1099 / Self-Employment Tax Calculator
This 1099 take-home pay calculator turns gross freelance income into the amount you actually keep. Enter your 1099 income and business expenses and it figures net profit, applies the 15.3% self-employment tax to 92.35% of that profit (Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base, Medicare on everything, plus the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax over $200,000 single or $250,000 joint), deducts half the SE tax, then runs the 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction — with an optional 20% qualified business income deduction — to give your real take-home pay, your effective tax rate, and the quarterly estimated payment to set aside.
Total 1099 income before expenses — what clients paid you, not what you kept.
Deductible Schedule C expenses: software, home office, mileage, supplies, phone, and similar costs. These come off before any tax is figured.
Sets the standard deduction ($16,100 single / $32,200 joint) and the Additional Medicare threshold ($200,000 / $250,000).
Wages from an employer job this year, if any. They use up Social Security wage-base room first, so they lower the Social Security part of your SE tax — and they count toward the Additional Medicare threshold.
Section 199A lets many pass-through businesses deduct up to 20% of qualified business income. It has limits (business type, income thresholds) this calculator does not model, so it is off by default and shows the maximum case when on.
Take-home pay (after federal tax)
67,712.23
- Net profit (Schedule C)$100000.00 gross − $10000.00 expenses.
- 90,000
- Net earnings from self-employment92.35% of net profit (Schedule SE): $90000.00 × 0.9235.
- 83,115
- Social Security tax12.4% on $83115.00 of wage-base room ($184,500 minus $0 of W-2 wages).
- 10,306.26
- Medicare tax2.9% on all $83115.00 of net earnings.
- 2,410.34
- Additional Medicare tax0.9% applies only above $200,000 of combined wages and net earnings — not reached here.
- 0
- Total self-employment tax15.3% combined rate (12.4% + 2.9%), plus Additional Medicare where it applies.
- 12,716.6
- Deductible half of SE taxAbove-the-line deduction (Schedule 1, line 15): lowers income tax, not SE tax itself.
- 6,358.3
- Federal income tax2026 brackets on $67541.70 of taxable income (net profit − half SE tax − $16,100 standard deduction).
- 9,571.17
- Total federal tax
- 22,287.77
- Take-home payNet profit minus total federal tax, before state tax.
- 67,712.23
- Effective tax rateTotal federal tax as a share of net profit — the real rate, not a bracket.
- 24.76%
- Quarterly estimated paymentTotal federal tax ÷ 4. Set this aside each quarter to avoid an underpayment penalty.
- 5,571.94
How it was calculated
- Net profit: $100000.00 − $10000.00 = $90000.00.
- Net earnings: $90000.00 × 0.9235 = $83115.00 (Schedule SE).
- SE tax: Social Security 12.4% on $83115.00 = $10306.26; Medicare 2.9% on $83115.00 = $2410.34; no Additional Medicare Tax at this income; total $12716.60.
- Income tax: $90000.00 − $6358.30 (half SE tax) − $16,100 (standard deduction) = $67541.70 taxable, taxed at the 2026 marginal brackets = $9571.17.
- Take-home: $90000.00 − $22287.77 total federal tax = $67712.23 (24.76% effective rate), or $5571.94 per quarter — before state tax.
How it works
Self-employment tax starts from net profit, not gross income: subtract business expenses first (Schedule C), then multiply by 92.35% to get net earnings (Schedule SE). The 0.9235 factor exists because the self-employed pay both the employee and employer halves of FICA, and the employer half is treated as a cost before the tax is figured.
The 15.3% SE rate is two taxes stacked: Social Security at 12.4% only until combined wages and net earnings reach the $184,500 wage base, and Medicare at 2.9% on every dollar of net earnings. Above $200,000 single or $250,000 joint of combined income, another 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies. Below $400 of net earnings there is no SE tax at all.
Half of the SE tax is deductible from income (Schedule 1, line 15), which is why income tax is figured after SE tax: taxable income equals net profit minus half the SE tax minus the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint for 2026) minus any QBI deduction. The 2026 marginal brackets (10% through 37%, IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32) then apply slice by slice.
The optional QBI deduction (Section 199A) subtracts up to 20% of qualified business income for eligible pass-through businesses. It is shown at its maximum here because its real limits — specified-service-business caps, W-2 wage limits, and taxable-income thresholds — depend on facts this calculator does not ask for, so the toggle is off by default.
The quarterly line is total federal tax divided by 4: freelancers with no withholding are expected to pay estimates four times a year (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15), and shortfalls can draw an underpayment penalty. State tax is deliberately excluded — it needs its own table — so treat the take-home figure as the ceiling before state tax.
Worked examples
$100,000 of 1099 income with $10,000 of expenses
Net profit is $90,000 and net earnings are $83,115 (92.35%). SE tax is $10,306.26 Social Security + $2,410.34 Medicare = $12,716.60. Half of that ($6,358.30) is deductible, so taxable income is $90,000 − $6,358.30 − $16,100 = $67,541.70, giving $9,571.17 of federal income tax. Total federal tax $22,287.77 (24.76% effective), take-home $67,712.23, or $5,571.94 per quarter — before state tax.
