{"tool":{"slug":"self-employment-tax","name":"Self-employment tax calculator","version":"2026-08-22","canonicalUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/self-employment-tax","jsonUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/self-employment-tax.json","pageUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/self-employment-tax","parameters":[{"key":"net","label":"Net self-employment income","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":80000,"sourceId":null,"help":"Your profit, not your revenue: line 31 of Schedule C, which is everything your clients paid you minus your business expenses. Add up every 1099-NEC and 1099-K plus cash work, then subtract what it cost you to do the work."},{"key":"wages","label":"W-2 wages from a job","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":0,"sourceId":null,"help":"Box 1 of a W-2 if you also hold a job. It matters twice: it fills the Social Security wage base before your self-employment income can, and it pushes the profit into higher income-tax brackets."},{"key":"withholding","label":"Federal tax already withheld","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":0,"sourceId":null,"help":"Box 2 of that W-2: federal income tax your employer already takes out. It does not change what you owe, only how much of it you still have to send in yourself."},{"key":"safeHarbor","label":"Safe harbor share of this year's tax","unit":"percent","min":50,"max":110,"default":90,"sourceId":"irs-pub-505","help":"Pay in at least this share of the year's tax through withholding and estimated payments and there is no underpayment penalty. 90% of the current year is the rule that does not require knowing last year's return."}],"options":[{"key":"status","label":"Filing status","options":[{"value":"single","label":"Single"},{"value":"married-joint","label":"Married filing jointly"},{"value":"married-separate","label":"Married filing separately"},{"value":"head-of-household","label":"Head of household"},{"value":"qualifying-surviving-spouse","label":"Qualifying surviving spouse"}],"default":"single","sourceId":null,"help":"Your status on the last day of the year. It does not change self-employment tax at all, which is the same rate for everyone, but it sets the standard deduction and the brackets, so it moves the income tax on top."},{"key":"qbi","label":"Claim the qualified business income deduction","options":[{"value":"yes","label":"Yes"},{"value":"no","label":"No"}],"default":"yes","sourceId":null,"help":"Section 199A lets most self-employed people deduct up to 20% of business profit from taxable income. It is a real deduction on a real return, not an estimate, so it is on by default. Switch it off to see the bill without it."}]},"taxYear":2025,"inputs":{"net":80000,"wages":0,"withholding":0,"safeHarbor":90,"status":"single","qbi":"yes"},"result":{"totalTax":16690.64,"selfEmploymentTax":11303.64,"additionalMedicareTax":0,"incomeTax":5387,"netEarnings":73880,"deductibleHalf":5651.82,"qbiDeduction":11719.64,"qbiNeedsForm8995A":false,"qbiThreshold":197300,"agi":74348.18,"standardDeduction":15750,"taxableIncome":46878.54,"wageOnlyTax":0,"selfEmploymentShare":16690.64,"setAsideRate":20.86,"quarterly":4172.66,"safeHarborQuarterly":3755.39,"keep":63309.36,"withheld":0,"refundOrOwed":-16690.64,"effectiveRate":22.45,"marginalRate":23.13,"scheduleSe":[{"line":"3","label":"Net profit from Schedule C","amount":80000},{"line":"6","label":"Net earnings from self-employment","amount":73880,"emphasis":true},{"line":"12","label":"Self-employment tax","amount":11303.64,"emphasis":true},{"line":"13","label":"Deductible half, carried to Schedule 1","amount":5651.82}],"form1040":[{"line":"1z","label":"W-2 wages","amount":0},{"line":"9","label":"Total income, wages plus profit","amount":80000},{"line":"10","label":"Half of self-employment tax, deducted","amount":5651.82},{"line":"11","label":"Adjusted gross income","amount":74348.18,"emphasis":true},{"line":"12","label":"Standard deduction","amount":15750},{"line":"13","label":"Qualified business income deduction","amount":11719.64},{"line":"15","label":"Taxable income","amount":46878.54,"emphasis":true},{"line":"16","label":"Income tax on that","amount":5387},{"line":"22","label":"Income tax after credits","amount":5387},{"line":"23","label":"Self-employment tax and other taxes","amount":11303.64},{"line":"24","label":"Total federal tax","amount":16690.64,"emphasis":true},{"line":"25d","label":"Federal tax withheld","amount":0},{"line":"33","label":"Total payments","amount":0}],"computability":{"status":"final","fileReady":true,"blocking":[]}},"parameters":{"netEarningsFactor":0.9235,"combinedRate":0.153,"socialSecurityRate":0.124,"medicareRate":0.029,"wageBase":176100,"wageBaseProfit":190687.6},"drivers":[{"key":"net","label":"Net self-employment income","step":10000,"taxDelta":2891.96,"sentence":"Another $10,000 of profit adds $2,892 of federal tax, so you keep $7,108 of it."