See your real take-home pay after self-employment taxes, plus what to set aside for quarterly payments.
The IRS does not go easy on freelancers. When you work for yourself (driving for Uber, freelancing on Fiverr, walking dogs, consulting) you owe both the employee AND employer share of Social Security and Medicare. That's 15.3% off the top before income tax even enters the picture. Then there are quarterly estimated taxes, which most side hustlers ignore until they get a nasty surprise in April. This calculator shows you the real number: what you keep.
Tax brackets current as of April 2026. SE tax rate and IRS rules confirmed. Verify with a tax professional for your specific situation.
Enter your income above to see your tax breakdown.
When you work a regular job, your employer pays half of Social Security and Medicare (7.65%) and you pay the other half. When you're self-employed, you're both the employer and employee, so you pay the full 15.3%. The IRS does let you deduct half of it from your income taxes, which softens the blow a little.
If you expect to owe more than $1,000 in federal taxes from your side hustle, yes. The IRS requires you to pay estimated taxes four times a year. Miss them and you'll owe a penalty on top of the tax itself. The safe harbor rule: pay 100% of last year's tax liability in quarterly installments and you're covered even if you earn more this year.
Any ordinary and necessary cost to run your business. Software subscriptions, equipment, a dedicated home office space, your phone bill (the business portion), mileage at the IRS rate, professional development, and health insurance if you're self-employed. Keep receipts. The IRS does not accept "I think I spent about that much."
Gross is what you earn before expenses. Net is what's left after deducting legitimate business costs. Self-employment tax is calculated on 92.35% of your net income, not gross. This matters because reducing your net income through deductions reduces your SE tax, your income tax, and your quarterly payments all at once.
Once your net self-employment income consistently exceeds $40,000-$50,000 per year, an S-Corp election can meaningfully reduce your SE tax by allowing you to split income between salary and distributions. Below that threshold, the setup and accounting costs usually outweigh the savings. Talk to a CPA when you hit that level.
Yes, if you use a portion of your home regularly and exclusively for business. You can use the simplified method ($5 per square foot, up to 300 sq ft) or the actual expense method which calculates the percentage of your home used for work. The exclusive use requirement is real. A corner of your bedroom where you also watch TV does not qualify.