Enter your profit
Type your net profit for the year, or your business income and expenses. Pick your filing status.
WAVESPEED AI SELF-EMPLOYMENT TAX CALCULATOR Works in your browser
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Free Self-Employment Tax CalculatorKnow what to set aside each quarter.
For creators, freelancers and anyone paid without tax taken out: enter your profit to see your 2026 self-employment tax, federal income tax and the total.
Then get the four quarterly estimated payments with their IRS due dates, and the safe-harbor amount that avoids a penalty. US federal tax only, as an estimate.
2026 IRS figuresQuarterly due datesNothing leaves your device
No sign-up Unlimited use Remembers your numbers
Only years whose IRS figures are published.
Your business
Business income minus business expenses (Schedule C, line 31). A loss is a negative number.
Other income and withholding
W-2 wages. They use up the Social Security wage base first.
Interest and similar income, taxed as ordinary income.
From paychecks (W-2 box 2), including any Additional Medicare Tax withheld. It lowers what you pay each quarter.
Deductions
Figured for one business you actively run, with no employees or business property, that is not a specified service business, and no capital gains. Below the income threshold the type of business does not matter.
A flat allowance on your federal AGI. Check your state's own rules and due dates.
Safe harbor and payments already made
The total tax on your 2025 return (Form 1040, line 24, less a few items). Leave it empty if you did not file.
What is left is then spread over the remaining due dates.
Set aside each quarter (2026 federal)
Estimated 2026 federal tax: $12,037.20. Through estimated payments: $12,037.20 for the year.
- Self-employment tax
- $8,477.73
- Federal income tax
- $3,559.47
- Total federal tax
- $12,037.20
- Effective rate
- 20.1% Federal tax ÷ total income
- Income tax bracket
- 12%
2026 estimated tax payments
| Payment | Due date | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment 1 | Apr 15, 2026 | $3,009.30 | |
| Payment 2 | Jun 15, 2026 | $3,009.30 | |
| Payment 3 | Sep 15, 2026 | $3,009.30 | |
| Payment 4 | Jan 15, 2027 * | $3,009.30 |
* You can skip the January payment if you file your return by Feb 1, 2027 and pay the whole balance with it.
Four equal payments (the regular installment method). If your income comes unevenly, the annualized income method in IRS Publication 505 may let you pay less earlier in the year.
Due dates are the ones the IRS published for this year. When a due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, a payment on the next business day is on time.
How it is worked out
| Net profit | $60,000.00 |
| Net earnings from self-employment (× 92.35%) | $55,410.00 |
| Social Security part (12.4%, up to $184,500) | $6,870.84 |
| Medicare part (2.9%) | $1,606.89 |
| Self-employment tax | $8,477.73 |
| Deduction for half of self-employment tax | -$4,238.87 |
| Adjusted gross income (with wages and other income) | $55,761.13 |
| Standard deduction (Single) | -$16,100.00 |
| Qualified business income deduction | -$7,932.23 |
| Taxable income | $31,728.90 |
| Federal income tax (tax rate schedules) | $3,559.47 |
| Self-employment tax | $8,477.73 |
| Total federal tax | $12,037.20 |
| Left to pay through estimated payments | $12,037.20 |
Safe harbor: what you must pay to avoid a penalty
You generally must make 2026 estimated payments if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and credits. You avoid the underpayment penalty when withholding plus on-time estimated payments cover the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of the tax on your 2025 return.
If your 2025 AGI was over $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately), use 110% of your 2025 tax instead. Your 2025 return must cover all 12 months. If you had no tax liability for 2025, you do not have to pay estimated tax. Farmers and fishers have their own rules.
Estimate only, not tax advice
This calculator estimates US federal tax for one self-employed person. It does not include state or local tax rules (beyond the flat allowance you enter), credits such as the child tax credit or earned income credit, capital gains and qualified dividends, a spouse's self-employment income, self-employed health insurance or retirement plan deductions, the charitable deduction for non-itemizers, Schedule 1-A deductions, the alternative minimum tax or the net investment income tax.
