Self-Employment Tax Calculator

How the Self-Employment Tax Calculator: Estimate Your 2026 SE Tax Works

Self-employed workers and 1099 contractors don't have an employer withholding taxes, and they owe both halves of Social Security and Medicare tax on their own, called self-employment tax. This calculator estimates your 2026 self-employment tax and combined federal income tax on your net profit, so you can plan quarterly payments and avoid a surprise bill.

Enter your net self-employment profit (revenue minus business expenses), any other W-2 wages this year, your filing status and a state tax rate.

What self-employment tax is

Self-employment tax is how self-employed people pay into Social Security and Medicare, since there's no employer to withhold and match FICA tax. The rate is 15.3% of net earnings, split as 12.4% for Social Security (up to the annual wage base of $184,500 for 2026, reduced by any W-2 wages you also earned) and 2.9% for Medicare on all self-employment income, with no cap. An additional 0.9% Medicare surtax applies above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly) of combined wages and self-employment income.

The tax applies to 92.35% of your net profit, not the full amount, which accounts for the fact that an employee's matching FICA isn't itself subject to FICA. This is calculated on Schedule SE and reported with your Form 1040.

The deduction that softens it

You can deduct half of your self-employment tax when calculating your adjusted gross income, which lowers your income tax (though not your self-employment tax itself). This mirrors how an employer's half of FICA isn't taxable income to an employee. It's an above-the-line deduction, meaning you get it whether or not you itemize.

Combined with the qualified business income deduction, which can reduce taxable income by up to 20% of qualified business profit for many pass-through businesses subject to income limits, self-employed workers often have a lower effective tax rate on business income than the self-employment tax rate alone would suggest.

Quarterly estimated payments

Because no one withholds tax for you, the IRS generally requires quarterly estimated payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year, due around April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15. Missing a quarter or underpaying can trigger an underpayment penalty, calculated at a rate tied to short-term interest rates.

A common practice is to set aside 25% to 30% of every payment received in a separate account specifically for taxes, and to calculate actual quarterly amounts using this calculator or IRS Form 1040-ES worksheets, adjusting as your income becomes clearer through the year.

Business structure and self-employment tax

Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs taxed as disregarded entities pay self-employment tax on all net business profit. Partners in a partnership generally pay it on their share of partnership income too. However, owners of an S corporation who take a reasonable salary as a W-2 employee, with additional profit distributed separately, pay FICA tax only on the W-2 salary portion, not on the distributions, which is why some self-employed people elect S corporation status once their business is profitable enough to justify the added complexity and cost.

This is a significant structural decision with real tradeoffs around reasonable compensation rules and administrative burden, so consult a tax professional before restructuring your business for this reason alone.

Deductions that lower net profit

Self-employment tax and income tax are both calculated on net profit, so business expense deductions, including a home office deduction, vehicle mileage, equipment, software, contractor payments and health insurance premiums for the self-employed, reduce both taxes at once. Keeping good records of deductible expenses throughout the year, rather than reconstructing them at tax time, is one of the most effective ways to lower your actual tax bill.

This calculator assumes the net profit you enter already reflects your business deductions; if you're estimating from gross revenue, subtract your expected expenses first for an accurate result.

State self-employment considerations

Beyond federal self-employment tax and income tax, some states and cities impose their own business taxes on self-employed income, such as gross receipts taxes, business license fees, or franchise taxes on LLCs, separate from personal income tax. These vary widely and aren't included in this calculator's state tax field, which only estimates personal income tax. Check your state and local requirements for registering as a business and any additional filings beyond your personal tax return.

Retirement savings options for the self-employed

Self-employed workers can save more for retirement than the standard 401(k) employee limit through a Solo 401(k) or a SEP IRA, both of which allow contributions as both the employee and the employer of your own business, often permitting total contributions well above what a typical employee can defer. These contributions also reduce your taxable income for income tax purposes, though they do not reduce self-employment tax itself, since SE tax is calculated on net profit before retirement plan deductions.

Comparing a Solo 401(k) versus a SEP IRA, and factoring in the tax savings from contributing, is worth doing with a tax professional once your business is profitable enough to make meaningful contributions, since the right structure can materially lower your effective tax rate over time.

Worked example

A freelancer with $60,000 of net profit and no other W-2 income owes self-employment tax on $55,410 (92.35% of $60,000): Social Security tax of $6,871 (12.4% of $55,410, under the wage base) and Medicare tax of $1,607 (2.9%), for total self-employment tax of $8,478. Half of that, $4,239, is deductible.

Taxable income for federal income tax is $60,000 minus $4,239 minus the $16,100 standard deduction, or about $39,661, putting most of it in the 12% bracket with some at 10%, for roughly $4,300 of federal income tax. Total federal tax (SE tax plus income tax) is around $12,780, before any state tax or the qualified business income deduction, which could lower the income tax portion further.

Comparing to a W-2 job

Because self-employed workers pay both halves of FICA, a 1099 contractor generally needs to earn more than an equivalent W-2 salary to end up with the same take-home pay, once you also account for the lack of employer-provided benefits. See the W-2 vs 1099 take-home pay guide on this site for a detailed comparison and a formula for estimating a break-even contractor rate.

Self-Employment Tax results at a glance

These are the calculator's results at different values of net self-employment profit, with every other input left at the example values above (the bold row is the example). Use them to see how quickly the result changes before entering your own numbers.

How filing status changes the result

The same example with each filing status option:

The same example at different state tax rates

State income tax is the input that varies most between readers. Nine states charge 0% on wages, flat-tax states charge one rate, and progressive states charge more at higher incomes. Here is the example at five effective state rates; for your exact state rules, use the state paycheck calculators.

Self-employment tax at different profit levels

Self-employment tax for 2026 at common net profit levels, before income tax. The rate is effectively 14.13% of net profit because the 15.3% rate applies to 92.35% of earnings.

Above $184,500 of combined wages and self-employment earnings, the 12.4% Social Security part stops, so the rate on additional profit falls to the 2.9% Medicare part plus 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax at higher incomes.

The $400 threshold and other filing rules

You owe self-employment tax once net earnings from self-employment reach $400 in a year, even if you owe no income tax. Church employees with $108.28 or more of church wages have a separate rule. Net earnings are calculated on Schedule C (or Schedule F for farmers) and the tax on Schedule SE. If you have more than one business, combine their profits and losses before applying the threshold. Paying self-employment tax also earns Social Security credits, so reporting all of it protects your future benefits.

Keeping self-employment tax under control

• Track every business expense. Each dollar of legitimate expense removes about 14 cents of self-employment tax plus income tax.
• Claim the home office and vehicle deductions if you qualify, using the simplified methods if records are thin.
• Remember that retirement contributions do not reduce SE tax. A SEP-IRA or solo 401(k) lowers income tax, but self-employment tax is figured before those contributions.
• Consider an S corporation only at higher profits. Paying yourself a reasonable salary and taking the rest as distributions can reduce payroll taxes, but it adds payroll, accounting and state costs that usually only pay off at sustained profits well above $50,000.

Paying the tax: estimated payment dates

Self-employment tax is paid together with income tax through quarterly estimated payments using Form 1040-ES or IRS Direct Pay. For income earned in 2026, the due dates are April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027; when a date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day. Paying at least 100% of last year's total tax (110% if last year's adjusted gross income was over $150,000) in equal installments generally avoids an underpayment penalty, even if you owe more when you file.