Table of Contents
50
6 min
24.07.2026
How Much to Set Aside for Taxes So You Never Hit a Cash Gap
Oleksiy Bazyura
Financial Expert at Finmap
There is money in the account. Clients are paying, turnover is flowing, everything looks fine. Then the quarter ends, it is time to pay taxes, and the money for them is suddenly gone. So you pull it out of working capital, stall a supplier, or postpone your own payout.
This is not about the business failing to earn. It is about taxes being money that was never yours, yet it sat in the same account as your money. And while it sits there, it feels like you can spend it. Then someone comes to collect.
The fix is simple: set a portion aside the moment a payment lands. Not at the end of the quarter, but on the day the money hits your account.
Why taxes always feel "sudden"
The reason is not forgetfulness. It is that weeks or months pass between the money coming in and the day it is due, and in that time the cash quietly dissolves into everyday expenses.
| What you think | What is actually true |
|---|---|
| "There is 200 thousand in the account, I can afford it" | Part of it is tax that is not due yet but has already accrued |
| "I will pay it from the next payments coming in" | The next payments go into working capital too, and the loop closes on itself |
| "Tax is once a quarter, I still have time" | By the quarter's end the money is already spent, and the bill has piled up |
That is exactly how a cash gap appears out of nowhere: not because the business is bad, but because someone else's money got spent as if it were yours.
"Every quarter I fell into the same pit. Turnover was fine, but I had to borrow to cover taxes. Until I started setting the percentage aside right away, and the pit disappeared on its own."
Exactly how much to set aside
The precise percentage depends on your tax regime, but the logic is the same: calculate the tax on every payment and set it aside that same day.
- Sole proprietor (FOP), Group 3 (single tax). That is 5% of turnover plus the military levy. The easiest move is to set aside a little extra, so you always have enough to pay plus a small buffer.
- Sole proprietor with VAT or Group 2. Here you add the unified social contribution (ЄСВ/ESV) and, for VAT payers, the VAT itself. The total percentage is higher, so you need to set aside more.
- LLC (TOV). Corporate income tax is calculated on profit, not turnover, plus payroll taxes on the wage fund. The percentage is individual, but the principle is the same: reserve it right away.
The point is not the exact figure, it is the habit: money comes in, the tax portion goes to the side immediately.
What it looks like in practice
Picture a Group 3 sole proprietor with 300,000 in turnover for the quarter. Here are two scenarios, with setting aside and without:
| Approach | What is in the account on payment day |
|---|---|
| No reserve: spend it all, pay "when the time comes" | Empty. You have to scrape the ~18,000 tax from somewhere |
| With a reserve: set aside ~7% of every payment | A separate account already holds 21,000, you pay and still have some left |
The difference is not in the tax amount, that is identical. The difference is that in the first case paying it drops you into the red, while in the second it is just a technical operation: transfer what you set aside and forget about it. The same approach saves you surprises with a payment calendar, where paying taxes stands as a planned payout rather than an ambush.
"Now taxes are the calmest payment of the month for me. The money for them is already sitting separately before the due date even comes."
How to make it a habit, not a feat
Nobody keeps setting money aside by hand for long, you forget by the second week. So the system has to be almost automatic:
- A separate account for taxes. Not "set aside in your head" but physically in another account your hand does not reach for.
- A percentage of every payment. A payment arrives, you transfer the tax portion right away. While the sum is small, it does not hurt.
- Payment as a planned payout. Tax dates should sit in the calendar next to rent and salaries, not surface out of the blue.
Why bookkeeping and a financier matter here
To set aside the right percentage, you need to see real turnover and upcoming payments, not a vague "there was something." When incoming payments and tax dates are brought together in one place, the system itself shows how much to reserve and when to pay.
In Finmap you can keep a separate account for taxes and put the payments into the payment calendar in advance. Then tax day stops being a surprise, and the money for it is always there ahead of time.
📌 Stop borrowing to pay your own taxes. Try Finmap free for 14 days: connect your accounts, put taxes into the payment calendar, and you will see ahead of time how much to set aside so paying never drops you into the red.
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Frequently asked questions
What percentage should a Group 3 sole proprietor set aside?
The baseline is 5% single tax plus the military levy on turnover. In practice it is convenient to set aside a little more, so you always have enough to pay plus a small cushion for minor inaccuracies in the calculation.
What if turnover is uneven, feast one month and famine the next?
That is exactly why you set aside a percentage of every payment rather than a fixed sum each month. In a rich month you set aside more, in a lean one less, and by the due date you have accumulated exactly what you need.
Why a separate account, can't I just "remember"?
As long as the money sits in the main account, it looks like your free cash, and it gets spent. A separate account physically divides someone else's money from yours, and the temptation to touch it never arises.
I run an LLC (TOV), is it the same approach?
The logic is the same, but the percentage differs: corporate income tax is calculated on profit, plus payroll taxes on the wage fund. The exact figure is best checked with your accountant, but the habit of reserving right away works the same way.
What do I do if I have already hit a gap before payment is due?
This time you will have to cover it from working capital or arrange to move other payments. And to make it the last time, start setting the tax portion aside from your next payment, and the next quarter will pass calmly.
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