Self-Employment Tax Estimator
Estimate Social Security and Medicare tax on freelance, gig, or small-business profit.
Your answer
Turn on JavaScript to use this calculator. The formula is explained below so you can work it out by hand.
How this calculator works
Self-employed people pay both the employee and employer shares of Social Security and Medicare, through self-employment (SE) tax.
Net earnings = net profit × 92.35%
SE tax = net earnings × 12.4% (Social Security, up to the yearly wage base) + net earnings × 2.9% (Medicare)
The 92.35% step reflects the employer-equivalent share. If you also have W-2 wages, they use up part of the Social Security wage base first. No SE tax is due if net earnings are under $400. You can generally deduct half of your SE tax when figuring income tax.
This estimate covers SE tax only. Income tax on the same profit, and the Additional Medicare Tax at higher incomes, are separate.
Example
$40,000 of net profit gives net earnings of $40,000 × 0.9235 = $36,940. SE tax is $36,940 × 15.3% = $5,651.82. Half of that, $2,825.91, is deductible. Setting aside about $1,413 a quarter covers the SE tax portion.
Sources
- IRS: IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026
- Social Security Administration: Contribution and Benefit Base
- IRS: Questions and answers for the Additional Medicare Tax
Tax data last reviewed October 3, 2026.
Category: Taxes, Small Business, Work & Career