Self employment tax calculator

Enter your net profit, and any wages from a job, to see the Social Security and Medicare you owe as a self employed person in 2026 and what to pay each quarter.

Income from the business for 2026 less its expenses, the figure on Schedule C.

Pay that already had Social Security and Medicare taken off. Leave 0 when you have no job besides the business.

Sets the Additional Medicare threshold and the brackets of the income tax estimate.

Uses the standard deduction and the 2026 brackets. Tax on the wages is left to the job's withholding.

Self employment tax

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Social Security and Medicare on your net earnings, both the employee and the employer share.

Each quarterly payment
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Total for estimated payments
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Social Security part
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Medicare part
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Additional Medicare Tax
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Deduction for half the tax
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Net earnings from self employment
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Federal income tax the profit adds
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For information only, not financial, tax or legal advice.

Last updated . Method checked . Rates checked 2 November 2026. Methodology

A self employed person in the United States pays both halves of Social Security and Medicare, the share an employer and an employee would split, through self employment tax on Schedule SE. This calculator takes your net profit for 2026, applies the 92.35% net earnings factor and the 12.4% and 2.9% rates, and stops the Social Security part at the wage base, which wages from a job use up first. It adds the Additional Medicare Tax above your threshold and shows the deduction for half of the tax. If you choose, it also estimates the federal income tax the profit adds and splits the total into the four estimated tax payments for 2026, with their due dates. Every figure is in US dollars and is worked out inside this browser tab.

How to use the Self Employment Tax Calculator

  1. Enter your net profit for 2026, the business income less its expenses.
  2. Enter any wages from a job, because they share the Social Security wage base. Tip: Use the Social Security wages box of your W-2, or your year to date pay if the year is not over.
  3. Pick your filing status and choose whether to add a federal income tax estimate.
  4. Read the self employment tax, the four payments with their dates and the step by step table, then copy the table as CSV.

Worked example

A single freelancer with $80,000 of net profit, no other job, and the income tax estimate included. Amounts are in US dollars for 2026.

InputValue
Net profitUSD 80,000.00
Wages from a jobUSD 0.00
Filing statusSingle
Federal income tax estimateIncluded
 
Net earnings = 80,000 x 92.35% = USD 73,880.00
Social Security = 73,880 x 12.4% = USD 9,161.12 (under the wage base, so all of it counts)
Medicare = 73,880 x 2.9% = USD 2,142.52; no Additional Medicare below $200,000
Self employment tax = 9,161.12 + 2,142.52 = USD 11,303.64, and half of it, USD 5,651.82, is deducted
Taxable income = 80,000 - 5,651.82 - 16,100 = USD 58,248.18
Income tax = 5,800 + 22% x (58,248.18 - 50,400) = 5,800 + 1,726.60 = USD 7,526.60
Total = 11,303.64 + 7,526.60 = USD 18,830.24, so each of the four payments is USD 4,707.56
Self employment tax
USD 11,303.64
Social Security part
USD 9,161.12
Medicare part
USD 2,142.52
Deduction for half the tax
USD 5,651.82
Federal income tax the profit adds
USD 7,526.60
Each quarterly payment
USD 4,707.56

A check by the combined rate: 15.3% x 73,880 = 11,303.64. The income tax estimate leaves out the qualified business income deduction and credits, so the real income tax can be lower.

How self employment tax is calculated

Net earnings N = net profit x 92.35% (no tax when N is under 400)
Social Security = 12.4% x min(N, wage base - wages)
Medicare = 2.9% x N, and Additional Medicare = 0.9% x (N - (threshold - wages)) when positive
Each quarterly payment = (self employment tax + Additional Medicare + income tax estimate) / 4

Self employment tax is the Social Security and Medicare of a person who works for themselves, worked out on Schedule SE. It follows the IRS page on self employment tax: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, on net earnings equal to 92.35% of net profit. Each part is rounded to the cent.

The Social Security part stops at the $184,500 wage base for 2026, which counts wages, tips and net earnings together. Wages entered for a job come first, so the calculator charges 12.4% only on the room they leave. Medicare has no such limit.

Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% applies to net earnings above $200,000 for a single filer or head of household, $250,000 on a joint return and $125,000 for married filing separately. IRS Topic 560 lowers that threshold by any Medicare wages, so a high paying job uses it up first. It is reported on Form 8959, not as part of self employment tax.

Half of the self employment tax is deducted in working out adjusted gross income, which is Schedule SE line 13. When the income tax estimate is on, the tool adds wages and profit, takes off that half and the standard deduction, and applies the 2026 brackets of the filing status. It then subtracts the tax on the wages alone, since the job withholds that, and shows what is left as the income tax the profit adds.

The total is split into four equal payments on the Form 1040-ES due dates, with any odd cent on the last one. The qualified business income deduction, credits, other income, state tax and the optional methods of Schedule SE are not included.

Frequently asked questions

What is the self employment tax rate for 2026?

It is 12.4% for Social Security plus 2.9% for Medicare, 15.3% in all, charged on 92.35% of net profit. The Social Security part applies only up to $184,500 of wages and net earnings together in 2026, while the Medicare part has no limit. On $80,000 of profit the tax is $11,303.64.

Why is only 92.35% of my profit taxed?

An employee pays Social Security and Medicare on wages, and the employer's half is not part of those wages. To match that, Schedule SE multiplies net profit by 92.35%, which is 100% less half of the 15.3% rate. The result is net earnings from self employment, and the tax rates apply to that smaller figure.

Do I pay self employment tax on a small side business?

Only when net earnings from self employment reach $400 for the year. Below that, Schedule SE gives no tax at all, and the calculator shows zero. In practice that means net profit of about $433 or less is free of it. Income tax on the profit is a separate question and can still apply.

How does a day job change self employment tax?

Wages and net earnings share one Social Security wage base of $184,500. Your employer already took Social Security on the wages, so only the part of the base they leave over is open to the 12.4% charge. With $170,000 of wages and $50,000 of profit, just $14,500 of net earnings pays it. Wages also use up the Additional Medicare threshold first.

When are the 2026 estimated tax payments due?

Form 1040-ES gives 15 April 2026, 15 June 2026, 15 September 2026 and 15 January 2027. Penalties can usually be avoided by paying at least 90% of the 2026 tax, or 100% of the 2025 tax (110% if 2025 adjusted gross income was over $150,000, or $75,000 married filing separately), through withholding and these payments.

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