Self-Employment Tax Calculator

What self-employment tax is

When you work for yourself, as a freelancer, a 1099 contractor, a gig worker or a sole proprietor, no employer takes Social Security and Medicare out of your pay. You pay them yourself as self-employment tax. According to IRS Topic 554, the rate is 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. You owe it once your net earnings from self-employment reach US$400 for the year, and you figure it on Schedule SE (Form 1040).

This is on top of income tax, not instead of it. Topic 751 splits the same rates between an employee and an employer: 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare each, 7.65% per side. As a contractor you pay both halves. The W-2 vs 1099 guide compares the two in dollars.

How to calculate self-employment tax

Schedule SE works through it in this order, and the calculator does the same:

1. Start with your net profit, from Schedule C line 31 or your partnership K-1.
2. Multiply it by 92.35% (line 4a). If the result is under US$400, stop: you owe no self-employment tax.
3. Take the 2026 Social Security limit, US$184,500, and subtract your W-2 wages (lines 7 to 9). What is left is the most that can still get the 12.4%.
4. Social Security tax is 12.4% of the smaller of your net earnings and that room (line 10). Medicare is 2.9% of all net earnings (line 11).
5. Add them up for your self-employment tax (line 12). Half of it is your deduction (line 13).

2026 self-employment tax figures

The US$184,500 limit is the 2026 figure in Worksheet 2-3 of IRS Publication 505 and in IRS Topic 751. It was US$176,100 for 2025, as printed on the 2025 Schedule SE.

Self-employment tax is not the only line that depends on net profit: the QBI deduction takes up to 20 percent of qualified business income off taxable income, within the limits the guide sets out.

Worked examples

A freelancer with a $60,000 profit

• Net earnings: $60,000 × 92.35% = $55,410.00
• Social Security: $55,410.00 × 12.4% = $6,870.84
• Medicare: $55,410.00 × 2.9% = $1,606.89
• Self-employment tax: $8,477.73, which is 14.13% of the profit
• Deduction for half: $4,238.87

Paid in four equal installments, the self-employment tax alone is $2,119.43 per quarter. Income tax comes on top.

A side business next to a $170,000 job

Single, $170,000 of W-2 wages and a $40,000 profit from consulting. The wages already use most of the Social Security limit: US$184,500 − $170,000 leaves $14,500.

• Net earnings: $36,940.00
• Social Security: only $14,500.00 × 12.4% = $1,798.00
• Medicare: $36,940.00 × 2.9% = $1,071.26
• Self-employment tax: $2,869.26
• Additional Medicare: the US$200,000 threshold minus $170,000 of wages leaves $30,000, so $6,940.00 × 0.9% = $62.46

A $250,000 profit

• Net earnings: $230,875.00
• Social Security stops at the limit: US$184,500 × 12.4% = $22,878.00
• Medicare on everything: $6,695.38
• Self-employment tax: $29,573.38
• Additional Medicare on $30,875.00 above US$200,000: $277.88

Because of the Social Security limit, the share of profit going to self-employment tax falls from 14.13% at $60,000 to 11.83% at $250,000.

Net earnings from self-employment are earned income for the Earned Income Tax Credit 2026, which pays up to US$8,231 to working households under its income limits.

The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax

IRS Topic 560 adds 0.9% to Medicare wages and self-employment income above a threshold. It is figured on Form 8959, not on Schedule SE, so it is not part of the self-employment tax and not part of the deduction for half. If you also have wages, your threshold for self-employment income is reduced by those wages, but not below zero. If you file jointly, your spouse's wages count too.

The Form 8959 instructions give an example: a single filer with US$145,000 of self-employment income and US$130,000 of wages has a reduced threshold of US$70,000 and owes the tax on US$75,000. A self-employment loss is not counted.

Quarterly estimated tax payments for 2026

Nobody withholds tax from self-employment income, so you pay during the year with estimated tax. The IRS estimated taxes page says you generally have to make payments if you expect to owe US$1,000 or more when you file. Publication 505 sets these 2026 dates:

• Weekends and holidays: a payment made on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or holiday is on time.
• January option: if you file your 2026 return by January 31, 2027 and pay all the tax you still owe, you can skip the January 15 payment.
• How much is enough: to avoid a penalty, pay at least the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of the tax on your 2025 return. If your 2025 adjusted gross income was over US$150,000 (US$75,000 married filing separately), use 110% instead of 100%.
• Each quarter counts: the penalty is figured separately for each payment period, so if you underpay in one period you may owe a penalty even if you are due a refund when you file.

With the first payment due April 15, Publication 505's regular installment method splits the year's estimated tax into four equal parts. If you start later, or your income changes, Worksheet 2-12 of Publication 505 brings your payments up to 50% of the year's tax by June 15, 75% by September 15 and 100% by January 15. Pick your next due date in the calculator and enter what you have paid so far to get those amounts. If your income comes in unevenly, the annualized income installment method in Publication 505 can lower the early payments.

What the calculator does not cover

• Income tax. Self-employment tax is only Social Security and Medicare. Worksheet 2-1 of Publication 505 walks through the income tax part; enter your estimate in the quarterly section. For a W-2 job, the paycheck calculator shows the tax taken from each paycheck.
• Separate wage figures. Schedule SE uses Social Security wages and tips (W-2 boxes 3 and 7), Form 8959 uses Medicare wages (box 5). The calculator takes one wages figure for both, which matches for most people up to the Social Security limit.
• Church employee income, farm income and the optional methods on Schedule SE Part II, which can raise net earnings for low incomes.
• A spouse's own self-employment income. Each spouse with net earnings files a separate Schedule SE. Run the calculator once per person.
• Unreported tips and Form 8919 wages, which Schedule SE adds to your W-2 wages on line 8.

Business expenses lower your profit and with it your self-employment tax. Business driving is one of the larger ones for many freelancers; the mileage reimbursement calculator adds up your miles at the IRS rates. To set a price that covers this tax, use the hourly rate calculator.

How to use the self-employment tax calculator

1. 1Pick your filing status and enter your net profit for 2026, after business expenses. Enter a loss with a minus sign.
2. 2If you also have a job, enter your W-2 wages. If you file jointly, add your spouse's wages for the Additional Medicare threshold.
3. 3Read the self-employment tax, its Social Security and Medicare parts, the deduction for half and each Schedule SE line.
4. 4Open Quarterly estimated payments, add the income tax you expect, any withholding and what you have paid, and choose your next due date to see each payment. Copy the result or a link.

Sources

All figures are for tax year 2026 and were checked in October 2026 on these IRS pages.

• IRS, Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax
• IRS, Topic no. 560, Additional Medicare Tax
• IRS, Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates (2026 wage base)
• IRS, Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-employment tax, 2025
• IRS, Instructions for Schedule SE (Form 1040), 2025
• IRS, Publication 505 (2026), Tax withholding and estimated tax (Worksheets 2-3 and 2-12, due dates)
• IRS, Instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax
• IRS, Estimated taxes

Guides on this topic

• Estimated Quarterly Taxes 2026: Due Dates and Safe Harbor
• Sole Proprietorship vs LLC: Liability, Taxes and Paperwork
• Home Office Deduction: Who Qualifies and the Two Methods
• Form 1099-K in 2026: The $20,000 and 200 Transaction Rule
• Tax Deadlines 2026: Every Federal Date, With the Weekday
• W-2 vs 1099: What Changes for Your Pay and Taxes
• Earned Income Tax Credit 2026: Amounts, Limits and Rules
• QBI Deduction Explained: The 20% Rule and 2026 Thresholds

Built by Tobias. Updated October 21, 2026.

Frequently asked questions