Self-Employment Tax Calculator 2026 – 1099 & Quarterly Taxes

What is self-employment tax?

When you work for an employer, Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes are split: you pay 7.65% and your employer pays 7.65%. When you're self-employed — a freelancer, independent contractor, gig worker or sole proprietor — you are both the employee and the employer, so you pay both halves. That is self-employment (SE) tax: 15.3%, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. It is in addition to regular federal income tax, which is why many freelancers are surprised by their first tax bill.

How SE tax is calculated

1. Start with your net profit from Schedule C: business income minus deductible expenses.
2. Multiply by 92.35%. This mirrors the fact that employees don't pay FICA on the employer's half.
3. Apply 12.4% Social Security tax to that amount, up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 (reduced by any W-2 wages you earned), and 2.9% Medicare tax with no limit.
4. Add the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on earnings above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).

You owe SE tax once your net earnings reach $400. You can then deduct half of your SE tax when figuring your income tax, which the calculator includes.

Income tax on self-employment income

Your business profit is also subject to ordinary federal income tax at 2026 rates from 10% to 37%. Two deductions lower it: the standard deduction ($16,100 for single filers in 2026) and the qualified business income (QBI) deduction, which lets many sole proprietors deduct up to 20% of their business profit. The QBI deduction is limited at higher incomes for certain service businesses such as consulting, law and health; the calculator applies the basic 20% rule, so check with a tax professional if your taxable income is high. If you also have a job, the calculator shows only the extra income tax caused by your business, since your employer already withholds tax on your wages.

Quarterly estimated taxes

No one withholds tax from self-employment income, so the IRS expects you to pay during the year through estimated tax payments using Form 1040-ES if you'll owe $1,000 or more. Payments for the 2026 tax year are due April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15 of the following year (moved to the next business day when a date falls on a weekend or holiday). You can avoid an underpayment penalty by paying at least 100% of last year's total tax (110% if your income was over $150,000) or 90% of this year's. Paying online through IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS is free.

Worked examples

A single freelancer with $80,000 of net profit and no other job pays SE tax on $73,880 (92.35% of the profit): $11,304. After deducting half of it, the standard deduction and the QBI deduction, federal income tax is about $5,344, for a total of about $16,650 — roughly 21% of the profit, or about $4,160 per quarter.

With $50,000 of profit, the total is about $9,730 (19.5%). Someone earning $60,000 at a job plus $30,000 from a side business owes $4,239 in SE tax and about $4,257 of extra income tax because the side income is taxed at their 22% bracket — about $2,124 a quarter, unless they increase withholding at their job instead.

A married couple filing jointly with $120,000 of business profit owes about $16,955 in SE tax and $7,119 in income tax, about 20% in total.

Most states also tax self-employment income, so set aside a little more for state tax. To compare with a salaried job, use our paycheck calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & methodology

This calculator was last reviewed on November 2, 2026. Figures are based on the following official and primary sources:

• IRS – Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)
• IRS – Estimated taxes
• IRS – Qualified business income deduction
• IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments)

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