excel and Google Sheets

The workbook is an .xlsx file that opens in Excel 2010 or later, Excel for Mac and LibreOffice. For Google Sheets, upload the .xlsx to Google Drive, open it with Google Sheets, then choose File > Save as Google Sheets. Formulas and dropdowns carry over; Google redraws the charts, so they can look slightly different. The quick-start guide walks you through it. Type your own currency symbol on Setup and the whole workbook uses it.

There are no macros and nothing to install. Every formula uses only functions that Excel and Google Sheets share, and before release the workbook was filled with a sample freelance year and checked by 79 automated tests. Apple Numbers can open the file but isn’t supported.

How delivery works

You buy on Etsy, with Etsy’s checkout and buyer protection. As soon as payment goes through, the download is ready on your Etsy Purchases page and Etsy emails you a link. You get one ZIP file containing:

• Freelancer_Quarterly_Tax_Tracker.xlsx
• Quick_Start_Guide.pdf (6 pages, with a worked example)

Nothing is shipped. Because it’s a digital file, Etsy returns don’t apply, but if something isn’t working, send a message through the shop and we’ll help put it right.

Not tax advice. The workbook estimates from the rates and amounts you type; it doesn’t file or pay anything. Confirm amounts and dates with your tax professional and current IRS and state rules.

Read the guide

How Much to Set Aside for Quarterly Taxes as a Freelancer. When nobody withholds tax from your pay, you have to hold it back yourself. Here’s how estimated taxes work, what the self-employment tax adds, and a simple way to decide how much of each payment to park in a tax account.