Taxes · Free tool
Self-employment tax calculator
On a W-2, your employer quietly pays half your Social Security and Medicare. Work for yourself and you pay both halves. This works out what that costs on your net profit, what you can deduct back, and the four checks the IRS expects in 2026.
Quick answer: self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of your net profit, 12.4% for Social Security up to $184,500 and 2.9% for Medicare with no cap. You deduct half of it against your income tax. Enter your numbers and the tool splits the bill across the four 2026 quarters.
Your numbers
Self-employment tax, 2026
$11,304/year
Set aside each quarter
- Apr 15, 2026 $2,826
- Jun 15, 2026 $2,826
- Sep 15, 2026 $2,826
- Jan 15, 2027 $2,826
How this is worked out
Half of your self-employment tax is an above-the-line deduction, so it lowers your income tax (it does not lower the self-employment tax itself). The quarterly figure simply splits the year's total into four equal payments.
The math, in plain terms
Self-employment tax replaces the Social Security and Medicare an employer would split with you. It runs on 92.35% of your net profit, because the law lets you back out the employer-equivalent half first. On that base:
- 12.4% Social Security, but only up to the wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026. Profit above that owes no more Social Security.
- 2.9% Medicare on every dollar, no cap.
- 0.9% extra Medicare on earnings above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).
Add those and you have the 15.3% headline rate, which holds until your profit clears the Social Security wage base and then drops toward 2.9%. You then deduct half of the total against your income tax, which softens the blow a little.
Why income tax is the fuzzy part
The self-employment tax above is exact. Income tax is not, because it depends on your other income, your deductions, and especially the qualified business income deduction, which lets most self-employed people knock about 20% off the business income that gets taxed. The estimate here applies the 2026 brackets to your profit minus half your self-employment tax minus the standard deduction, and stops there. It is a ceiling. Your real income tax is usually lower.
That is exactly why the IRS safe harbor is the move most freelancers should make.
Safe harbor beats guessing
Pay across the four quarters either 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's tax from your filed return (110% if your prior-year AGI topped $150,000), and the IRS charges zero underpayment penalty, whatever you end up owing. Last year's number is a fact, not a forecast, which is why it is the reliable target. The mechanics, the due dates, and the percentage of each invoice to set aside are in the freelancer quarterly-tax cheat sheet.
2026 reference numbers
| Social Security wage base | $184,500 |
|---|---|
| Self-employment tax rate | 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit |
| Standard deduction (single) | $16,100 |
| Standard deduction (married filing jointly) | $32,200 |
| Extra 0.9% Medicare starts at | $200,000 single / $250,000 joint |
Sources
- IRS. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare)
- Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base ($184,500 for 2026)
- IRS. Tax Inflation Adjustments for 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)
- IRS. Topic 560, Additional Medicare Tax
Educational estimate, not tax advice. The self-employment tax figure is exact for a single Schedule C source; the income tax line excludes the qualified business income deduction, other income, state tax, and credits. Confirm your own numbers with a qualified professional.