UK Etsy Tax Tracker

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to the UK Etsy Tax Tracker! This tool has been designed specifically for UK-based Etsy sellers who need to keep track of their income and expenses for the HMRC Self Assessment tax return — but who don't want to spend money on accountancy software, or wade through complicated spreadsheets.

The tracker lives entirely inside a single HTML file that you open in any web browser. There is nothing to install, no account to create, and your data never leaves your computer. Everything is saved privately, right inside the file itself.

Who is this for?

This tracker is ideal for UK-based Etsy sellers who:

• File (or expect to file) a Self Assessment tax return
• Want to stay organised throughout the year rather than panic at year-end
• Have business expenses and/or use their car for business journeys
• Would rather handle things themselves than pay an accountant for data entry

What This Tool Does

The Tax Tracker has six main areas, each accessible from the navigation bar across the top:

The navigation bar at the top lets you switch between all sections of the tracker.

Here is a quick summary of what each section does:

Opening the File

The tracker is a single .html file. You don't need to install anything — just save the file somewhere on your computer (your Documents folder is a good choice), then open it.

Downloading Your Monthly Statement from Etsy

Before you can import anything, you need to download your monthly statement from Etsy. Etsy provides these as CSV files — think of a CSV as a text version of a spreadsheet, which this tool can read automatically.

4.1 Finding the Right Section in Etsy

Follow this path through Etsy's menus:

Navigate to Finances → Payment Account → Monthly Statements on Etsy, then click "Download CSV" for the month you want.

4.2 Understanding the CSV File

When you download the CSV, it will be saved to your computer's Downloads folder with a name like EtsyMonthlyStatement_June2026.csv. You don't need to open it — just import it directly into the tracker. For the curious, here is what the columns inside it mean:

The tracker uses the Net column for most of its calculations, as that represents your actual income and costs after Etsy has taken its share.

Importing Your CSV

Once you have your CSV downloaded from Etsy, head to the Import & Backup tab in the tracker.

5.1 Drag and Drop (or Browse)

The Import & Backup page. The large box in the middle is where you drop (or click to browse for) your CSV file.

5.2 Reading the Import Log

After you import a file, a dark green log panel appears below the drop zone. Here's what the messages mean:

A successful import log. Green text means everything went smoothly.

5.3 The April Tax-Year Split

The UK tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April — meaning April is the only month that straddles two tax years. If you import an April CSV, the tracker will detect this and ask you what to do.

The April split dialogue appears when the tracker detects dates spanning the 5th/6th April boundary.

In almost all cases, click "Import this year's rows only". This will import the rows dated 6th April onwards into this (2026/27) file, and leave the rows dated 1–5th April for your previous year's (2025/26) file.

5.4 Re-importing a Month

Made a mistake, or Etsy updated a month's figures? You can re-import any month. When you import a month that's already been loaded, you'll be asked to confirm by typing REPLACE. This removes the old data for that month completely before loading the new file.

Dashboard Overview

The Dashboard is your at-a-glance summary of the whole tax year. Once you've imported some data, it shows three rows of summary cards and three charts.

The Dashboard with a few months of data loaded. The coloured cards summarise your income, costs, and profit estimate.

Understanding the Summary Cards

Gross Sales — the total amount your customers paid you for their orders. This is your turnover figure for HMRC.

Net After Etsy Costs — your sales minus everything Etsy has charged you. This is your actual take-home before your own expenses.

Etsy Ads / Etsy Plus — these are split out separately so you can see exactly what the subscription and advertising costs are.

Est. Net Profit — your estimated taxable profit after all Etsy costs, your manual expenses, and your mileage allowance. This is an estimate — see the HMRC Summary page for the final figures.

Monthly Breakdown

The Monthly page lets you zoom into a single calendar month to see every transaction. This is useful when you want to check a specific order or verify what happened in a particular month.

The Monthly page for June 2026. Click any month button at the top to see its transactions.

To use the Monthly page, simply click one of the month buttons at the top. Months that have data loaded show with bold text.

Searching Within a Month

Use the search box to find a specific order or item. You can search by:

• Part of the item title (e.g. "clock")
• The order number (e.g. "3840271956")
• The transaction type (e.g. "fee" or "shipping")

The table updates instantly as you type. Click "Clear" to remove the search and see all entries again.

All Transactions

The Transactions page shows every entry across all imported months in one place. You can filter by month and transaction type, and search by keyword.

The Transactions page. Use the dropdowns at the top right to filter by month or type, and the search box to find specific entries.

