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Self-Employment Tax Calculator

Freelancers, gig workers, and business owners owe self-employment tax (15.3%) on top of regular income tax. Use this calculator to see your SE tax breakdown.

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Gross revenue minus business expenses (Schedule C line 31)

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W-2 wages affect SS wage base calculations

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Enter all required fields to see your self-employment tax breakdown

How Self-Employment Tax Works

What is SE tax? Self-employment tax covers Social Security (12.4%) and Medicare (2.9%) for self-employed individuals. W-2 employees split this 15.3% with their employer, but self-employed individuals pay both portions.

92.35% rule: Only 92.35% of your net self-employment income is subject to SE tax. This approximates the employer portion that W-2 employees don't pay tax on.

Social Security cap: The Social Security portion (12.4%) only applies up to $168,600 of combined wages and SE income (2024). There's no cap on the Medicare portion.

SE deduction: You can deduct half of your self-employment tax from your adjusted gross income, which reduces your federal income tax.

This is an estimate for educational purposes only and is not tax advice.

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