Free record templates for landlords and sole traders
These three spreadsheets give you a tidy place to note what comes in, what goes out and the miles you drive for work. Each one comes as a CSV file and as an Excel workbook, there is nothing to sign up for, and you are welcome to use, change and share them.
A template helps you keep good records, but it does not meet Making Tax Digital for Income Tax by itself. GOV.UK says that “For Making Tax Digital for Income Tax you must use compatible software, and you can choose it yourself or ask your agent to do this for you.” The templates are for getting your records in order now, so that moving them into that software later is quick.
The three templates
The files hold no formulas, macros or links, only headings and, in the two income and expense logs, a starter row for each category. The CSV files open in any spreadsheet app, and the workbooks use the standard .xlsx format that Excel and LibreOffice read.
Income and expense log for landlords
For landlords who let property in the UK. Each row is one payment in or out for one property, so if you let two flats you can still keep a single log and see each flat’s figures by filtering on the Property column.
Its columns are Date, Property, What it was for, Income or expense, Category, SA105 box, Amount (£), Of which private or disallowable (£) and Notes. The log starts with one row for each SA105 category, so you can see every name before you begin. Copy a row for each payment and delete the starter rows you never use. The Excel version also has a Categories sheet and a drop-down list in the Category column.
Income and expense log for sole traders
For sole traders who want a simple record of their business income and costs, one row for each sale, payment or bill.
Its columns are Date, What it was for, Income or expense, Category, SA103F box, Amount (£), Of which private or disallowable (£) and Notes. The log starts with one row for each SA103F category, so you can see every name before you begin. Copy a row for each payment and delete the starter rows you never use. The Excel version also has a Categories sheet and a drop-down list in the Category column.
Mileage log
For anyone who drives for their business or their lettings, such as visiting a property or a customer. One row for each journey keeps the date, the route and the reason together.
Its columns are Date, Vehicle, From, To, Purpose of the business journey, Miles and Notes.
How the templates fit with MTD software
GOV.UK says each digital record holds the amount, the date the income was received or the expense was incurred and the category. It also says that “Making Tax Digital for Income Tax uses the same categories of income and expenses as Self Assessment.” That is why the two income and expense logs use the category names printed on HMRC’s own Self Assessment pages for UK property (SA105) and self-employment (SA103F), with the box number beside each one.
Keeping your records like this before you choose software means you arrive with a full year of tidy rows instead of a shoebox of receipts. When you do move, software that imports a CSV file can take your rows straight in, and GOV.UK lists “XML or CSV importing and exporting, and downloading and uploading files” among the ways records can be passed from one product to another. Before you import, delete the first line of the file (the note about where it came from) and any starter rows you left empty, so the first line the software reads is the row of headings. The product’s own help pages will say which columns it expects.
If you would rather keep working in a spreadsheet, that is possible too. GOV.UK explains that “If you use spreadsheets to record income and expenses, bridging software can connect to them and make your submissions to HMRC.” Our guide to spreadsheets and bridging software for MTD sets out how that works, and the comparison of MTD software shows which products we compare and what they cost.
A worked example with the landlord log
Grace is a fictional landlord who lets two flats, which she calls Flat A and Flat B. She has not chosen her MTD software yet, so for now she keeps her records in the landlord log and updates it each weekend.
Three rows from Grace’s log
In early May the rent for Flat A arrives, a plumber fixes a dripping tap in Flat B, and her letting agent sends the monthly bill for Flat A. Grace adds one row for each, choosing the category from the drop-down list.
| Date | Property | Category | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 2026 | Flat A | Total rents and other income from property | £850 |
| 6 May 2026 | Flat B | Property repairs and maintenance | £95 |
| 9 May 2026 | Flat A | Legal, management and other professional fees | £102 |
That weekend she drives over to check the plumber’s work, so she adds the journey to her mileage log with the date, where she drove from and to, why she went and how far it was. When she picks her software, she deletes the note line and the starter rows she never used, imports the file, and checks that each row has landed in the right category before she relies on it.
Using and sharing the templates
The templates come under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, the same licence as our open data. You can hand them to clients or a local landlord association, and change them to suit you. The only thing we ask is that you keep the first line, which says where the file came from, in any copy you pass on.