🧾 Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Estimate your Social Security + Medicare tax as a freelancer (2026 rates).
How This Is Calculated
The IRS first reduces your net earnings to 92.35% to account for the employer-equivalent portion, then applies 12.4% Social Security (up to the annual wage base) plus 2.9% Medicare (no cap, plus an additional 0.9% above $200,000/$250,000 depending on filing status, not included in this simplified estimate).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is self-employment tax?
It covers Social Security and Medicare for freelancers — the same taxes withheld from a W-2 paycheck,
except self-employed people pay both the employee and employer share.
Can I deduct part of my self-employment tax?
Yes. The IRS allows you to deduct half of your self-employment tax from your gross income when calculating
income tax.
Guide: understanding your result
- Self-employment tax is 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare (15.3% total) on 92.35% of net earnings.
- The Social Security part stops at the wage base ($184,500 for 2026).
- You can deduct half of your self-employment tax when calculating adjusted gross income.
Worked example
A freelancer with $80,000 of net profit: 92.35% of that is $73,880.
- Social Security: $9,161
- Medicare: $2,143
- Self-employment tax: $11,304
- Deduction for half of it: $5,652
This is in addition to income tax. Quarterly estimated payments are usually due in April, June, September and January.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Setting aside money for income tax but not for self-employment tax.
- Calculating on gross revenue instead of net profit after business expenses.
Official sources
Examples are calculated live from the same data the calculator uses and are for education only — they are not financial, tax or investment advice.
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