Profit and loss statement template: what did I make?
A free P&L template that adds itself up. Print it, save a PDF or download a CSV. Nothing leaves your browser.
Your statement, added up
Your net profit or loss will show here
Type your totals into the statement, or fill in an example.
Before income tax. Owner draws not deducted. Cash basis.
Line categories and cash basis checked October 7, 2026 against IRS Schedule C (Form 1040) 2025 and Publication 538.
Owner money, loans and transfers are listed under the statement, not in the result.
Example numbers. Replace them with yours.
We add up what you type and don't check the figures. Whoever sends this statement is the one standing behind them.
Clear every entry? Nothing is saved, so this can't be undone.
Nothing you type leaves your browser, and nothing is saved. Print, save a PDF or download the CSV before you close the page.
Sending this to a lender or building a tax return on it? A bookkeeper or CPA can review the numbers first. Our directory lists bookkeepers, CPA firms and tax preparers.
Profit and loss statement
Revenue
Direct costs (skip if none)
Operating expenses
Not part of profit or loss
Money in
Money out
Cash basis: income when received, expenses when paid. Before income tax. Owner draws are not expenses.
How the profit and loss statement template works
Someone has asked you for a profit and loss statement, often with a deadline attached. Maybe it's a loan officer, a landlord or your tax preparer. You have bank statements and a fair idea of the totals, and that's enough. The statement is already laid out for you, and it adds itself up as you type.
Start with revenue: what customers paid you during the period. Refunds and returns come off next, and what's left is net revenue. If some of your costs rise with each sale or job, answer Yes and list them as direct costs. Net revenue minus those costs is gross profit. Then come the costs of running the business, in the categories a tax preparer will recognize. What remains is your net profit, or a net loss shown in parentheses.
A line you leave empty says "Not entered". It stays off the printout, and the foot of the statement counts how many lines were left blank. Type 0 and the line prints $0.00. Whoever reads it can tell "none" from "didn't get to it".
Some money isn't profit or loss at all. Money you put in, a loan you took out, draws you took for yourself, principal you paid back and transfers between your own accounts each have their own row. They print under the statement and never touch the result.
If you have your bank totals for the period, type them in too. We set them against what the statement accounts for, and any difference shows beside the result as "not accounted for". That difference isn't added to anything. It just tells you, and whoever reads the statement, that some money still needs explaining.
Everything is added from income received and costs paid in the period. We don't work out inventory or depreciation, and equipment purchases count in full. Income tax stays out.
Who this is for
You run a small business or work for yourself, and someone wants a profit and loss statement from you: a lender for a mortgage or loan, a landlord for a lease, a benefits office, or your tax preparer at year end. Your money lives in a bank account, not in accounting software, and you'd like a clean statement you can print tonight. A 1099 contractor or a rideshare driver can use it the same way. So can a bookkeeper turning a client's totals into something a lender can read.
Small business questions about profit and loss statements
What goes on a profit and loss statement?
Revenue at the top, costs in the middle, the result at the bottom. A typical statement lists sales, refunds and returns, net revenue, the direct costs of what you sold, gross profit, operating expenses by category, and net profit or loss. Ours adds a column showing each line as a share of net revenue, so whoever reads it sees right away how much each cost takes.
Is a profit and loss statement the same as an income statement?
Yes. Profit and loss statement, P&L and income statement are three names for the same report: income and expenses over a period, ending in a profit or a loss. A balance sheet is different. It lists what the business owns and owes on a single date, and we don't build one here.
How do I make a profit and loss statement if I'm self-employed?
Pick the period you were asked for. Then pull totals from your bank and card statements: what customers paid you, refunds you gave back, and what you spent in each category. Type them into the statement, and put your own money, loans and transfers in their own section. Print it or save it as a PDF, and download the CSV if you'd like a spreadsheet copy.
Where does an owner's draw go on a profit and loss statement?
Not among the expenses. A draw is money you took out for yourself, so it doesn't lower profit. The IRS tells sole proprietors not to count "amounts paid to yourself" as wages on Schedule C. List your draws under Owner money, loans and transfers. They print under the statement, so the reader still sees them.
Do loan payments go on a profit and loss statement?
