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Keeping a plain ledger for your side income

Longer note · updated October 2026

Small payments are easy to lose track of. Months later, when it's time to report them, the details are scattered across apps, transfers and messages.

Assume it's taxable

In most countries, side income is taxable even when it's small or occasional. Some have thresholds or simplified schemes for small earners. Check your tax authority's website for the rules that apply to you. In Brazil, the Receita Federal publishes guidance on self-employed income and on the MEI regime.

Five columns are enough

• Date
• What the payment was for
• Amount received after platform fees
• Fee charged, if any
• Costs: materials, postage, stall fees, travel, with receipts kept

Make it a weekly habit

Ten minutes a week in one of your low-energy patches keeps the ledger current. Catching up on a year at once is how mistakes happen.

Separate the money

A separate account for side income makes the ledger almost write itself and shows clearly whether the work is worth the hours.

Ask before the deadline

If you're unsure how to declare it, ask an accountant or the tax authority early in the year, not in the last week.