Freelancer calculators
Two quick estimates for people who work for themselves. Everything runs in your browser, and nothing you type is stored or sent.
Tax set-aside estimator
A rough federal estimate for one person whose only income is self-employment, using the standard deduction. It is a starting point for how much to move into your tax account, not a tax return.
Set aside about 21% of each payment
That is roughly $12,037 for the year, or $3,009 per quarterly payment.
- Self-employment tax (15.3% of 92.35% of profit)
- $8,478
- Federal income tax (top bracket 12%)
- $3,559
- Total estimated tax
- $12,037
- Effective rate on profit
- 20.1%
How this is worked out
- Net earnings from self-employment
- $55,410
- Social Security part (capped at $184,500)
- $6,871
- Medicare part
- $1,607
- Deduction for half of SE tax
- −$4,239
- Standard deduction (single)
- −$16,100
- Qualified business income deduction (simplified 20%)
- −$7,932
- Taxable income
- $31,729
Estimate only. It ignores other income, credits, itemized deductions and QBI income limits. Learn the rules in How much to set aside for taxes and How quarterly estimated taxes work.
Hourly rate calculator
Start from the salary you want, add what the business costs to run, and divide by the hours clients actually pay for. Admin, sales and time off are not billable, so most freelancers bill 20 to 30 hours in a full week.
Charge at least $72/hr
About $580 for an 8-hour billable day.
- Salary
- $70,000
- Business expenses
- $8,000
- Employer half of payroll tax
- $5,355
- Revenue you need
- $83,355
- Billable hours per year
- 1,150
Estimate only. It does not include profit margin, income tax or a cushion for slow months. See How to budget with irregular income.