How our calculators work

The figures below reflect US federal tax year 2025 (the return most freelancers file in early 2026). State income tax, where a calculator includes it, uses an editable effective rate you provide rather than full state brackets. The 2025 federal figures reflect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, July 2025) where it changed prior law. Tax constants live in one cited module in our codebase so every tool shares the same audited numbers.

Every calculator runs entirely in your browser. We never receive, store, or transmit the income or business figures you type in.

Self-employment tax calculator

What it includes: the 15.3% self-employment (SE) tax - 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare - that replaces the FICA an employer would otherwise split with you, plus the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on higher earners.

Formula:

• Net earnings from self-employment = net profit x 92.35%.
• Social Security portion = 12.4% of net earnings, capped at the 2025 wage base of $176,100.
• Medicare portion = 2.9% of all net earnings (no cap).
• Additional Medicare Tax = 0.9% on wages plus net earnings above $200,000 (single) / $250,000 (married filing jointly).
• Half of the resulting SE tax is an above-the-line income-tax deduction, which the income-tax tools apply.

Example: on $80,000 of net profit, net earnings are $73,880. Social Security is 12.4% = $9,161 and Medicare is 2.9% = $2,143, for an SE tax of about $11,304. Half ($5,652) is deductible against income tax.

Excludes: income tax, state tax, and credits. Open the calculator.

1099 tax calculator

What it includes: your full estimated tax as a 1099 contractor - SE tax (above) plus federal income tax plus an optional state income tax - after deductions, then divided into a quarterly figure.

Formula:

• Net profit = gross 1099 income - business expenses.
• SE tax is computed as in the section above.
• Taxable income = net profit - half of SE tax - the 2025 standard deduction for your filing status - the QBI deduction (up to 20% of qualified business income, phased out for service businesses above the 2025 thresholds) - any self-employed health-insurance and retirement contributions you enter.
• Federal income tax applies the 2025 marginal brackets (10% to 37%) to that taxable income.
• State income tax = your editable effective state rate x taxable income (nine states have no income tax).
• Quarterly estimate = total tax / 4.

Assumptions: the standard deduction (not itemized), one income source, and an effective (not marginal) state rate. Excludes: the AMT, local taxes, and most credits. Open the calculator.

Quarterly estimated tax calculator

What it includes: the four estimated payments the IRS expects when you owe $1,000 or more. It takes your projected annual tax (SE + income + state, as above) and splits it across the four 2025 due dates (mid-April, mid-June, mid-September, and mid-January 2026).

Assumptions: even income across the year (the IRS also allows an annualized method for uneven income, which this tool does not model). Excludes: withholding from any W-2 job, which you can subtract. Open the calculator.

Safe harbor tax calculator

What it includes: the payment that avoids an underpayment penalty. The IRS safe harbor is the smaller of 90% of your current-year tax or 100% of last year's tax - rising to 110% of last year's tax if your prior-year AGI was over $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately).

Formula:

• Target = min(90% of this year, 100% or 110% of last year).
• Required estimates = target - expected withholding.
• Per quarter = required estimates / 4.

Open the calculator.

1099 vs W-2 calculator

What it includes: a true, after-tax comparison of a contract (1099) rate against a salaried (W-2) offer. It models the employer-paid half of FICA, the benefits an employer provides (health insurance, retirement match, paid time off), and the different tax treatment of each.

Why it matters: a 1099 rate has to be meaningfully higher than a W-2 salary to break even, because you cover both halves of FICA and buy your own benefits. The tool shows the contract rate that actually matches a given salary. Open the calculator.

W-2 to 1099 rate calculator

What it includes: the contractor gross you need to charge to come out even after leaving a salaried role. It starts from your W-2 take-home and grosses it back up to cover the extra self-employment tax and the benefits you now self-fund, then converts to an hourly rate over your billable hours.

Open the calculator.

Freelance rate calculator

What it includes: the hourly rate that covers your real costs, not just your desired take-home. It works backward from your target income, then adds taxes, business expenses, and unpaid time (holidays, admin, sick days, gaps) so the rate reflects only billable hours.

Formula (overview):

• Required gross = target take-home + estimated taxes + business expenses.
• Billable hours = working weeks x billable hours per week (after removing unpaid time and a realistic utilization rate).
• Hourly rate = required gross / billable hours.

Open the calculator.

Sources & tax year

All figures reflect US federal tax year 2025. The constants are taken from primary sources:

• Self-employment tax, FICA rates, and Schedule SE - IRS Topic No. 751.
• 2025 Social Security wage base ($176,100) - SSA Contribution and Benefit Base.
• Additional Medicare Tax thresholds - IRS Topic No. 560.
• 2025 standard deduction, marginal brackets, and QBI thresholds - IRS (Rev. Proc. 2024-40) and the 2025 inflation adjustments, reflecting OBBBA where applicable.
• Estimated taxes and the safe-harbor rule - IRS Estimated Taxes.

These tools were last reviewed for the 2025 tax year on June 16, 2026. They are educational estimates and do not replace advice from a qualified CPA, EA, or tax attorney. See our editorial approach and full disclaimer.