Self-employment tax calculator, 2026
Enter your yearly profit from self-employment. The page estimates self-employment tax, federal income tax and the quarterly set-aside for a single filer.
$80,000 of self-employment profit
Set aside about 23.5%: $18,830 a year, or $4,707 each quarter, for federal tax.
- Self-employment tax
- $11,303
- Federal income tax
- $7,526
- Total federal
- $18,830
- After federal tax
- $61,169
Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of profit: 12.4% Social Security up to the wage base plus 2.9% Medicare. Half of it is deducted before income tax, then the standard deduction. Single filer, federal only. No state tax, no QBI deduction, no other income.
Keep reading
Questions
How is self-employment tax calculated?
Net earnings are 92.35% of profit. Social Security is 12.4% of that up to the yearly wage base, Medicare is 2.9%, and 0.9% more applies over $200,000. Half of the Social Security and Medicare tax is deducted before income tax.
What does this leave out?
State tax, the qualified business income deduction, other income, self-employed health insurance, retirement contributions and credits. Use it as a set-aside estimate, not a tax return.
Is there tax under $400 of profit?
No. Schedule SE has no self-employment tax when net earnings are under $400.
Where do the rules come from?
IRS Schedule SE instructions and Publication 334 for the self-employment tax, and the Revenue Procedure for the 2026 brackets and standard deduction.