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Self-Employment Tax Calculator

U.S. only tools

A sole proprietor pays both halves of payroll tax. On every dollar of profit you owe the employee share and the employer share of Social Security and Medicare, which is 15.3% before a single dollar of income tax, and the deduction most people forget to claim against it.

Self-Employment Tax Calculator - Danfio

https://danfio.com/tools/self-employment-tax-calculator/ - printed from this page

Currency: USD ($) - display only, nothing was converted

$

Revenue minus ordinary and necessary business expenses.

$

The Social Security wage base is shared with any employer wages you also have.

$

SEP-IRA, SIMPLE or Solo 401(k) contributions you make for this year.

$

Premiums you pay personally and can deduct above the line.

$

Leave at zero to use the standard deduction, which is usually larger.

Results update as you type. Nothing leaves your device.

Currency symbol

Symbol only - nothing is converted and no exchange rate is used. Figures quoted in the explanation text stay as the sources publish them.

Federal tax on $120,000 of income

$28,461.78

$16,955.46 of self-employment tax plus $11,506.32 of income tax

Self-employment tax
$16,955 14.1% of income
Income tax
$11,506 9.6% of income
Effective rate
23.7%
Left after tax
$91,538 Before state tax

Where each dollar of income goes

  • Self-employment tax$16,955.46
  • Federal income tax$11,506.32
  • You keep$91,538.22

State and local tax comes out of the green slice, so what you actually keep is smaller than it looks.

The self-employment tax, line by line

StepAmountRate
Net profit$120,000.00
Net earnings (92.35% of profit)$110,820.0092.35%
Social Security half, shared with $184,500 of wages$13,741.6812.4%
Medicare half, no wage cap$3,213.782.9%
Additional Medicare above the threshold$0.000.9%
Total self-employment tax$16,955.4614.1%
Deductible half, taken off gross income$8,477.73

$110,820 of net earnings are still under the Social Security wage base once your W-2 wages are counted.

From profit to taxable income

LineAmount
Business profit$120,000.00
Less half of the self-employment tax-$8,477.73
Adjusted gross income$111,522.27
Less standard or itemized deduction-$16,100.00
Less qualified business income deduction-$19,084.45
Taxable income$76,337.82
Federal income tax$11,506.32

The qualified business income deduction is capped here: it cannot exceed 20% of taxable income before the deduction.

Quarterly estimated payments

PaymentRoughly dueAmount
Payment 1April 15$7,115.45
Payment 2June 15$7,115.45
Payment 3September 15$7,115.45
Payment 4January 15 next year$7,115.45
Total for the year$28,461.78

Four equal payments is the simplest plan. Late payments are normally avoided by paying 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's tax, and 110% of last year's tax when last year's adjusted gross income was above $150,000.

Setting aside about $2,371.82 a month covers the federal bill at this profit level. State income tax, local business tax and any license fees come on top.

Enter your business profit and this calculator shows the tax Schedule SE would compute, the half of it you can deduct, the qualified business income deduction underneath, and the quarterly payment that keeps the bill from arriving all at once.

About this self-employment tax calculator

Net profit is measured differently once it is self-employment income: it is scaled down before the Social Security and Medicare rates apply. It follows Schedule SE: net profit is scaled to 92.35% net earnings and taxed at 12.4% for Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base and 2.9% for Medicare, with the 0.9% additional Medicare tax above the filing-status threshold, and it then shows the deductible half, the 20% qualified business income deduction and a four-installment quarterly plan - all in your browser, with no upload and no account.

The rates, the $400 filing threshold and the one-half deduction come from IRS Topic no. 751, Topic no. 554 and Schedule SE, and the ordinary brackets from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, each recorded and verified with its source; the page is reviewed on a schedule and corrected openly when something is off. The QBI rule is modelled as the simple 20% of profit limited to 20% of taxable income, so specified service trades and S-corporation treatment sit outside it. An estimate, not a return, and not tax advice.

How this self-employment tax calculator works

The 92.35% starting point

Self-employment tax starts from net earnings: profit after business expenses, multiplied by 92.35%. The 7.65% haircut stands in for the employer half of payroll tax, which by definition is not part of your own income.

Net earnings are then taxed at 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. The Social Security half stops at the annual wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026, and every dollar of wages from an employer job uses up that base first. Medicare has no wage cap.

When the extra 0.9% applies

Additional Medicare tax of 0.9% applies to earnings above $200,000 for single and head of household filers and above $250,000 for a couple filing jointly. The threshold is shared between your W-2 wages and your self-employment earnings, so a side business on top of a large salary can cross it with less profit than you expect.

Employers withhold 0.9% once wages pass $200,000 regardless of filing status. That withholding is only a prepayment: the return settles the true amount later, and a self-employed filer who crosses the threshold owes the tax as an estimated payment instead.

Deductions before the income tax

Half of the self-employment tax is deductible above the line, which is how the law corrects for the fact that you are paying the employer share as well. The same is true of retirement contributions made for yourself and of health insurance premiums you pay personally.

Below those comes the standard deduction, or your itemized deductions when they are larger, and then the qualified business income deduction: 20% of profit, capped at 20% of taxable income before the deduction. Income tax is charged only on what is left.