Why the 15.3% rate is not the whole story
A W-2 employee earning the same $90,000 of profit-equivalent pay sees only 7.65% FICA on their stub because the employer pays the other half. A freelancer pays both halves — 15.3% — which is why the SE line alone is $12,716.60 on $90,000 of profit, before a dollar of income tax. The deductible half softens it slightly: it saves about $1,398.83 of income tax at the 22% marginal rate in the example above.
How to measure
- Use net profit, not gross, as your reality check: a freelancer who bills $100,000 but spends $10,000 is taxed on $90,000, and the calculator already subtracts expenses before any tax line — entering gross as profit overstates every tax line.
- Enter W-2 wages if you also hold a job: they consume Social Security wage-base room first, so a freelancer with $184,500+ of W-2 wages pays $0 Social Security on freelance income and only the Medicare lines — leaving the field at $0 overstates SE tax for moonlighters.
- Track expenses all year, not at filing time: every $1,000 of legitimate expenses cuts net earnings by $923.50 and saves roughly $141 of SE tax plus income tax at your marginal rate. Missing receipts are the most common freelancer overpayment.
- Set aside the quarterly figure in a separate account as income arrives, not at quarter-end: the IRS due dates (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15) do not wait for slow-paying clients, and the underpayment penalty applies even if you pay everything by April 15.
- Do not count the QBI toggle as a promise: confirm your business qualifies and whether the specified-service or income caps apply before budgeting around the 20%. When in doubt, leave it off and treat any QBI saving as a bonus at filing time.
- Re-run this calculator when income jumps: the Social Security wage base and the Additional Medicare threshold are cliffs, not slopes — crossing $184,500 of combined income drops the Social Security line to $0, while crossing $200,000/$250,000 adds the 0.9% line.
Assumptions & limitations
Planning estimate
- Tax year 2026 throughout: SE rates and the $184,500 wage base from IRS Schedule SE / SSA, federal brackets and standard deduction from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. Figures for other years will differ.
- State income tax is excluded entirely. Some states tax freelance income at the same brackets as wages, others (like Texas and Florida) do not — add your state separately or treat the take-home figure as a ceiling.
- QBI is modeled at the maximum 20% of (net profit − half SE tax) with no caps, phaseouts, or business-type limits. Real eligibility depends on facts outside this calculator; the toggle is off by default for that reason.
- The Additional Medicare calculation uses combined W-2 wages + net earnings against the threshold and attributes only the freelance share above it. Employer withholding of Additional Medicare on W-2 wages alone can shift the split slightly.
- Business expenses are taken as given and fully deductible. Personal expenses, disallowed items, and the home-office simplified-vs-regular choice are outside the model — the Schedule C figure you enter is assumed correct.
- This is a planning estimate, not tax advice. Confirm quarterly amounts and QBI eligibility with a tax professional, especially above $200,000 of income or with mixed W-2 and freelance income.
Frequently asked questions
Two taxes: self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, up to the wage base) plus federal income tax on what remains after half the SE tax and the standard deduction. On $90,000 of net profit as a single filer with no QBI, that is $12,716.60 SE tax + $9,571.17 income tax = $22,287.77 total (24.76% effective), leaving $67,712.23 before state tax.
15.3% combined: 12.4% Social Security on net earnings up to the $184,500 wage base, plus 2.9% Medicare on all net earnings. High earners add 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000 single or $250,000 joint. The rate applies to 92.35% of net profit, not to gross income, and there is no SE tax at all if net earnings are under $400.
Because Schedule SE treats the employer half of FICA as a business cost: the self-employed pay both halves, so the IRS lets you shave 7.65% off net profit before figuring the tax. $90,000 of profit becomes $83,115 of net earnings, and the 15.3% applies to that smaller number — an effective 14.13% on profit before the wage-base and Medicare details.
As a rule of thumb, 25–30% of each payment for most freelancers, but this calculator gives your exact figure: total federal tax divided by 4. On $90,000 of net profit that is $5,571.94 per quarter before state tax. Pay by April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, and add a state estimate on top if your state taxes income.
Often, but not always. Section 199A allows up to 20% of qualified business income for eligible pass-through businesses, but specified service businesses (health, law, consulting, and similar) and higher incomes face caps and phaseouts tied to W-2 wages and taxable income. This calculator shows the maximum 20% case when the toggle is on; confirm eligibility before counting on it.
Yes, on the FICA side: a W-2 employee pays 7.65% and the employer pays 7.65%, while a freelancer pays the full 15.3% themselves — though half of it is deductible from income, which softens the gap. Income tax brackets are the same for both. The gap is also why freelancers can deduct business expenses a W-2 employee cannot.