Sorting the Table

Click any column header to sort by that column. Click it again to reverse the sort order. A small triangle (▲ or ▼) shows which column is currently sorted and in which direction. This is useful for, say, finding your highest-value sales by sorting the Net column.

Colour-coded Transaction Types

Each row is colour-coded by type so you can quickly spot what's what:

Adding Business Expenses

The Expenses page is where you record your own business costs — things like packaging materials, postage you bought yourself, printer labels, tools, and equipment. These reduce your taxable profit, so it's worth recording them all.

9.1 Logging an Expense

The Expenses page. Fill in the form at the top and click Add. Your expense appears in the table below.

9.2 Attaching Receipts

You can attach a photo or scan of your receipt to each expense. This is great for keeping everything in one place. HMRC recommends keeping receipts for at least 5 years.

To attach a receipt, click the faint 📎 icon on any expense row. You can attach a photo (JPG/PNG) or a PDF. Images are automatically compressed to keep the file size manageable.

Once attached, the 📎 icon appears solid. Click it any time to view the receipt. You can also download it from the viewer.

9.3 Customising the Quick-Select List

Scrolling down the Expenses page, you'll find a section called "Configure Description Quick-Select". This is where you can add your own commonly-used descriptions so they appear in the dropdown menu at the top of the form — saving you typing them every time.

The Quick-Select configuration area. Add your regular expense descriptions here so they're always available in the dropdown.

To add a new description, type it in the box and click Add (or press Enter). To remove one, click the red ✕ button next to it. The "Other…" option always appears at the bottom of the dropdown and cannot be removed — use it for one-off entries.

Logging Mileage

If you use your car (or another vehicle) for business journeys — driving to the post office, visiting a supplier, attending a craft fair — you can claim a tax-free allowance from HMRC based on the miles you drive. This is called the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) scheme.

10.1 How HMRC Mileage Rates Work

HMRC allows you to claim a set amount per mile driven for business. You don't claim the actual cost of petrol — just the miles. The rates for 2026/27 are:

The tracker calculates all of this automatically. It applies the 45p rate until you hit 10,000 miles, then switches to 25p — and even warns you when you're getting close to the threshold.

10.2 Recording a Journey

The Mileage page. Tick "Round trip" to automatically double the distance for there-and-back journeys.

Fill in the form at the top of the Mileage page:

• From / To / Purpose — choose from your saved quick-select options, or pick "Other…" to type something new
• Distance — enter the one-way distance in miles
• Round trip — tick this box if you made a return journey (the tracker will double the mileage for you)

You can configure the quick-select lists for "From", "To", and "Purpose" by scrolling down on the Mileage page — just like the expenses quick-select described in Section 9.3.

HMRC Self Assessment Summary

This is the page you'll use when it's time to fill in your tax return. It pulls together all your figures — Etsy income, fees, expenses, and mileage — into a clear summary that matches the layout of the HMRC Self Assessment form (SA103).

The HMRC Summary page. Box references (like "SA103S Box 9") point you to exactly where each figure goes on the self-assessment form.

How to Use These Figures

When you complete your Self Assessment return online via HMRC's website (or through commercial software), you'll need to fill in the SA103S (short version) or SA103F (full version) supplementary pages for self-employment. The tracker shows you exactly which boxes the figures belong in.

The key figures are:

• Gross Turnover → goes in Box 9 (SA103S) or Box 15 (SA103F)
• Total Allowable Expenses → calculated from all the deductions listed
• Net Profit → Box 28 (SA103S) or Box 62 (SA103F)

The Trading Allowance Alert

At the top of the HMRC Summary page, a coloured banner will tell you whether your gross income is above or below the £1,000 trading allowance:

• ✅ Green banner — you're under £1,000 gross and may not need to declare this income at all (check HMRC guidance to confirm)
• ⚠️ Amber banner — you're over £1,000 and will need to file a return

Saving Your File

This is the most important habit to get into. The tracker stores all your data inside the HTML file itself — but it only updates the file on your computer when you tell it to by clicking the Save button.

When there are unsaved changes, the Save button shows an orange dot. Click it to save.

How Saving Works

When you click 💾 Save File, your browser downloads a new copy of the HTML file with all your data embedded inside it. This file replaces the old one — save it to the same folder with the same filename etsy-tax-tracker-2026-27.html.

Backup & Restore

In addition to saving the main HTML file, the tracker offers dedicated backup options from the Import & Backup tab. Scroll down to the "Backup & Restore" section.

Full Backup

Click ⬇️ Export Full Backup to download a JSON file containing all your transactions, expenses, mileage records, and settings. This is your complete safety net — keep a copy somewhere separate from the main HTML file (for example, email it to yourself or store it in cloud storage).