Your real tax depends on your whole return. Before you decide, check with a tax professional or the IRS. Everything is calculated in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Figures for 2026 come from the IRS: Form 1040-ES, the annual inflation-adjustment revenue procedure, Publication 505, Schedule SE, Form 8959 and Form 8995.
Calculated on your device. What you type is not sent anywhere.
THREE SIMPLE STEPS
How to estimate your self-employment tax
Add the rest of your year
Add any wages from a job, other income, tax already withheld, and itemized deductions if you have them.
Read your quarterly amount
See your self-employment tax, income tax, the amount to set aside each quarter and the four due dates.
Worked examples
$60,000 profit, single
A single creator with $60,000 net profit in 2026, no other income, standard deduction.
- Net earnings: 60,000 × 92.35% = $55,410. Self-employment tax at 15.3% = $8,477.73; half of it, $4,238.87, is deductible.
- Taxable income: 60,000 − 4,238.87 − 16,100 standard deduction − 7,932.23 QBI deduction = $31,728.90.
- Income tax: 1,240 + 12% × (31,728.90 − 12,400) = $3,559.47.
Total federal tax $12,037.20: set aside $3,009.30 each quarter.
$250,000 profit, single
A single creator with $250,000 net profit in 2026 and no wages.
- Social Security stops at the $184,500 wage base: 12.4% × 184,500 = $22,878. Medicare: 2.9% × 230,875 = $6,695.38.
- Additional Medicare Tax: 0.9% × (230,875 − 200,000) = $277.88.
- Taxable income before the QBI deduction, $219,113.31, is in the phase-in range, so the deduction falls from $47,042.66 to $36,151.78.
Total federal tax $66,360.03, about $16,590 each quarter.
A small side income
You made a $400 profit from a new channel in 2026.
- Net earnings: 400 × 92.35% = $369.40.
- Self-employment tax starts only at $400 of net earnings, about $433.14 of profit.
No self-employment tax is due on this profit.
How the numbers are worked out
net earnings = net profit × 92.35%self-employment tax = 12.4% × the part of net earnings up to the wage base (less wages) + 2.9% × net earningstaxable income = profit + wages + other income − ½ self-employment tax − deduction − QBI deductioneach quarter = (income tax + self-employment tax + Additional Medicare Tax − withholding) ÷ 4The calculator follows the IRS worksheets in Form 1040-ES, Schedule SE, Form 8959 and Form 8995 line by line, rounding each line to the cent. Income tax uses the tax rate schedules for your filing status, bracket by bracket.
The QBI deduction is 20% of your profit after the deductible half of self-employment tax, limited to 20% of taxable income. Above the income threshold it phases out for a business with no employees or property; from 2026 it is at least $400 when your QBI is $1,000 or more.
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Self-Employment Tax Calculator FAQ
What is self-employment tax?
It is Social Security and Medicare tax for people who work for themselves. It is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare) of 92.35% of your net profit. For 2026 the Social Security part applies only to the first $184,500 of wages and net earnings combined, and half of the tax is deducted when figuring your income tax.
When are the 2026 quarterly estimated tax payments due?
April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027. You can skip the January payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the whole balance with it.
Do I have to pay estimated tax?
Generally yes, if you expect to owe at least $1,000 for the year after withholding and credits. You avoid the underpayment penalty when you pay at least the smaller of 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's tax (110% if last year's AGI was over $150,000, or $75,000 married filing separately).
Is there a minimum profit before self-employment tax applies?
Yes. No self-employment tax is due when your net earnings (profit × 92.35%) are under $400, which is a profit of about $433. Income tax can still apply to that profit.
Is the QBI deduction included?
Yes, for the simple case: one business you actively run, with no employees or business property, and no capital gains. Below $201,750 of taxable income ($403,500 filing jointly) that is 20% of your profit after the deductible half of self-employment tax, up to 20% of taxable income. Above that, specified service businesses and businesses with employees are figured differently, so check with a tax professional. You can switch it off.
Does it include state tax, and is it tax advice?
It covers US federal tax only. You can add a flat state rate as a rough allowance, but state rules and due dates differ. It is an estimate, not tax advice: credits and special situations are not included. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
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