Estimate your self-employment tax (SE tax), federal income tax, and total tax bill as a freelancer or independent contractor.
Invoicing, Tax & Tools
Bill clients, track time, and file taxes — software built for the self-employed
Self-employment tax is the biggest tax surprise for new freelancers. When you were an employee, your employer silently paid half of your Social Security and Medicare taxes. As a freelancer, you pay both halves yourself — a total of 15.3% of net earnings.
The good news: you can deduct half of SE tax from your income when calculating federal income tax. This partially offsets the burden, though the net effect is still significantly more tax than most employees pay at equivalent income levels.
SE tax applies to 92.35% of your net self-employment income (a technical adjustment the IRS allows). On $60,000 of net income, that's $60,000 × 0.9235 × 0.153 = approximately $8,478 in SE tax alone, before any income tax.
The most effective way to reduce SE tax is through legitimate business deductions that reduce your net self-employment income: home office, equipment depreciation, health insurance premiums, and retirement contributions. Every dollar of deductible business expense saves you not just income tax but also ~14% in SE tax.
Self-Employment Tax
The 15.3% US tax paid by freelancers covering both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare.
Take-Home Pay
The net income a freelancer keeps after paying all taxes, business expenses, health insurance, and other deductions from gross revenue.
Quarterly Tax
Estimated tax payments made four times per year by freelancers to cover income and self-employment tax owed to the IRS.
Self-employment tax (SE tax) is the 15.3% tax covering Social Security (12.4%) and Medicare (2.9%). As an employee, you and your employer each pay half (7.65%). As a freelancer, you pay both halves yourself — but you can deduct half of SE tax when calculating your income tax.
SE tax applies to 92.35% of your net self-employment income (the IRS allows a small reduction to account for the 'employer equivalent' portion). So: SE Tax = Net Earnings × 0.9235 × 15.3%.
Legitimate business deductions reduce your net self-employment income, which directly reduces your SE tax. A home office deduction, equipment depreciation, health insurance premiums, and retirement contributions can all reduce your taxable self-employment income.
It provides a reasonable estimate using current single-filer federal brackets with the standard deduction applied. Your actual tax depends on filing status, additional deductions, credits, and state-specific rules. Always consult a tax professional for your actual return.
You owe SE tax if your net self-employment income is $400 or more. Even small amounts of freelance income require filing Schedule SE. There's no threshold exemption that eliminates SE tax for part-time freelancers.
Take-Home Pay Calculator
Calculate your true freelance take-home pay after self-employment tax, income tax, business expenses, health insurance, and retirement contributions.
Quarterly Tax Calculator
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