Self-Employment Tax Calculator
When you work for yourself, you pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare — that's the self-employment tax. Enter your net profit for the year and see what you'll owe for 2026. This is the Social Security and Medicare part only; income tax comes on top.
| Net self-employment income | $0.00 |
| Amount the tax applies to (92.35% of profit) | $0.00 |
| Social Security part (12.4%) | −$0.00 |
| Medicare part (2.9%) | −$0.00 |
| Extra Medicare tax (0.9% over the limit) | −$0.00 |
| Self-employment tax | $0.00 |
Who pays this tax?
If you earned $400 or more working for yourself — freelancing, contracting, driving, selling, running a sole proprietorship or a single-member LLC — you generally owe self-employment tax on that profit. Employees split Social Security and Medicare with their employer (7.65% each). When you're the boss and the worker, you pay both sides yourself: 12.4% for Social Security + 2.9% for Medicare = 15.3%. In exchange, those payments count toward your own Social Security and Medicare coverage, just like an employee's do.
Why only 92.35% of your profit is taxed
An employer never pays Social Security tax on its own share of the payroll tax — that money isn't wages. To put you on roughly the same footing, the IRS lets you skip the tax on 7.65% of your profit: the tax applies to 92.35% of your net earnings instead of the whole amount. That's why, in practice, the 15.3% tax works out to about 14.13% of your actual profit.
The half you get back at tax time
You can deduct one half of your self-employment tax when figuring your income tax. It doesn't reduce the self-employment tax itself — it reduces the income the regular income tax applies to, mimicking how an employer's half never shows up in an employee's taxable pay. The 0.9% extra Medicare tax, when it applies, is not part of that deductible half. The deduction amount is shown under your result above.
How this calculator works
The math follows Schedule SE and IRS Topic 554: profit × 92.35%; Social Security at 12.4% on the part under the 2026 wage base of $184,500 — your W-2 wages use up that base first, so enter them if you have a regular job too; Medicare at 2.9% with no cap; plus 0.9% on the part of your combined W-2 wages and self-employment income over $200,000 ($250,000 if married filing jointly, $125,000 if married filing separately). If the amount after the 92.35% step is under $400, no self-employment tax is owed.
Paying it during the year
Nobody withholds this tax from your pay — you're the payroll department. Most self-employed people pay it in four quarterly estimated payments (due in April, June, September, and January) together with their estimated income tax, using Form 1040-ES. Waiting until you file can mean an underpayment penalty, so a common habit is to set aside a percentage of every payment you receive.
Common questions
Is this the only tax I owe on freelance income?
No. Self-employment tax is only the Social Security and Medicare part. You also owe regular federal (and usually state) income tax on the same profit. Our 1099 vs W-2 Calculator shows both parts side by side.
I have a day job and freelance on the side. Am I taxed twice?
Not on the Social Security part: your W-2 wages count toward the $184,500 cap first, so if your job's pay already reaches the cap, your freelance income owes only the 2.9% Medicare part. Enter your W-2 wages above to see the effect.
Does this cover S corporations or partnerships?
No — this calculator is for sole proprietors and independent contractors taxed on Schedule SE. S corporation shareholder-employees follow different rules.
Estimate for general information only — not tax, legal, or financial advice. Method: IRS Topic No. 554 and Schedule SE (Form 1040), 2026 figures. Social Security wage base 2026: $184,500 (SSA). See our methodology & sources.