Self-employed expense tracker for Excel: a full Canadian year, filled in
- 22T2125 expense lines in a dropdown, totalled for you
- 13provinces and territories: pick yours and the GST/HST rate fills in
- $19one time, for Excel and Google Sheets
Type it once, get the totals
You enter each invoice and each receipt once. The tracker splits out the GST/HST, sorts expenses by T2125 line, applies the 50% meals limit and your business-use percentage, and adds it all up by month. It doesn’t work out your CPP or income tax.
Every number on this page belongs to a hypothetical freelance designer in Ontario that we invented. It’s not a real customer and not anyone’s real results. The totals are what the tracker’s own formulas give for these made-up entries: we typed them into a copy of the file and let it recalculate.
If you’re self-employed in Canada, the CRA expects a record of your daily income and expenses, but it won’t hand you a template. In T4002 it says it doesn’t issue record books or suggest any particular kind. So most people end up in a spreadsheet.
This page walks through one whole year in ours, from the first invoice to the amount to set aside, so you can decide whether it’s worth $19 or whether a blank sheet will do.
What’s in the file
Pick your province or territory and say whether you’re registered for GST/HST. The rate fills in (0% if you’re not registered).
One row per invoice: date, client, amount before tax. The GST/HST and the total are worked out for you. A rate override handles a sale taxed at a different rate.
One row per receipt. Pick the T2125 line from a dropdown, add the GST/HST you paid and, if it’s partly personal, your business-use percentage.
Monthly income, GST/HST collected, deductible expenses, estimated ITCs, net income and net GST/HST. Below that, a total for every T2125 line.
The 22 T2125 expense lines the dropdown uses, with their line numbers.
How to fill it in, and a plain list of what it doesn’t do.
It’s one .xlsx file. Open it in Excel, or upload it to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. The Income and Expenses tabs each have room for 500 rows.
The example year: $72,000 invoiced
Our made-up designer works from home in Ontario and is registered for GST/HST, so they charge 13% HST. In the Settings tab, that’s two choices.
One agency pays a $3,000 retainer every month, and two other clients send project work. Over the year that’s 24 invoices: $72,000 before tax and $9,360 of HST collected. You never type the HST yourself. It comes from the rate in Settings, rounded to the cent.
Expenses, sorted by T2125 line
Every receipt gets its own row. You pick the T2125 line, and the tracker applies two rules from T4002, Chapter 3 for you: meals and entertainment count at no more than 50%, and you only claim the business part of anything you also use personally.
It uses the amount before tax because, as a registrant, the HST you get back as an ITC isn’t also an expense. T4002 tells you to reduce your expenses by any ITC you claim.
| T2125 line | In this example | Deductible | Est. ITC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8521 Advertising | Portfolio ads | $600.00 | $78.00 |
| 8523 Meals and entertainment (50%) | Two client meals ($800 spent) | $400.00 | $52.00 |
| 8690 Insurance | Liability insurance (no HST on it) | $900.00 | $0.00 |
| 8710 Interest and bank charges | Bank fees, $20 a month | $240.00 | $0.00 |
| 8760 Business taxes, licences and memberships | Design association membership | $400.00 | $52.00 |
| 8810 Office expenses | Paper, ink, postage | $400.00 | $52.00 |
| 8860 Professional fees (legal, accounting) | Accountant | $1,200.00 | $156.00 |
| 9200 Travel expenses | Conference trip | $2,300.00 | $299.00 |
| 9220 Utilities | Mobile phone, 60% business ($1,500 spent) | $900.00 | $117.00 |
| 9270 Other expenses | Design software, $200 a month | $2,400.00 | $312.00 |
| 9945 Business-use-of-home expenses | Home office: an amount you work out yourself | $2,260.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | 45 receipts | $12,000.00 | $1,118.00 |
The home office line is yours to work out. The tracker doesn’t calculate business-use-of-home, vehicle or capital cost allowance amounts. You work those out on Form T2125 and type the result in, like the $2,260 here.
GST/HST: collected, claimed back, owed
The Summary tab puts the HST you charged next to the HST you paid on business expenses, month by month. The difference is roughly what you’ll send the CRA.