},{"key":"qbi","label":"Qualified business income deduction","step":1,"taxDelta":-2414,"sentence":"The § 199A deduction is worth $2,414 here. Without it the same profit costs $19,105."},{"key":"wages","label":"W-2 wages from a job","step":10000,"taxDelta":1600,"sentence":"$10,000 more in W-2 wages adds $1,600 of tax on this return. That is income tax only: the payroll tax on a paycheck is split with your employer and withheld before Form 1040 ever sees it, which is why self-employment tax feels like a new tax when it is the same one with both halves on you."},{"key":"expenses","label":"Deductible business expenses","step":-1000,"taxDelta":-231.29,"sentence":"$1,000 more in deductible business expenses cuts the bill by $231, because it comes off before self-employment tax and income tax both."}],"sensitivity":{"byNet":[{"net":40000,"selfEmploymentTax":5651.82,"totalTax":7468.82,"share":7468.82,"setAsideRate":18.67,"quarterly":1867.21},{"net":60000,"selfEmploymentTax":8477.73,"totalTax":12082.73,"share":12082.73,"setAsideRate":20.14,"quarterly":3020.68},{"net":80000,"selfEmploymentTax":11303.64,"totalTax":16690.64,"share":16690.64,"setAsideRate":20.86,"quarterly":4172.66},{"net":120000,"selfEmploymentTax":16955.46,"totalTax":28727.46,"share":28727.46,"setAsideRate":23.94,"quarterly":7181.87},{"net":160000,"selfEmploymentTax":22607.28,"totalTax":40979.98,"share":40979.98,"setAsideRate":25.61,"quarterly":10245}],"byStatus":[{"status":"single","label":"Single","totalTax":16690.64},{"status":"married-joint","label":"Married filing jointly","totalTax":14939.64},{"status":"married-separate","label":"Married filing separately","totalTax":16690.64},{"status":"head-of-household","label":"Head of household","totalTax":15832.64},{"status":"qualifying-surviving-spouse","label":"Qualifying surviving spouse","totalTax":14939.64}],"byQbi":[{"qbi":"yes","label":"Yes","totalTax":16690.64},{"qbi":"no","label":"No","totalTax":19104.64}]},"assumptions":[{"key":"net","label":"Net self-employment income","value":80000,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"wages","label":"W-2 wages from a job","value":0,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"withholding","label":"Federal tax already withheld","value":0,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"safeHarbor","label":"Safe harbor share of this year's tax","value":90,"unit":"percent","provided":false,"source":{"id":"irs-pub-505","name":"IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax","url":"https://www.irs.gov/publications/p505","asOf":"2025-01-01","note":"The estimated-tax rules under 26 U.S.C. § 6654: four installments across the year, and the 90% of this year's tax safe harbor that avoids an underpayment penalty."}},{"key":"status","label":"Filing status","value":"single","unit":"choice","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"qbi","label":"Claim the qualified business income deduction","value":"yes","unit":"choice","provided":false,"source":null}],"sources":[{"id":"rev-proc-2024-40","name":"IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (2025 inflation-adjusted items)","url":"https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-24-40.pdf","asOf":"2025-01-01","note":"The rate tables, standard deduction, and the qualified business income threshold for tax year 2025, as published by the IRS."},{"id":"pl-119-21-obbba","name":"One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21)","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-119publ21","asOf":"2025-07-04","note":"The statute that sets the current standard deduction used for 2025."},{"id":"usc-title-26","name":"26 U.S.C. (Internal Revenue Code)","url":"https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title26","asOf":"2025-01-01","note":"The code sections the calculation implements: § 1401 self-employment tax, § 1402 net earnings, § 164(f) the deductible half, § 199A the qualified business income deduction, § 3101(b)(2) additional Medicare tax."},{"id":"irs-pub-505","name":"IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax","url":"https://www.irs.gov/publications/p505","asOf":"2025-01-01","note":"The estimated-tax rules under 26 U.S.C. § 6654: four installments across the year, and the 90% of this year's tax safe harbor that avoids an underpayment penalty."}],"warnings":[{"code":"estimated-payments-due","message":"Nothing withholds tax from self-employment income, so this is yours to send in: $3,755 per installment covers the 90% safe harbor and avoids an underpayment penalty. Setting aside $4,173 a quarter covers the whole bill instead of the minimum."}],"disclaimer":"This computes federal self-employment tax and the federal income tax on top of it for tax year 2025, from nonfarm self-employment profit and optional W-2 wages, using the standard deduction and no dependents. It leaves out state and local tax, business losses, retirement plan contributions, the self-employed health insurance deduction, and every credit, so it is not your return and not tax advice. Check anything that matters against your own filing."}