Only the interest. The IRS says plainly that borrowed money isn't income. Paying it back isn't an expense either. Your lender's statement splits each payment. Put the interest under Interest on business loans and cards, and the rest under Loan principal repaid, where it prints below the result instead of in it.
What is cost of goods sold on a profit and loss statement?
It's what you paid for the things you sold: goods bought for resale, materials, and the labor that went straight into jobs. On our statement that's the direct-costs section, filled with what you paid during the period. A business that keeps stock usually works out tax cost of goods sold from opening and closing inventory. Eligible small businesses can use other permitted methods. We don't work out either method here.
What's the difference between gross profit and net profit?
Gross profit is net revenue minus direct costs. Net profit is what's left after operating expenses as well. In our example, gross profit is $65,130.00 and net profit is $41,070.00, because $24,060.00 of rent, insurance, vehicle and other running costs comes off between the two. Answer No to the direct-costs question and our statement leaves the gross profit line out.
Does a profit and loss statement need to be signed?
There's no single rule. It depends on who asked for it, so ask them what they need, and whether they'll take one you prepared yourself. Ours prints your name, if you add it, and the date at the foot. It leaves no signature line, because the figures are your own statement, not a form we certify.
Can I use a profit and loss statement for a mortgage application?
Your lender decides, so ask before you start: which period it wants, year to date or a full year, and whether someone in particular has to prepare or sign it. Ours is a cash-basis statement built from your own totals, and the printout says so. We can't promise that any lender will accept it.
Is there an IRS profit and loss form?
The closest is Schedule C (Form 1040), "Profit or Loss From Business", which sole proprietors file with their return. It's a tax form with its own rules. Meals usually count at 50%, and equipment is often depreciated over several years. Our statement shows what you actually paid, so its net profit can differ from the one on your Schedule C.
Profit and loss statement example, line by line
Here's the example statement in full: nine months of a small business that buys materials and hires subcontractors for its jobs.
| Line | Amount | % of net revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ||
| Services | $84,300.00 | 94.3% |
| Product sales | $6,200.00 | 6.9% |
| Less refunds and returns | ($1,150.00) | (1.3%) |
| Net revenue | $89,350.00 | 100.0% |
| Direct costs | ||
| Materials for jobs | $14,820.00 | 16.6% |
| Subcontractors on jobs | $9,400.00 | 10.5% |
| Total direct costs | $24,220.00 | 27.1% |
| Gross profit | $65,130.00 | 72.9% |
| Operating expenses | ||
| Advertising and marketing | $1,980.00 | 2.2% |
| Car and truck costs | $5,615.40 | 6.3% |
| Business insurance (not health) | $2,430.00 | 2.7% |
| Legal and professional fees | $900.00 | 1.0% |
| Rent or lease | $10,800.00 | 12.1% |
| Phone and internet | $1,260.00 | 1.4% |
| Software and subscriptions | $1,074.60 | 1.2% |
| Total operating expenses | $24,060.00 | 26.9% |
| Net profit | $41,070.00 | 46.0% |
Not part of profit or loss: $13,000.00 in (your own money and a transfer), $46,700.00 out (draws, loan principal and a transfer).
Checked against bank totals: money in $6,400.00 not accounted for (5.8%); money out agrees.
Worth a closer look:
- Refunds come off revenue on their own line, in parentheses: $1,150.00, or 1.3% of net revenue.
- Fourteen lines were left blank. They don't print as $0.00. The statement just says how many there were.
- The deposits come to $6,400.00 more than the statement explains. That figure sits beside the result and leaves the $41,070.00 net profit alone.
Sources and last checked
- Schedule C (Form 1040) 2025, Profit or Loss From Business, and its instructions, IRS: the expense categories, returns and allowances, sales tax, meals, payroll taxes and owner pay. Last checked October 7, 2026.
- Publication 538, Accounting Periods and Methods, IRS: the cash method. Last checked October 7, 2026.
- Publication 334 (2025), Tax Guide for Small Business, IRS: borrowed money and buyer-imposed sales tax collected and paid over are not income. Last checked October 7, 2026.
- Data version pl-line-catalogue 2026-10-07.
More free tools
- All our free tools
- Self-employment tax calculator: what your profit owes in Social Security and Medicare
- Mileage reimbursement calculator: business miles at the IRS rate
Coming back next quarter? Bookmark this page. Nothing you type is kept, so save the PDF or CSV for your records.