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Indie developer tax calculator: what to set aside each month
Set aside a share of profit, not revenue. Type in your store proceeds, ad spend and fixed costs, choose a rate, and see the monthly amount and a 12-month reserve.
Your month
Example numbers are filled in. Replace them with yours, in one currency. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
- Profit per month
- 2,030
- Set aside per month
- 507.5
- Reserve after 12 months
- 6,090
20.3% of the year's proceeds.
2,500 proceeds, minus 350 ads, minus 120 fixed costs, is 2,030 profit. 25% of that is 507.5.
Show the numbers
| Month | Profit | Set aside | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 507.5 |
| 2 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 1,015 |
| 3 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 1,522.5 |
| 4 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 2,030 |
| 5 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 2,537.5 |
| 6 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 3,045 |
| 7 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 3,552.5 |
| 8 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 4,060 |
| 9 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 4,567.5 |
| 10 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 5,075 |
| 11 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 5,582.5 |
| 12 | 2,030 | 507.5 | 6,090 |
How does the calculator work?
Profit is your proceeds minus ad spend and fixed costs. The set-aside is your rate times that profit. A month with a loss adds 0 to the reserve and never takes anything out of it.
The rate is yours to choose. The 20, 25, 30 and 35 buttons are example values to start from, not what you owe. A sensible first number is last year's actual tax divided by last year's profit, rounded up.
A worked example with made-up numbers
| Line | Per month |
|---|---|
| App Store proceeds | 1,800 |
| Google Play proceeds | 400 |
| Stripe proceeds | 300 |
| Ad spend | -350 |
| Fixed costs | -120 |
| Profit | 2,030 |
| Set aside at an example 25% | 507.50 |
| Reserve after 12 months | 6,090 |
These figures are illustrative, not from any real product. Now let month 6 bring no proceeds: that month loses 470, adds 0 to the reserve, and the year ends at 5,582.50 instead of 6,090. The reserve does not shrink because one month was bad. Tick "Test a bad month" to try your own.
What is the difference between consumption tax and income tax?
Consumption tax (VAT, GST, sales tax) is charged to the customer on each sale. The App Store and Google Play deal with it in many countries, so your proceeds there usually come without it (Apple) (Google Play Help). Developers in some countries, or using alternative billing, stay responsible for it themselves. A merchant of record acts as the seller for direct sales and handles it (Stripe, Managed Payments). With plain Stripe you are the seller: Stripe Tax can calculate and collect it, but you must file and remit it (Stripe, how Stripe Tax works).
Income tax is different. Nobody pays it for you, and it is calculated on profit. That is the number this calculator sets money aside for. For where it applies, who pays when and country examples, read how much to set aside for tax as an indie developer. To see what the stores actually pay out, see gross vs proceeds on Apple and Google and the proceeds calculator.
Does Plask do this for me?
Plask (plask.dev) has an optional tax reserve, off until you set it. Enter one whole percentage from 1 to 60. The P&L then shows "Set aside for tax" as that share of each period's profit, for the portfolio and per product, and in your digest. It is never subtracted from your profit, it shows zero when a period has no profit, and it is private. It is an estimate, not tax advice.
What it does not do: it does not know your country's rules, file anything or tell you when to pay. Plask keeps the same kind of number: an optional set-aside of 1 to 60% of each period's profit, per product. It has no 12-month reserve chart, no consumption-tax stripping and no bad-month test; those are only on this page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I set aside tax from revenue or profit?
From profit. Income tax is calculated on what is left after the costs your tax rules allow, so a share of revenue over-saves when ads take most of the margin. If you are unsure which costs count, ask an accountant.
Quarterly or yearly: when do I pay?
It depends on your country. Some tax authorities expect advance or estimated payments during the year, others bill after year end. Check your tax authority's pages. This calculator only tells you how much to keep in the reserve, not when to pay it out.
What if I sell through a merchant of record?
A merchant of record is the seller and handles consumption tax such as VAT for you, so tick the box and enter the amounts you receive. Income tax on your profit is still yours.
What can I deduct?
That is a tax-rules question, not a calculator question. This tool subtracts the ad spend and fixed costs you type in. Whether your authority accepts them is something to confirm with an accountant.
Does the calculator send my numbers anywhere?
No. The maths runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or recorded.
Keep the set-aside number next to your profit, per product.
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