- HST you collected13% of $72,000
- $9,360.00
- Minus estimated ITCsHST you paid on business expenses
- − $1,118.00
- Net GST/HST to remit
- $8,242.00
The ITCs are estimates. You claim them on your GST/HST return, and only with receipts that show what the CRA asks for. If you file once a year as an individual with a December 31 year-end, the payment is due April 30, 2027 (CRA deadlines).
How much to set aside
The tracker gives you your profit: $72,000 in, $12,000 of deductible expenses, $60,000 left. It stops there. For CPP and income tax you use the CPP rates and tax brackets on canada.ca. Our guide to setting money aside works through this exact $60,000 Ontario example.
$9,360 collected minus $1,118 of ITCs.
($60,000 profit − $3,500) × 11.9%.
Worked through in the set-aside guide.
GST/HST + CPP + income tax, spread over 12 months.
This is an estimate. The income tax figure assumes no other income and only the basic credits. RRSP contributions, other income or other credits would change it.
A free spreadsheet, the CRA’s guidance, or the tracker
You don’t have to buy anything to keep good records. Here’s how the three options compare.
| What you need | CRA guidance | A blank spreadsheet | This tracker |
|---|---|---|---|
| What records to keep | Spelled out in T4002: date, amount and source of each sale; receipts with the date, seller and description; keep them 6 years | Up to you | Not a substitute: you still keep the receipts and invoices |
| A layout to fill in | None official. The CRA says it doesn’t issue or suggest a record book; a book with columns and separate pages for income and expenses will do | You build the columns and formulas | Income and Expenses tabs ready, 500 rows each |
| T2125 lines | Line-by-line rules in T4002, Chapter 3 | You type the lines and total them yourself | Dropdown of 22 lines, a total for each on the Summary tab |
| GST/HST | Rates by province and ITC rules | Your own formulas | Rate fills in from your province; collected, ITCs and net, by month |
| 50% meals, business-use % | Rules in T4002 | Your own formulas | Applied on every row |
| CPP and income tax | Rates on canada.ca | Your own formulas | Not included |
| Price | Free | Free | $19 CAD one time |
If you’re comfortable writing SUMIF formulas and keeping your own list of T2125 lines, a free spreadsheet plus T4002 does the job. What the tracker saves you is the setup and the formula checking. Whatever you use, the CRA wants electronic records kept in a readable format, backed up, for 6 years.
What it won’t do
- Work out your CPP, income tax or instalments
- Track PST, RST or QST (it tracks GST/HST only)
- Handle the Quick Method of accounting for GST/HST
- Calculate capital cost allowance, home office or vehicle amounts (you work those out and type in the result)
- File anything with the CRA, or replace your receipts
Get the tracker
Start your own year, without building the sheet
The same file as in the example, empty and ready: income, expenses by T2125 line, GST/HST and monthly totals. If it doesn’t work for you, ask within 14 days for a full refund, using the help link in your Stripe receipt.
$19 CAD one time · Excel and Google Sheets · instant download
FAQ
Is it an Excel template or a Google Sheet?
It’s an .xlsx file. It opens in Excel, and you can upload it to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets.
Does it work if I’m not registered for GST/HST?
Yes. Choose No in Settings and the rate becomes 0%, so it skips the GST/HST. You still get your income, your expenses by T2125 line and your monthly profit.
Does it work in Quebec, BC, Manitoba or Saskatchewan?
It tracks the 5% GST in those provinces. It doesn’t track PST, RST or QST, so you’d keep those separately.
What if I use the Quick Method?
The tracker estimates regular ITCs and doesn’t model the Quick Method. It still totals your sales and GST/HST collected, which you’d need either way.
Will the CRA accept a spreadsheet as my records?
The CRA doesn’t require any particular book or software. Your records have to be complete, backed by documents like receipts and invoices, and kept for 6 years. Electronic records have to stay readable. See keeping records.
Is the designer in the example a real customer?
No. The designer and all the numbers are made up to show how the file works. The totals are what the tracker’s formulas give for those made-up entries.
Sources
- CRA: T4002, Chapter 1 (business records: what to keep, for how long)
- CRA: T4002, Chapter 3 (expenses by T2125 line, including the 50% meals limit)
- CRA: Keeping records, your responsibilities
- CRA: GST/HST rates by province
- CRA: Input tax credits
- CRA: GST/HST reporting requirements and deadlines
- CRA: CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions
- CRA: Tax rates and income brackets for individuals