Sales Tax Tracker Spreadsheet

About this template

This sales tax tracker shows the tax you collected and the tax you paid, quarter by quarter, before the quarterly tax return is due. It is made for anyone who charges tax at more than one rate and dreads the quarterly return, whether you call it sales tax, VAT, GST or HST.

Please read: This is a tracker tool only, not financial, tax, legal, medical or any other professional advice or advisory service. It records and calculates what you enter; you are solely responsible for checking all figures, rates, dates and results and for every decision you make. By purchasing, downloading or using it, you accept these terms (your statutory consumer rights are not affected).

The shape of a real return

Tax collected against tax paid is split by tax and by quarter, the way an actual return is laid out, not as a single total. You enter money in on one tab and money out on another, pick a tax code (one tax or two, such as GST plus PST) for each line, and everything else reads those two. The monthly view, the quarterly view, the profit and loss statement, the sales tax worksheet and the dashboard all recalculate. Nothing is typed twice, and no number on a report can disagree with the ledger it came from.

Tax codes you set up yourself

• Up to 20 tax codes, each with one or two taxes
• Prices typed with tax included or without it
• A By Tax view of each tax you deal with: collected, claimed back and net
• The effective rate per quarter, so an odd quarter stands out

That makes it a vat tracker and a gst hst tracker in the same file.

Twelve connected tabs

• Income: 500 rows, with the tax split out on every line
• Expenses: 500 rows, split the same way
• Setup: your categories, your tax rates and your set-aside percentage
• Monthly: twelve months of income, spending, profit and margin
• Quarterly: the four quarters, with tax due and tax to set aside
• Profit and Loss: every category with its share and the margin
• Sales Tax: collected against paid, by tax and by quarter
• Custom Range: pick any two dates and everything follows
• Comparison: this year against last, month by month
• Balances: what each account took in and paid out
• Dashboard: six live figures and the four quarters
• Start Here: walks you through setup in a few minutes

What it does for you

• Splits sales tax out of every line automatically
• Nets tax collected against tax paid, quarter by quarter
• Turns real profit into a quarterly set-aside at your own rate
• Ranks every category by its share of income and of spending
• Compares any two years month by month, as percentages
• Charts that redraw from your own numbers

The filled copy holds two full years of demo data, so the comparison view has something real to compare. It also works as an everyday small business bookkeeping file for income and expenses.

Works with

• Microsoft Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365, on Windows and Mac, and LibreOffice. No Microsoft 365 subscription needed, and no Google account needed for the Excel files.
• Google Sheets with a free Google account. You get real spreadsheet files, not a PDF with a link in it.
• No add-ins, no macros, no subscription and no bank connection

What you download

• The Excel workbook, filled with a worked example
• The same workbook, blank and ready for your own numbers
• The instruction guide, with one-click links to the Google Sheets versions (filled and blank)
• The terms of use as a PDF

Your files are ready as soon as payment clears. The template is for use in your own business; please do not share or resell the files. Questions before or after you buy? Use our contact page and we will help.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use it in Excel or Google Sheets?

Both. The Excel workbook runs in Excel 2016 or later on Windows and Mac, and the instruction guide holds two one-click links to the Google Sheets versions.

Does it work for VAT, GST and HST as well as sales tax?

Yes. You set up your own tax codes, up to 20, each with one or two taxes, such as GST plus PST.

Can I enter prices with tax already included?

Yes. Each tax code lets you type prices with or without tax, and the tax is split out of every line automatically.

Will it show me what I owe each quarter?

Yes. It nets tax collected against tax paid by tax and by quarter, and shows the effective rate per quarter so an unusual quarter stands out.

Is it tax advice?

No. It is a bookkeeping tool that records and calculates what you enter. Check the figures before you file.