Tax Set-Aside Calculator
Every payment that lands is partly someone else's money. Split it the day it arrives and the tax bill stops being an event.
Set aside from this payment
$300.00
Leaves $900.00 available to spend.
Running total (0 payments)
How to use this calculator
Enter a payment as it lands and the percentage you've decided to hold back for tax. The result is the amount to move out of your spending account immediately, and the amount that is genuinely yours to use. Press "Add to running total" to log it, then repeat for the next payment — the running total accumulates across everything you enter during this visit.
The percentage is your call. This tool does not know your country, your business structure, your deductions or your other income, and it deliberately makes no claim about what you owe. Many self-employed people pick a round, slightly cautious figure and adjust it once they've filed a return and seen the real outcome. If you want a defensible number, get one from an accountant or from your tax authority's own estimator and type it in here.
Why splitting at the point of payment works
The failure mode for side gigs is not overspending — it's treating gross revenue as income. A $1,200 payment feels like $1,200 in your account, because it literally is. Months later the bill arrives for money that was never yours. The fix is mechanical rather than motivational: open a separate savings account, and the same day any client payment clears, transfer the set-aside figure. Don't budget from that account. Don't check it. It's a holding pen.
Doing it per payment rather than monthly matters because it removes judgement from the moment when judgement is weakest. There's no decision to make about whether this month can afford it; the transfer is a fixed consequence of getting paid.
What the output means
"Set aside from this payment" is the transfer amount. "Yours to use" is what remains to cover business expenses and your own pay — and it's the number you should be mentally anchoring on when you think about how much you're earning. Seeing it repeatedly is a useful corrective: a rate that looks generous gross often looks ordinary once the set-aside is removed, which is exactly the perspective you want when pricing new work.
The running total is a session tally. It's designed for a catch-up — sitting down with a month of payments and working out, in one pass, how far behind your tax savings are. Since nothing is stored, note the total somewhere before you close the tab.
If your set-aside account ends the year with more than the bill, that surplus is a bonus, a buffer, or the start of next year's reserve. If it ends short, raise the percentage. Either way you'll know months in advance rather than the week it's due.
Frequently asked questions
- What percentage should I use?
- That depends entirely on your jurisdiction and circumstances, and this tool takes no view on it. Get a figure from a tax professional or your tax authority and enter it here.
- Should I set aside from the gross payment or after expenses?
- This calculator applies your percentage to the full payment, which is the simpler and more cautious approach. If you prefer to net off project expenses first, subtract them before entering the amount.
- Is the running total saved if I come back tomorrow?
- No. There's no account and no database — the list lives in the open tab and clears when you leave. Write the total down before you close it.
- Can I use different rates for different payments?
- Yes. Change the rate before adding each entry; the running total sums whatever set-aside amounts you logged.