Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Self-employment tax and federal income tax on your 2026 freelance or 1099 profit - what to set aside, and your four quarterly payments.
2026 IRS and SSA figures · By Stuart Mathieson · Updated November 2026
Business income minus business expenses (Schedule C).
If you also have a salaried job, it counts towards the Social Security cap and pushes your profit into higher brackets.
Results
Self-employment tax
Set aside for the year
Share of profit
How it adds up
| Amount |
|---|
Quarterly estimated payments
| Due | Covers | Amount |
|---|
Federal only, with the standard deduction and no credits or retirement contributions. Results are estimates for illustration only and are not tax advice.
What self-employment tax is
When you work for an employer, Social Security and Medicare are split: you pay 7.65% and your employer pays 7.65%. When you work for yourself, you're both, so you pay the full 15.3% - 12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare. That's self-employment (SE) tax, and it's on top of income tax.
It isn't charged on all of your profit. You multiply profit by 92.35% first, which mirrors the fact that an employer's half isn't counted as an employee's wages.
- The 12.4% Social Security part stops once your earnings (including any W-2 wages) reach $184,500 in 2026.
- The 2.9% Medicare part has no cap, and an extra 0.9% applies above $200,000 ($250,000 married filing jointly).
- You can deduct half of your SE tax (not counting the 0.9%) from your income before income tax is worked out.
Worked example
A single freelancer with $80,000 of net profit and no other income:
- Net earnings: $80,000 × 92.35% = $73,880
- SE tax: $73,880 × 15.3% = $11,303.64
- Income: $80,000 - $5,651.82 (half the SE tax) - $16,100 standard deduction = $58,248.18
- Qualified business income deduction: 20%, limited to 20% of that figure = $11,649.64
- Federal income tax on $46,598.54 = $5,343.83
- Total to set aside: $16,647.47, or 20.8% of profit - $4,161.87 a quarter
| Profit | SE tax | Income tax | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $4,239 | $942 | $5,181 | 17.3% |
| $50,000 | $7,065 | $2,667 | $9,732 | 19.5% |
| $80,000 | $11,304 | $5,344 | $16,647 | 20.8% |
| $120,000 | $16,955 | $11,506 | $28,462 | 23.7% |
| $200,000 | $28,234 | $25,196 | $53,431 | 26.7% |
These are federal only. Add your state's income tax on top.
Quarterly estimated taxes
No one withholds tax from freelance income, so the IRS expects you to pay during the year, usually in four installments with Form 1040-ES. For 2026 they're due on April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year, you generally need to make them, or you may pay a penalty.
The calculator splits your total evenly across the four. If your income is lumpy, you can pay more in the quarters you earn more.
I'm a freelancer in Scotland, where the self-employed pay Class 4 National Insurance instead - 6% and 2% rather than 15.3% - so the gap between the two systems is hard to miss. My guide to US self-employment tax goes into safe harbor rules and more examples, and there's a UK version of this calculator too.
Frequently asked questions
How much is self-employment tax in 2026?
15.3% of 92.35% of your net profit - about 14.1% of profit - made up of 12.4% Social Security on earnings up to $184,500 and 2.9% Medicare with no cap. An extra 0.9% Medicare applies above $200,000 ($250,000 married filing jointly).
How much should I set aside for taxes on 1099 income?
For federal tax, roughly 17% at $30,000 of profit, 20% at $80,000 and 24% at $120,000 for a single filer, before state tax. Many freelancers set aside 25 to 30% of every payment to be safe.
Do I pay self-employment tax if I also have a job?
Yes, on your self-employment profit. But your W-2 wages count towards the $184,500 Social Security limit first, so if your wages are high, less of your profit is charged the 12.4%.
Do I have to pay self-employment tax on small amounts?
You owe self-employment tax if your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more for the year.
Sources
- Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes) - Internal Revenue Service
- Estimated taxes - Internal Revenue Service
- IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 - Internal Revenue Service
- Contribution and Benefit Base - Social Security Administration