Expenses & Mileage Backup

Click ⬇️ Export Expenses & Mileage for a smaller backup of just your manually-entered data (expenses, mileage, and quick-select settings). This is particularly useful if you want to carry your expense records across to a future year's tracker file — simply restore this backup into next year's file and your records will be merged in.

The Backup & Restore section at the bottom of the Import & Backup page.

Restoring from a Backup

If you ever need to restore your data — for example, if you accidentally clear your data or open a fresh tracker file — click ⬆️ Restore Full Backup and select the JSON file you exported previously. You'll be asked to confirm before anything is overwritten.

Helpful Tips

Get into a Monthly Rhythm

The easiest way to stay on top of your records is to spend ten minutes at the start of each month. Download last month's statement from Etsy, import it, log any expenses you've incurred, record any business mileage, and click Save File. Done! By the time your tax return is due, all the work is already done.

Keep Your Receipts

HMRC can ask to see evidence of your expenses for up to 5 years after the filing deadline. Use the built-in receipt attachment feature (Section 9.2) to store photos of your receipts directly alongside each expense entry.

Record Mileage Promptly

It's easy to forget a trip to the post office. Try to log mileage on the same day you travel, while the details are fresh. If you make regular journeys (like a weekly post office run), consider logging them weekly rather than letting them pile up.

Use the Search to Check for Errors

On the Transactions page, try searching for unusual things — like a very high amount, or a type you don't recognise. If something looks wrong, check it against your Etsy account online.

The Trading Allowance: When Does It Help?

If your gross sales are between £1,000 and around £2,000, it's worth comparing the trading allowance route against claiming actual expenses. The HMRC Summary page shows both figures. If your total allowable expenses are less than £1,000, the trading allowance (which gives you a flat £1,000 deduction automatically) might actually be more beneficial — and requires less record-keeping.

Don't Import Deposits

The tracker automatically ignores Etsy "Deposit" entries — these are just Etsy paying you money it's been holding, not new income. So don't worry if the number of imported rows is lower than the total rows in the CSV.

Frequently Asked Questions

I accidentally imported the wrong file. What do I do?

Go to Import & Backup, scroll down to "Imported Months", and click the ✕ button on the chip showing the wrong month. Type YES to confirm removal. Then re-import the correct file.

I've already filed last year from another tracker. Can I carry over my expenses?

Yes! Export an "Expenses & Mileage Backup" from your previous year's tracker, then use "Restore Expenses & Mileage" in this year's tracker. The tool will only import entries that don't already exist — it skips duplicates automatically.

My browser is showing a "pop-up blocked" message when I try to save.

The Save File button triggers a download, which some browsers treat as a pop-up. Click the notification in your browser's address bar (usually a small download or pop-up icon) and allow downloads from this page. Once you've allowed it once, it should work normally.

I see "Out-of-range skipped: 14" in the log. Is that a problem?

Only if you didn't expect it. Rows are skipped if their dates fall outside 6 April 2026 – 5 April 2027. For most months this will be zero. For April (which straddles the tax year boundary), the skipped rows are intentional — they belong in your previous year's file.

Do I need to include VAT in my expenses?

If you are not VAT registered (which most small Etsy sellers aren't), enter the full amount including VAT. If you are VAT registered, enter the net (ex-VAT) amount only, as you'll reclaim the VAT separately through your VAT return.

Can I use this on my phone?

The tracker works on mobile browsers, but it's best experienced on a laptop or desktop where you have more screen space. On a phone, the tables may require horizontal scrolling. Importing CSV files on iOS or Android can require a few extra taps — use the "browse" button and look in your Downloads folder or Files app.

The file is getting very large. What can I do?

Large file sizes are usually caused by receipt attachments. To reduce the size, go to each expense, open the receipt, and if you have higher-resolution images than you need, you could remove and re-attach a compressed version. Files over 15MB cannot be attached — compress the image first using your phone or a free online tool.

Is my data sent to anyone?

No. This tool runs entirely in your browser and stores everything locally in the HTML file. There is no server, no cloud sync, and no data is ever transmitted anywhere. Your financial information stays on your computer.

What happens to my data when the tax year ends?

Nothing — the file stays as it is, a permanent record of your 2026/27 figures. When you start a new tax year, you'll use a fresh tracker file (for 2027/28), but this one remains safely archived. HMRC recommends keeping records for at least 5 years after the filing deadline.

Index

An alphabetical reference to key topics covered in this guide.