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Self-Employment Tax Calculator

For freelancers, 1099 contractors and LLC owners. Enter what you earned and spent in 2026, and see the federal tax to set aside and what to pay each quarter.

Written byRegistryWise Editorial TeamFact-checked against IRS and SSA figures for 2026 · How we research
On this page
  1. Calculator
  2. How it works
  3. Quarterly payments
  4. Questions
  5. Sources

Federal tax to set aside

$0

    Each quarterly payment

    $0

    • Payment 1April 15, 2026
    • Payment 2June 15, 2026
    • Payment 3September 15, 2026
    • Payment 4January 15, 2027

    An estimate of federal tax only. It leaves out state and local income tax, tax credits, itemized deductions, and retirement or health insurance deductions, which would lower the income tax figure.

    How the calculator works

    Self-employment tax is the Social Security and Medicare tax that an employer would otherwise split with you. Because you are both sides, you pay both halves. The IRS figures it in four steps, and the calculator follows them:

    1. Start with your profit. Income minus business expenses.
    2. Take 92.35% of it. That's your net earnings from self-employment. If it's under $400, you owe no self-employment tax.
    3. Apply 15.3%. 12.4% Social Security on earnings up to $184,500 in 2026 (less any W-2 wages that already paid it), and 2.9% Medicare on all of it, plus 0.9% above $200,000 ($250,000 joint).
    4. Deduct half. Half of the tax (not counting the extra 0.9%) comes off your income before income tax is figured.

    Then comes income tax. Your profit, minus that deductible half, is added to any wages. We subtract the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint), and the qualified business income deduction if you ticked it, and run what's left through the 2026 tax brackets. If you also have a job, we only count the extra income tax your 1099 income adds, since your employer already withholds for the wages.

    Paying it in quarters

    No employer withholds tax from 1099 income, so the IRS expects you to pay during the year with Form 1040-ES. The quarterly figure above is the total divided by four, which is the simplest way to stay on track. The 2026 due dates are April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027.

    If your income jumps around, you can pay unequal amounts instead. Publication 505 explains the annualized method and the safe-harbor rules that protect you from a penalty when this year's income is hard to predict.

    Paying a lot of self-employment tax? Once an LLC makes a steady profit, electing S corporation status can cut it, because only the salary you pay yourself carries payroll tax. Try the numbers in our S corp tax calculator.

    Frequently asked questions

    What is the self-employment tax rate for 2026?

    15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. It applies to 92.35% of your net self-employment earnings, and the Social Security part stops once your combined wages and self-employment earnings reach $184,500 in 2026. Above $200,000 ($250,000 for a joint return), an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies.

    Do I pay self-employment tax on 1099 income?

    Yes, if your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more. Net means after business expenses, so the tax is figured on your profit, not on every dollar a client paid you.

    Does a single-member LLC pay self-employment tax?

    By default, yes. The IRS treats a one-owner LLC as a disregarded entity, so the profit goes on your own return and self-employment tax applies just as it would to a sole proprietor. An LLC that elects S corporation status pays its owner a salary instead; see our S corp tax calculator.

    When are quarterly estimated taxes due for 2026?

    April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. You can skip the January payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the full balance with it.

    Is half of self-employment tax deductible?

    Yes. You deduct the employer-equivalent half of your self-employment tax when figuring your adjusted gross income. It lowers your income tax, not the self-employment tax itself. The calculator applies it for you.

    Sources

    We take every fee, deadline and rule on this page from these pages and nowhere else. Rules change, so open the source before you pay anything.

    1. 1.IRS Topic 554: Self-employment taxChecked November 9, 2026
    2. 2.SSA: Contribution and benefit baseChecked November 9, 2026
    3. 3.IRS Topic 560: Additional Medicare taxChecked November 9, 2026
    4. 4.IRS: tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 (IR-2025-103)Checked November 9, 2026
    5. 5.IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 QBI thresholds)Checked November 9, 2026
    6. 6.IRS 2026 Form 1040-ES (estimated tax due dates)Checked November 9, 2026
    7. 7.IRS: Single member limited liability companiesChecked November 9, 2026

    See something out of date? Report it and we'll look into it.

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