HOA Budget Template for a Small, Self-Managed Association (Free Spreadsheet)

A budget is one year of your HOA's money on one page. What comes in, what goes out, and what you set aside for big repairs. The gap is what dues need to cover.

• Income: money besides dues, like interest and approved special assessments.
• Operating expenses: insurance, landscaping, utilities, repairs and other yearly bills.
• Reserve contribution: savings for big future repairs, like a roof.

Dues fill the gap. Split them across units the way your declaration says.

Below: how to estimate each line, two worked examples, and a free spreadsheet that does the math.

Why do so many HOAs build their budget by hand?

Most HOAs are small and run by volunteers. The Foundation for Community Association Research estimates the U.S. has (CAI Foundation, Statistical Review, Fact Book 2025):

• About 373,000 community associations
• 78.1 million residents living in them
• 35.2% of U.S. housing

Many of those boards have no manager and no accountant. The budget lands on whoever said yes to treasurer.

Start three to six months early. The management company Associa says many communities benefit from "beginning HOA budget preparation three to six months before their new fiscal year" (Associa, Early Budget Planning for HOAs). For a January fiscal year, that means starting between July and October.

What line items go in a small HOA budget?

Income (besides regular dues):

• Special assessments the board has already approved. Don't budget one you're only hoping for.
• Interest on the operating and reserve accounts.
• Late fees. Budget these low or at zero. They aren't reliable, and the budget shouldn't depend on neighbors paying late.
• Other income, such as clubhouse rental or laundry, if you have it.

Operating expenses, grouped by category:

• Insurance (the master policy)
• Landscaping and snow removal
• Water and sewer
• Common-area electricity and other utilities
• Repairs and maintenance
• Management or bookkeeping, if you pay for it
• Legal and professional (the tax preparer, an attorney letter)
• Bank fees and software
• Supplies

Reserve contribution, as its own line, in its own section. More on that below.

Regular dues come last, not first. They're whatever is left to fund once everything above is filled in.

How do you estimate each line from last year's bank activity?

Start with what you actually spent, not what last year's budget guessed.

1. Pull twelve months of bank statements.
2. Total each category.
3. Put each total next to last year's budgeted number. The template has a column for each.

Then adjust line by line:

• Contracts (landscaping, trash): the contract price times twelve. If a contract renews mid-year, ask the vendor now.
• Insurance: ask your agent for a renewal estimate early, months before you finalize if you can. It's often the biggest line and the hardest to guess. Shopping a condo master policy can take far longer than you expect.
• Utilities: last year's bills plus the utility's announced rate change, or an allowance for inflation.
• Repairs: average the last two or three years. One bad year (or one lucky one) makes a poor guide.

Use a real number for inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 3.4% over the 12 months ending August 2026, with electricity up 3.8% (BLS, Consumer Price Index news release). Your own utility's rate notice beats either figure when you have it.

Our board's experience isn't unusual. The Foundation for Community Association Research's Insurance Coverage Trends Snap Survey, reported by CAI in 2025, found (CAI, insurance policy brief, 2025):

• 91% of community associations had seen higher insurance premiums.
• 17% saw increases of more than 100%.
• 20% lost access to one or more insurance carriers.

The same report notes the trends vary by region and property type. Your state's market may be calmer or rougher than the national picture.

How do reserves fit into the budget?

Reserves are money set aside for big, predictable replacements: a roof, paving, siding, a boiler.

• Put the reserve contribution on its own line so owners can see it.
• Move it into a separate reserve account during the year.

The best basis for that number is a reserve study: a professional estimate of each major component's remaining life and replacement cost, with a funding plan. No study yet? The line still belongs in the budget. Say how you arrived at the number.

Reserve rules vary by state. Whether an association must have a reserve study, how often, or how much it must contribute depends on the state and your governing documents. Some states set rules; many don't. Check your state's page and your declaration before you treat any reserve amount as required.

What does a small HOA budget look like? Two worked examples

These are illustrative examples, not real associations and not recommendations. Your insurance, utilities and buildings will differ.

Example 1: a 10-unit condo association

Split equally: $29,880 ÷ 10 units ÷ 12 months = $249 per unit per month. This example is pre-filled in the spreadsheet.

Example 2: a 40-unit townhome association

Split equally: $127,200 ÷ 40 ÷ 12 = $265 per unit per month.

Percentage-interest declaration? If your declaration assigns each unit a percentage interest, use the template's Dues by Unit sheet instead of the equal split. Each unit's dues are its percentage times the annual total.

How should the board present the budget to owners?

Owners mostly want to know three things:

• What their dues will be
• Why they changed
• Whether the reserves are being funded

A good budget packet answers those on one page:

• The proposed budget beside last year's budget and last year's actual.
• One sentence for any line that moved more than a few percent ("insurance renewal quote is up 9%").
• The reserve contribution, and what it's based on.
• Each owner's new monthly dues.

Notice and voting rules vary. How far in advance owners must receive the budget, and whether they vote on it, depends on your state's law and your governing documents. Look up your state and read the budget section of your bylaws before you set the meeting date. Each answer quotes the statute: Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona.

Where GnomeOwner fits

If your board uses GnomeOwner, the budget lives on the Finances page's Budget tab:

• Start from last year's adopted budget, or from a starter set of common lines (landscaping, insurance, utilities, reserve contribution and more) using your association's categories.
• Adjust each line, with the change from last year's budget shown beside it.
• Preview a per-unit, per-month estimate before you adopt.
• Record the vote: the date and the vote are saved to Meetings & Compliance.

During the year:

• The Budget tab compares what you've spent with a steady pace for the date and names any category running hot.
• Spending outside any budget line is called out instead of hidden.
• The Financial Report includes budget versus actual, and you can download it as a CSV.

The rest of the treasurer's tools are on the HOA accounting software page.

You don't need software to do any of this. The spreadsheet above covers the whole process:

• Fill it in from last year's bank statements.
• Get the insurance quote early.
• Give owners the one-page version.