Quarterly payments

There is no employer withholding your tax for you, so the bill has to be paid as estimated payments four times a year. Paying four equal installments that add up to the annual figure is the simplest plan that avoids an underpayment penalty.

The safe harbor is 90% of the tax you owe this year, or 100% of last year's tax (110% when last year's adjusted gross income was above $150,000). Using last year's tax makes the planning predictable, because the amount is known before the year starts.

Worked examples

Each example below was run through the calculator on this page when the site was built, so the numbers match what you see when you enter the same inputs.

Designer with $120,000 of profit

Business profit for the year: $120,000.00 · Filing status: Single

Federal tax on $120,000 of income

$28,461.78

$16,955.46 of self-employment tax plus $11,506.32 of income tax

Self-employment tax: $16,955 · Income tax: $11,506 · Effective rate: 23.7% · Left after tax: $91,538

Self-employment tax alone is about $17,000, and the deductible half is what stops income tax being charged on the employer share you never received.

Side business on top of a $180,000 salary

Business profit for the year: $40,000.00 · Filing status: Single · W-2 wages from a job: $180,000.00

Federal tax on $220,000 of income

$41,224.67

$1,781.72 of self-employment tax plus $39,442.95 of income tax

Self-employment tax: $1,782 · Income tax: $39,443 · Effective rate: 18.7% · Left after tax: $178,775

The salary has almost used the Social Security wage base, so the side income is charged Medicare only until the base is exhausted.

First year at $30,000 with a SEP-IRA and health cover

Business profit for the year: $30,000.00 · Filing status: Single · Retirement contributions: $5,000.00 · Self-employed health insurance: $6,000.00

Federal tax on $30,000 of income

$4,301.32

$4,238.87 of self-employment tax plus $62.45 of income tax

Self-employment tax: $4,239 · Income tax: $62 · Effective rate: 14.3% · Left after tax: $25,699

Retirement and health insurance come off before the standard deduction, so they reduce income tax but never reduce the self-employment tax itself.

A $400,000 profit above the wage base

Business profit for the year: $400,000.00 · Filing status: Married filing jointly

Federal tax on $400,000 of income

$87,150.94

$34,665.20 of self-employment tax plus $52,485.74 of income tax

Self-employment tax: $34,665 · Income tax: $52,486 · Effective rate: 21.8% · Left after tax: $312,849

Only the first $184,500 of net earnings carries the 12.4% Social Security half; the rest pays the 2.9% Medicare half, with 0.9% more applying above the $250,000 joint threshold.

Frequently asked questions

How much is self-employment tax?

15.3% of net earnings: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. Because net earnings are only 92.35% of profit, the effective rate on profit is about 14.13% below the Social Security wage base. Above the wage base only the 2.9% Medicare half continues.

Do I owe self-employment tax on money I take out of the business?

No. Self-employment tax is charged on profit, not on drawings. Sole proprietors and partners pay it on the business profit they report whether or not they move the money, and an owner who leaves profit in the business still owes it.

What is the $400 threshold?

Net earnings of $400 or more from self-employment normally mean a Schedule SE and self-employment tax, even for a side business that made very little. Under that figure the tax does not apply, though income tax on the profit still does.

Why is only part of my self-employment tax deductible?

Because the employer half is a business cost rather than personal income: deducting half of the tax puts you in roughly the same position as an employee whose employer paid that half. The deduction reduces income tax, not the self-employment tax itself.

Do I have to make quarterly payments?

Usually yes, unless withholding from a job covers the bill or you owe very little. Each payment is due on the fifteenth of April, June, September and the following January, and paying four equal installments that match the annual figure is the simplest way to stay inside the rules.

Would an S corporation reduce this tax?

The usual argument is that a salary is subject to payroll tax and the rest is a distribution that is not. It only holds when the salary is reasonable for the work performed, and the entity brings its own filing fees, payroll and accounting costs. Run the numbers for your own state and income before switching.

Is any of this tax avoidable by paying myself a lower salary?

A sole proprietor cannot choose: the profit is the tax base. Retirement contributions, health insurance and business expenses genuinely reduce it because they reduce profit. Anything else that claims to remove self-employment tax is usually either a different entity type or not allowed.

Assumptions and sources

  • Rates: IRS Topic no. 751 and Publication 15 (2026) - Social Security 6.2% each side (12.4% for the self-employed), Medicare 1.45% each side (2.9%), Additional Medicare 0.9% above $200,000 single or head of household and $250,000 married filing jointly.
  • Wage base: the 2026 Social Security wage base is $184,500, shared between W-2 wages and self-employment earnings.
  • Net earnings factor of 92.35%, the $400 filing threshold and the one-half deduction: IRS Topic no. 554 and Schedule SE.
  • Ordinary income brackets and the standard deduction: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments).
  • Simplifications: the QBI deduction is the simple 20% of profit limited to 20% of taxable income, so specified service trades and the income phase-in are not modelled. Tax credits, the alternative minimum tax, state and local taxes and S-corporation treatment are outside this calculator.

Last reviewed 2026-10-09. An estimate, not a return, and not tax advice. Read the full disclaimer.

Where a figure on this page comes from an official agency — HUD, IRS, FICO or a state body — the site keeps a dated snapshot of the source page in its sources library, and a scheduled job re-checks that snapshot, so the number can be traced back to the document it came from.

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