Self-Employment Tax Calculator

Schedule SE (Form 1040) is the IRS form that turns net profit into self-employment tax. The 2025 version, filed in 2026, runs the same steps as the calculator above. Here is Part I with $100,000 of Schedule C profit and no W-2 wages:

With W-2 wages, line 8a takes the total of boxes 3 and 7 from your Forms W-2 and line 9 shrinks by that amount; at $176,100 or more of wages, you skip lines 8b through 10 and only the 2.9% on line 11 applies. For 2026, the wage base that goes on line 7 is $184,500 (SSA); the IRS has not released the 2026 form yet. The Schedule SE line-by-line instructions cover the Part II optional methods and multiple businesses.

These figures assume no W-2 wages and use the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Up to about $199,783 of net profit, self-employment tax is a flat 14.13% of profit; above that, only the 2.9% Medicare part keeps growing, so the share falls.

The table leaves out the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax. Form 8959 charges it on net earnings above $200,000 for a single filer, which adds about $278 at $250,000 of profit and $693 at $300,000; the calculator shows it on a separate line and keeps it out of the deductible half. For 2025, the lower $176,100 wage base means the Social Security part stops growing at about $190,688 of profit.

The IRS allows you to deduct 50% of your self-employment tax as an adjustment to income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 15; Schedule SE, line 13 figures the amount. This is an above-the-line deduction, meaning you claim it whether you itemize or take the standard deduction ($16,100 for single filers in 2026). On $14,130 of SE tax, the deduction takes $7,065 off your adjusted gross income. It lowers income tax only; the self-employment tax itself stays the same.

You must file Schedule SE (Form 1040) if your net earnings from self-employment (Schedule SE, line 4c) are $400 or more. Because the test applies after the 92.35% factor, it takes $433.14 of net profit to reach it. The threshold applies per person, not per business: profits and losses from all of your businesses are combined on one Schedule SE, and each spouse with self-employment income files a separate one. Church employees are the exception: if your church or church-controlled employer elected out of Social Security and Medicare taxes, you owe SE tax once church employee income reaches $108.28 ($100 divided by 0.9235, matching the $100 floor on line 5b). The total from Schedule SE goes on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 4.

Self-employed taxpayers must also make quarterly estimated tax payments using Form 1040-ES. The IRS expects payments by April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. Missing these deadlines triggers an underpayment penalty calculated at the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points. Use our quarterly tax calculator to estimate each payment.

Self-employment tax and federal income tax are two separate obligations. SE tax is a flat-rate payroll tax (15.3%) that funds Social Security and Medicare. Federal income tax uses progressive brackets ranging from 10% to 37% based on your taxable income and filing status.

A freelancer with $80,000 in net earnings pays roughly $11,304 in SE tax plus federal income tax on the remaining taxable amount after deductions. The 50% SE tax deduction, the standard deduction, and any itemized deductions reduce the income tax portion but do not reduce SE tax itself.

The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction under Section 199A lets eligible self-employed filers deduct up to 20% of qualified business income from their federal income tax. This deduction was made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. It applies to income tax only and does not reduce SE tax. Calculate your potential savings with the QBI deduction calculator.

You owe SE tax if you have $400 or more of net earnings from self-employment during the tax year. This includes sole proprietors, single-member LLC owners, independent contractors receiving 1099-NEC forms, freelancers, gig economy workers, and general partnersin a partnership; limited partners owe it only on guaranteed payments for services. S corporation shareholders are different: their share of the corporation's profit isn't self-employment income, so they pay Social Security and Medicare through payroll on the salary the S corporation pays them.

If you also have W-2 wages, your employer already withholds 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. The Social Security tax cap of $184,500 in 2026 applies to your combined W-2 and SE earnings. For example, if your W-2 wages are $120,000, only the first $64,500 of your SE taxable income is subject to the 12.4% Social Security rate. Track your combined 1099 and W-2 tax liability with our 1099 tax calculator.

Answers use 2026 figures unless a question names 2025.