US Self-Employed Tax Calculator
1099 contractors and freelancers: estimate self-employment tax, federal income tax, and quarterly payments using 2026 federal rates.
Business income
Revenue minus deductible business expenses
For reference — shows gross revenue
Filing status
Built for 1099 contractors and freelancers
W-2 calculators miss the self-employment tax. This one starts there — because SE tax is often larger than your income tax at lower incomes.
SE tax at 15.3%
As a 1099 contractor, you pay both the employee and employer halves of Social Security (12.4%) and Medicare (2.9%) — totalling 15.3% on 92.35% of net income. This calculator handles the 92.35% adjustment correctly.
Quarterly payment schedule
Shows exactly how much to pay EFTPS each quarter (Q1 April 15, Q2 June 16, Q3 Sept 15, Q4 Jan 15) using the 90% safe harbor rule — the minimum to avoid underpayment penalties.
SE deduction applied
You can deduct half your SE tax before calculating federal income tax. This calculator correctly reduces your taxable income by 50% of SE tax before applying the federal brackets.
Married filing jointly
If your spouse has W-2 income, it affects your federal tax bracket. Enter their income to see the combined federal income tax liability on your combined income.
Federal brackets 2026
Uses IRS 2026 federal tax brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) with a $16,100 standard deduction (single) and $32,200 (MFJ). Additional Medicare thresholds are also included.
State tax reminder
This calculator covers federal taxes only. Most states also have income tax on self-employment income — add your state's effective rate to the quarterly payment for a complete picture.
Who needs this calculator
Freelancers
Developers, designers, writers, and marketers who receive 1099-NEC forms instead of W-2s.
Gig workers
Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, and similar platform workers who earn contractor income.
Locum professionals
Locum doctors, travel nurses, and other healthcare workers on short-term contracts.
Side business income
W-2 employees with significant side income — self-employment tax applies to that income too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do freelancers pay 15.3% SE tax on top of income tax?
W-2 employees split Social Security and Medicare taxes 50/50 with their employer — you see 7.65% on your paystub, and your employer quietly pays another 7.65%. As a 1099 contractor, you are both the employee and the employer, so you pay both halves — 15.3% total. To be slightly fair, the IRS lets you deduct half (7.65%) when calculating your federal income tax.
What is the 92.35% factor?
The SE tax calculation applies 15.3% to 92.35% of your net income (not 100%). This is because you first deduct the "employer half" of SE tax from the base before calculating SE tax — which creates a circular formula. The IRS solved it with the 92.35% approximation factor, which is built into this calculator.
What happens if I don't pay quarterly estimated taxes?
An underpayment penalty may apply when required tax is not paid during the year. The calculator shows 90% of its simplified current-year estimate, but that is not a personal safe-harbor determination. Actual required payments depend on prior-year tax, current-year tax, withholding, credits, income timing and higher-income rules; use Form 1040-ES, Publication 505, or a tax professional.
Can I reduce SE tax with a solo 401(k) or SEP IRA?
These retirement accounts reduce your federal income tax (they reduce AGI), but NOT your self-employment tax — SE tax is calculated before retirement deductions are applied. The only way to reduce SE tax is to reduce net self-employment income (more business deductions) or to pay yourself a "reasonable salary" through an S-Corp, which converts some SE income to W-2 wages subject to only the employer FICA match.
What business expenses can I deduct?
Deductibility depends on whether an expense is ordinary, necessary, documented, and subject to any category-specific limits. Potential categories include equipment, software, qualifying home-office costs, business-use phone and internet, professional services, travel and vehicle costs. Use current IRS guidance or a tax professional for your facts.
Understanding Self-Employment Tax
When you work for yourself in the US — as a freelancer, gig worker, consultant, or sole proprietor — you owe more than just income tax. You also owe self-employment (SE) tax, which covers Social Security and Medicare. Because there is no employer withholding your taxes, you are responsible for calculating and paying them yourself, usually four times a year. Misunderstanding this is the most common and expensive mistake new freelancers make.
Why you pay 15.3%
W-2 employees split Social Security and Medicare taxes with their employer — they see 7.65% withheld and the employer quietly pays the other 7.65%. As a self-employed person you are both employer and employee, so you pay the full 15.3% (12.4% Social Security up to the wage base, plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap). The partial consolation: you deduct half of your SE tax when calculating federal income tax, and the SE tax base is 92.35% of net earnings rather than 100%.
SE tax is often bigger than income tax
At lower and middle incomes, SE tax frequently exceeds federal income tax. A freelancer netting $60,000 owes roughly $8,478 in SE tax — often more than their federal income tax after the standard deduction. This is the figure W-2-focused calculators completely miss, and it is why a $60,000 1099 contract is not equivalent to a $60,000 salaried job. Freelancers should mentally set aside 25–30% of every payment for taxes from day one.
Quarterly estimated payments
The US tax system is pay-as-you-go. If you expect to owe more than $1,000 at year-end, the IRS requires quarterly estimated payments (due roughly April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15). Miss them and you face an underpayment penalty even if you pay in full by April. The safest approach is the 90% safe harbor — pay at least 90% of the current year's estimated tax across the four deadlines — or the prior-year safe harbor (100%, or 110% if last year's AGI exceeded $150,000).
Deductions that actually reduce the bill
Net income — not gross revenue — is what is taxed, so legitimate business expenses can reduce the result. Common categories may include a qualifying home office, equipment and software, the business share of phone and internet, health insurance, retirement contributions, professional development, and eligible mileage. In 2026, the IRS business mileage rate is 72.5 cents through June and 76 cents from July. Retirement contributions such as a SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) may reduce income tax but generally do not reduce SE tax.
When an S-Corp starts to make sense
Once net self-employment income is consistently high (often cited around $80,000+), electing S-Corporation status can reduce SE tax. You pay yourself a “reasonable salary” subject to payroll tax, and take the remainder as distributions that escape the 15.3% SE tax. The savings must outweigh the added cost and complexity of running payroll and filing a corporate return, so it is a decision to make with a tax professional — but it is the main lever high-earning freelancers use to cut their tax bill.