Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Estimate Social Security and Medicare taxes on net self-employment profit, with wage-cap coordination and the regular-tax deduction shown separately.
Rule year: 2026 · USD · Sources checked
Estimated self-employment taxes
Ordinary positive self-employment profit; no optional methods, church income, business losses or railroad compensation. W-2 inputs assume the same Social Security/Medicare base. This is not federal income tax, estimated-payment advice or a full Schedule SE/Form 8959 filing.
For informational purposes only. This estimate is not financial advice, a tax return, a payroll calculation or a lender decision. See the supported circumstances and exclusions below.
How this calculator works
The ordinary net-earnings base is 92.35% of business profit. At least $400 of net earnings triggers the supported regular self-employment calculation. Social Security uses the remaining 2026 wage cap after your own W-2 wages; a spouse’s wages do not consume your cap. Medicare has no covered-wage ceiling. For joint filing, spouse Medicare wages can affect Additional Medicare, which is shown separately. Only half of regular self-employment Social Security and Medicare is included in the displayed deduction.
Formula and rules
SE earnings = net profit × 92.35%. Social Security = min(SE earnings, remaining personal wage cap) × 12.4%. Medicare = SE earnings × 2.9%. Deductible regular-tax half = (Social Security + regular Medicare) / 2.
Assumptions and limitations
Ordinary positive self-employment profit; no optional methods, church income, business losses or railroad compensation. W-2 inputs assume the same Social Security/Medicare base. This is not federal income tax, estimated-payment advice or a full Schedule SE/Form 8959 filing.
Worked example
With $50,000 net profit, no W-2 wages and Single status, net SE earnings are $46,175. Regular Social Security and Medicare total $7,064.775 before display rounding; the deductible half is $3,532.3875.
- Estimated self-employment taxes
- $7,064.78
- Net earnings used
- $46,175.00
- Social Security portion
- $5,725.70
- Medicare portion
- $1,339.08
Official sources and review
Reviewed against the sources below on 2026-10-06. Rates are held in versioned rule modules. Versioned rules, official source review and year-specific calculation tests.
- IRS: Self-employment tax ↗
92.35% net-earnings base, $400 filing threshold, 12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare.
- SSA: Contribution and benefit base ↗
2026 covered-earnings cap: $184,500.
- IRS: Additional Medicare Tax ↗
0.9% additional tax and filing-status thresholds; withholding and final liability differ.
Common questions
Is this all the tax on freelance income?
No. Federal and state income tax may also apply. This tool calculates the supported self-employment Social Security and Medicare components.
Why is only 92.35% of profit used?
That is the ordinary IRS net-earnings calculation used for self-employment tax. Special optional methods are outside this tool.
Is Additional Medicare included in the deductible half?
No. The displayed half-tax deduction uses regular Social Security and Medicare, excluding Additional Medicare.