Self-Employment Tax Calculator
SE tax, income tax, QBI, and your quarterly estimated payment — done right for 2026.
Total tax owed on your business profit
$26,763
- Self-employment tax
- $14,130
- Set aside / quarter
- $5,591
- You keep
- $73,237
SS + Medicare, both halves
federal estimated payment
after all taxes
On $100,000 of net profit, set aside about 26.8% of every dollar you invoice — roughly $5,591 to the IRS each quarter — and you'll keep about $73,237 after all taxes.
Try a what-if
Full breakdown
| Net profit (revenue − expenses) | $100,000 |
| Net SE earnings (× 92.35%) | $92,350 |
| Social Security (12.4%) | $11,451 |
| Medicare (2.9%) | $2,678 |
| Self-employment tax | $14,130 |
| Less: ½ SE-tax deduction | − $7,065 |
| Less: QBI deduction (20% §199A) | − $15,367 |
| Taxable income | $61,468 |
| Federal income tax | $8,235 |
| State income tax (California) | $4,398 |
| Total tax | $26,763 |
| Take-home (after all tax) | $73,237 |
Your business
$120,000
$20,000
W-2 wages, retirement & QBI$0 W-2 · $0 SEP · not SSTB
$0
$0
Educational estimate, not tax advice. Assumes a sole proprietor / single-member LLC on Schedule C with the standard deduction. It does not model an S-corp salary split, itemized deductions, the self-employed health-insurance deduction, credits, AMT, NIIT, or state self-employment-equivalent taxes. Your actual return can differ — use this to plan quarterly set-asides and confirm with a CPA.
Next steps
The Self-Employment Tax Calculator gives 1099 contractors, freelancers, and small-business owners the number a W-2 job hides: what you actually owe once you're paying both halves of Social Security and Medicare yourself. It's built on the real 2026 rules — including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changes that widened the QBI phase-out range and the $184,500 Social Security wage base — not a flat 15.3% shortcut. It applies the 92.35% adjustment (you only pay SE tax on 92.35% of net profit), respects the $184,500 Social Security wage base and shares it with any W-2 wages you have, takes the deductible employer-half against your income tax, runs your income through the 2026 federal brackets and your state's tax, and — crucially — models the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction including the high-income phase-out that most calculators ignore, which can quietly take a sole proprietor's deduction to zero. The result is your total tax, your effective rate on profit, the exact percentage to set aside from every invoice, and your quarterly estimated payment.
How this calculator works
- Enter your business revenue and your deductible business expenses — the difference is your Schedule C net profit, the base for everything else.
- Choose your filing status and state so the calculator applies the right brackets, standard deduction, and state income tax.
- Add your own W-2 wages from a day job — they share your Social Security wage base, so less of your SE income is hit by the 12.4%. If you file jointly, add your spouse's W-2 wages separately: they stack your income-tax brackets and count toward the joint $250,000 Additional Medicare threshold, but never use up your Social Security base.
- Optionally add a SEP-IRA or solo-401(k) contribution, which lowers both your taxable income and your QBI base, and flag whether yours is a specified service business.
- Read your results: self-employment tax broken into Social Security and Medicare, your QBI deduction, federal and state income tax, total tax, the set-aside percentage, and your quarterly estimated payment.
net_SE = profit × 0.9235
SE_tax = 12.4% × min(net_SE, base − W2_SS) + 2.9% × net_SE (+0.9% over threshold)
taxable = profit − ½·SE_tax − retirement − std_deduction − QBI
total = SE_tax + fed(taxable) + state(taxable)Self-employment tax is figured on 92.35% of net profit: 12.4% for Social Security up to the wage base (shared with your own W-2 Social Security wages — a spouse has a separate base) and 2.9% for Medicare with no cap, plus 0.9% on high combined earnings. Half of the SE tax is then deducted, along with retirement contributions, the standard deduction, and the QBI deduction, to reach taxable income — which is run through the federal and state brackets. SE tax and income tax are linked through that half-deduction, which is why estimating them separately gets the wrong answer.
- profit
- Schedule C net profit (revenue − deductible expenses)
- net_SE
- Net self-employment earnings = profit × 0.9235
- base
- 2026 Social Security wage base ($184,500)
- W2_SS
- YOUR W-2 Social Security wages already paid (shares the base; a spouse's wages don't)
- QBI
- Section 199A deduction (up to 20%, phased out at high income)
Frequently asked questions
How much is self-employment tax in 2026?
Self-employment (SECA) tax is 15.3% — 12.4% for Social Security plus 2.9% for Medicare — but it's levied on 92.35% of your net profit, not the full amount, so the effective rate on profit is about 14.13%. The 12.4% Social Security portion only applies up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 (shared with your own W-2 wages — not a spouse's); the 2.9% Medicare portion has no cap, and an extra 0.9% applies to combined earnings over $200,000 single / $250,000 married filing jointly. This calculator computes each piece on your numbers.
Why do I pay both halves of FICA when I'm self-employed?
As an employee, you pay 7.65% FICA and your employer quietly pays a matching 7.65% — you never see it. When you're self-employed, you ARE the employer, so you pay both halves, which is the 15.3% self-employment tax. The system softens it two ways: SE tax is calculated on only 92.35% of your profit, and you deduct half of the SE tax (the employer-equivalent portion) from your income before figuring income tax. This calculator applies both adjustments automatically.
What is the QBI deduction and do I qualify?
The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction under Section 199A lets many self-employed people deduct up to 20% of their business profit before income tax. Below the 2026 taxable-income threshold (about $201,775 single / $403,550 joint) almost every business qualifies for the full 20%. Above it, two limits kick in: a wage/property limit that, for a sole proprietor with no employee payroll, phases the deduction down toward zero, and a complete phase-out for 'specified service' businesses (consulting, law, health, finance, accounting, etc.). This calculator models the phase-out, so high earners see the real, reduced deduction instead of an overstated flat 20%.
How much should I set aside for taxes as a freelancer?
A common rule of thumb is 25–30% of net profit, but the honest answer depends on your income, state, and filing status. This calculator gives you the exact set-aside rate for your situation — total tax (self-employment + federal income + state) divided by profit — so you can move that percentage of every payment into a separate account the day it lands. It also shows your quarterly estimated payment, which you generally must send to the IRS four times a year to avoid an underpayment penalty.
When are quarterly estimated taxes due?
Federal estimated taxes (Form 1040-ES) are generally due four times a year: April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. You typically must pay estimated tax if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year. Paying at least 90% of the current year's tax — or 100% of last year's (110% if your prior-year AGI was over $150,000) — protects you from the underpayment penalty. This tool's quarterly figure is a planning estimate; your safe-harbor amount may differ.
Would an S-corp lower my self-employment tax?
Possibly, at higher profit levels. An S-corp lets you split your income into a 'reasonable salary' (subject to payroll/FICA tax) and remaining profit distributions (not subject to self-employment tax), which can reduce the 15.3% bill. But it adds payroll, a separate return, and IRS scrutiny of whether your salary is truly reasonable, and it changes how the QBI deduction works. This calculator models the simpler sole-proprietor / single-member-LLC case on Schedule C; whether an S-corp election saves you money net of its costs is a question for a CPA.
Sources used in this calculator
- IRS — Tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)Federal brackets and standard deduction(opens in a new tab)
- Social Security Administration — Contribution and benefit base2026 Social Security wage base for FICA / SE tax(opens in a new tab)
- Tax Foundation — State individual income tax rates, 2026State income tax brackets (California: FTB 2025 schedule, standard deduction and exemption credit — the latest published)(opens in a new tab)
Reviewed by the Money Scale editorial team. How we source our data
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