Total tax ÷ gross income
Top filled bracket
Per IRS due date
Your numbers
Updates live as you type. Tax year 2026.
Income
The amount most freelancers care about. Net business income is your gross receipts minus business expenses (the figure on Schedule C, line 31).
Filing status
Deductions
Above-the-line deductions reduce your AGI and federal income tax. Standard vs. itemized swaps the lump-sum reduction below the line.
Self-employment tax
Schedule SE: 15.3% on 92.35% of net business income
Federal income tax
2026 brackets per Rev. Proc. 2025-32
Bracket fill
Quarterly estimated payments
IRS Form 1040-ES. Pay online at IRS Direct Pay or via EFTPS.
Due April 15, 2026
January 1 – March 31, 2026
Due June 15, 2026
April 1 – May 31, 2026
Due September 15, 2026
June 1 – August 31, 2026
Due January 15, 2027
September 1 – December 31, 2026
Want this auto-tracked from your invoices? Create a free Invoice Tracker account — the dashboard rolls up your year-to-date paid amount in your home currency, so you just plug it in here every quarter.
How self-employment tax breaks down
Most freelancers underestimate their tax bill by 5-10 percentage points because they think only of federal income tax and forget that they also pay both halves of FICA. Here's what the 15.3% headline number actually buys you.
Social Security (12.4%)
Capped at the annual wage base — $184,500 in 2026. Earnings above the cap escape the 12.4% portion entirely. If you also have W-2 wages, those count against the cap first.
Medicare (2.9%)
No cap. Every dollar of NESE pays 2.9%. This is the part that quietly makes high-earning freelancers' marginal rate higher than they expect.
Additional Medicare (0.9%)
A surcharge on combined W-2 + SE earnings above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (MFJ). Half-SE-tax deduction does NOT apply to this portion — it's the employee-side surtax even for W-2 earners.
Stop guessing what your gross was
The hard part of estimating your 2026 tax bill isn't the math — it's knowing what you actually invoiced and collected this year. Invoice Tracker keeps every paid invoice in one CSV-exportable place, so come quarterly-tax time you just plug the year-to-date total into this calculator. Same for next year. Free, no card.
Frequently asked
What's self-employment tax and why is it 15.3%?
Self-employment tax is the freelance equivalent of FICA — the Social Security and Medicare taxes that W-2 employees split with their employer. As a freelancer, you pay both halves yourself: 12.4% Social Security (capped at the $184,500 wage base in 2026) plus 2.9% Medicare (uncapped) = 15.3%. There's also a 0.9% Additional Medicare surcharge on combined earnings above $200,000 ($250,000 MFJ). The good news: you get to deduct half of the SS+Medicare portion when computing your federal income tax.
Why is NESE 92.35% of my net business income?
The 7.65% reduction (the 'NESE multiplier' that shows up as 92.35%) is meant to mirror how W-2 wages work. Employees pay FICA on their gross wages, but their employer also pays a matching 7.65% — and the employer's half is a deductible business expense for them. To keep self-employed and W-2 taxpayers on equal footing, the IRS lets freelancers deduct that phantom 'employer half' before computing SE tax. Practically: you owe 15.3% × 92.35% × net business income, not 15.3% × net.
What's the QBI deduction and do I qualify?
The Qualified Business Income deduction (§199A, made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill) lets pass-through business owners — sole proprietors, single-member LLCs, partnerships, S-corp shareholders — deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income. For most freelancers below the 2026 taxable-income threshold ($201,775 single / $403,500 MFJ), it applies cleanly. Above that, "specified service trades or businesses" (SSTBs — consulting, law, accounting, financial services, performing arts, athletics, health) face phase-outs and W-2-wage / property limits. The calculator applies the uniform 20% and warns when you're above the threshold.
When are quarterly estimated taxes due?
Federal estimated taxes are due four times a year: April 15 (for income earned January–March), June 15 (April–May), September 15 (June–August), and January 15 of the following year (September–December). When the 15th falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. The calculator divides your annual estimate evenly into four payments — if your income is uneven across the year, the IRS lets you "annualize income" on Form 2210 to true up. Underpayment penalties kick in if you owe more than $1,000 at filing time and didn't meet the safe harbor (100% of last year's tax, or 110% if your AGI was over $150,000).
What's NOT included in this estimate?
State and local income taxes (which range from 0% in TX/FL/WA to 13%+ in CA on top earners), AMT (rare for self-employed filers post-OBBBA but possible), credits like the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Credit (which would reduce the estimate), and special situations like depreciation, home-office deduction nuances, S-corp salary planning, or retirement-plan contribution limits. The estimate is conservative — it ignores credits that would reduce your bill, so the actual number is usually lower, not higher. For an accurate filing, use a CPA or tax software that asks the full list of questions.
Estimate only — not tax advice.
This calculator is for informational use only and is not legal, accounting, or tax advice. It covers federal taxes only — state and local income taxes vary widely (0% in TX/FL/WA, up to ~13% in California on top earners). It does not account for tax credits, AMT, depreciation, S-corp salary planning, the self-employed health insurance deduction's specific limits, QBI phase-in calculations for SSTBs above the threshold, or dozens of other situations that affect your actual return. For filing, use a CPA or tax software. The estimate is intentionally conservative — it ignores credits that would lower your bill, so the real number is usually less, not more.