Self-Employment Tax Calculator
The tax employees never see: Social Security and Medicare on net self-employment earnings — both the worker's half and the employer's half — plus the deductible half that softens the blow at income-tax time.
Self-employment tax
Example: $100,000 net earnings, 2026 → $14,129.55 SE tax; $7,064.78 deductible.
The computation, step by step
On $100,000 of net self-employment earnings in 2026: the tax applies to 92.35% of it — $92,350. Social Security takes 12.4% of that ($11,451.40, up to the annual wage base) and Medicare 2.9% ($2,678.15), for a total of $14,129.55. Half — $7,064.78 — comes back as a deduction against your income tax, mirroring the employer half an employee's W-2 never shows. Every figure is computed by the same tested engine as the calculator above.
Budgeting as your own employer
The practical rule for new freelancers: the ~15.3% here is on top of ordinary income tax, so setting aside 25–35% of profit for combined federal obligations is a common starting point, refined once your bracket is clear (run your taxable income through the Federal Income Tax Calculator). The IRS expects quarterly estimated payments — underpaying accrues penalties even if you settle in April (safe harbors apply, such as owing under $1,000 or paying at least your prior-year liability).
Frequently asked questions
Why do the self-employed pay 15.3% instead of 7.65%?
Employees split FICA with their employer: each pays 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare. When you are both the worker and the business, you pay both halves — 12.4% + 2.9% = 15.3%. The consolation is that the employer-equivalent half is deductible against your income tax.
What are "net self-employment earnings"?
Your self-employment revenue minus business expenses — the Schedule C profit, not gross receipts. The tax then applies to 92.35% of that figure, a statutory adjustment standing in for the employer half an employee would never see as wages.
Does this replace income tax?
No — it is in ADDITION to federal income tax. Self-employment tax funds Social Security and Medicare; income tax is computed separately on your taxable income (after deducting half the SE tax). Budgeting both, plus quarterly estimated payments, is the core discipline of self-employment finances.
Is there a cap?
The Social Security portion stops at the annual wage base (the calculator applies the cap for the year you select); the 2.9% Medicare portion has no cap. An additional 0.9% surtax also applies above a threshold that depends on filing status — $200,000 for single filers and heads of household, $250,000 married filing jointly — and this calculator estimates it at the $200,000 single-filer threshold. High-earning freelancers keep paying Medicare all the way up.
Not tax advice: a planning estimate. It excludes income tax itself, state taxes, the $400 minimum below which SE tax does not apply, coordination of the wage base with any W-2 wages you also earn, filing-status differences in the 0.9% surtax threshold, the optional methods for low-income years, and entity-structure effects (an S-corp changes this math). Consult a tax professional for your situation. Values are processed locally in your browser and never transmitted. See the methodology page.