What is the self-employment tax rate?

15.3% — 12.4% social security and 2.9% Medicare — but it is charged on 92.35% of net profit rather than all of it, so the rate against profit is 14.13%. The 7.65% difference is the employer half you are notionally paying, and it is why the base is reduced before the rate is applied.

How much self-employment tax will I owe on $80,000?

$11,304 on profit of $80,000 with no other income: net earnings are $73,880, social security is $9,161 and Medicare $2,143. Half of it, $5,652, comes off your income before income tax is figured, so the net cost is lower than the headline.

Do W-2 wages reduce my self-employment tax?

Yes, and this is the part simple calculators drop. Social security is charged once across everything you earn, up to $184,500 for 2026. Wages from a job fill that ceiling first, so someone already at it pays only the 2.9% Medicare on freelance profit — not 15.3%.

Is self-employment tax instead of income tax?

No — on top of it. Self-employment tax is social security and Medicare, the contributions an employer and employee split between them. Income tax is charged separately on the same profit, which is why a freelancer in the 22% bracket is looking at roughly 36% on the next dollar earned.

When is the $400 floor?

Net earnings below $400 — that is profit below about $433 — owe no self-employment tax and need no Schedule SE. Income tax may still apply. The floor is per year and has not been indexed since 1990.

Quarterly, through Form 1040-ES, on 15 April, 15 June, 15 September and 15 January. The calculator divides the year’s figure by four; if your income is uneven, the annualised instalment method on Schedule AI lets you pay in the quarters you actually earned.

Self-employment tax calculator

$100,000 of net profit owes $14,130 in self-employment tax, not $15,300. The 15.3% is charged on 92.35% of the profit rather than all of it, and half of what you pay — $7,065 — comes off your income before income tax is worked out. Both adjustments are in the figure above.

What Schedule SE comes to for 2026, the half of it that is deductible, and the quarterly instalment. It asks for your W-2 wages as well as your profit, because social security is charged once across everything you earn — and a job that has already filled the ceiling changes the answer from 15.3% to 2.9%.

Rates and the wage base checked against IRS Publication 15 for 2026 2 September 2026 · How we check

Net profit from self-employmentSchedule C line 31 — revenue after business expenses, not revenue.W-2 wages this yearFrom a job, if you have one. They use up the social security ceiling first.Filing status

Self-employment tax

$11,304

That is 14.13% of your profit, not 15.3% — the rate is charged on 92.35% of it, which is the deduction for the employer half you are notionally paying yourself.

Net earnings, 92.35% of profit: $73,880
Social security, 12.4%: $9,161
Medicare, 2.9%: $2,143
Deductible half: $5,652
Each quarterly instalment: $2,826

Self-employment tax is on top of income tax, not instead of it. On this profit your income tax bracket is 22%, so the next dollar of profit meets that plus 15.3% — which is what makes the quarterly bill larger than a first-time freelancer expects.

Key facts for 2026

Combined rate: 15.3% of net earnings
Charged on: 92.35% of net profit
Effective rate on profit: 14.13%
Social security: 12.4% up to $184,500
Medicare: 2.9%, no ceiling
Additional Medicare: 0.9% above $200,000 single
Deductible: Half, above the line
Floor: $400 of net earnings

How it is calculated

An employee and their employer each pay 7.65% of wages — 6.2% social security and 1.45% Medicare. Someone self-employed is both parties, so they pay 15.3%. To keep that fair against an employee, whose employer half is not part of their taxable wage, the base is first reduced by 7.65%: net earnings are 92.35% of net profit.

Social security stops at the wage base — $184,500 in 2026, indexed each year. Medicare does not stop at all, and above $200,000 it gains another 0.9% with no employer half, which is why that surtax is excluded from the deductible half.

Half of the tax then comes off your income before income tax is figured. It is an adjustment, not an itemised deduction, so it applies whether or not you itemise.

Worked example: $80,000 of profit

A freelancer with $80,000 of net profit and no job has net earnings of $73,880. Social security takes $9,161 and Medicare $2,143, so the tax is $11,304 — 14.13% of the profit, not 15.3%.

$5,652 of that is deductible, and the quarterly instalment is $2,826. Income tax is separate and comes on top.

When this does not apply

S-corporation owners. Wages you pay yourself carry ordinary payroll tax and distributions carry none, which is the whole reason the election exists. Schedule SE does not apply to the distribution — but the salary has to be reasonable, and the IRS litigates that.
Rental income. Ordinarily not subject to self-employment tax, unless you provide substantial services like a hotel would.
Partners versus limited partners. A general partner’s distributive share is self-employment income; a limited partner’s generally is not.
Statutory employees and clergy. Both have their own rules, and clergy pay SE tax on wages that would otherwise be an employee’s.

Questions people actually ask

What is the self-employment tax rate?: 15.3% — 12.4% social security and 2.9% Medicare — but it is charged on 92.35% of net profit rather than all of it, so the rate against profit is 14.13%. The 7.65% difference is the employer half you are notionally paying, and it is why the base is reduced before the rate is applied.
How much self-employment tax will I owe on $80,000?: $11,304 on profit of $80,000 with no other income: net earnings are $73,880, social security is $9,161 and Medicare $2,143. Half of it, $5,652, comes off your income before income tax is figured, so the net cost is lower than the headline.
Do W-2 wages reduce my self-employment tax?: Yes, and this is the part simple calculators drop. Social security is charged once across everything you earn, up to $184,500 for 2026. Wages from a job fill that ceiling first, so someone already at it pays only the 2.9% Medicare on freelance profit — not 15.3%.
Is self-employment tax instead of income tax?: No — on top of it. Self-employment tax is social security and Medicare, the contributions an employer and employee split between them. Income tax is charged separately on the same profit, which is why a freelancer in the 22% bracket is looking at roughly 36% on the next dollar earned.
When is the $400 floor?: Net earnings below $400 — that is profit below about $433 — owe no self-employment tax and need no Schedule SE. Income tax may still apply. The floor is per year and has not been indexed since 1990.
How do I pay it?: Quarterly, through Form 1040-ES, on 15 April, 15 June, 15 September and 15 January. The calculator divides the year’s figure by four; if your income is uneven, the annualised instalment method on Schedule AI lets you pay in the quarters you actually earned.

What to do next

Set aside the quarterly figure above plus your income tax as the money arrives rather than at the deadline — the income tax page gives that half band by band. If you also have a job, the simplest way to cover a side business is to raise the withholding on your W-4 instead of filing 1040-ES at all: withholding is treated as paid evenly through the year, so it cures an underpayment penalty that quarterly instalments would not.

Cite this page

APA: Rule Calculator. (2026). Self-Employment Tax Calculator. Rule Calculator. https://rulecalculators.com/self-employment-tax
MLA: "Self-Employment Tax Calculator." Rule Calculator, September 2, 2026, https://rulecalculators.com/self-employment-tax.
Chicago: Rule Calculator. "Self-Employment Tax Calculator." Rule Calculator. Last reviewed September 2, 2026. https://rulecalculators.com/self-employment-tax.

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Sources

An estimate of federal self-employment tax, not tax advice. State tax, credits and the qualified business income deduction are not included.

Income tax, band by band Bonus withholding Take-home pay Marriage penalty Quarterly deadlines Refund estimate

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