Self-Employment Tax Calculator Know what you owe before the quarter closes.
When you work for yourself, you pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare — 15.3% on most of your net earnings. Estimate your self-employment tax, see the deductible portion, and get a quarterly estimated payment figure you can actually plan around.
Your Self-Employment Income
Results update as you type.
Estimated Self-Employment Tax
Getting to Net Earnings
Self-Employment Tax Breakdown
Estimated Total Federal Tax
Quarterly Estimated Payments
Total federal tax divided into four equal payments. Due dates shift to the next business day when they fall on a weekend or holiday.
How Self-Employment Tax Is Built
An employee splits Social Security and Medicare with their employer. When you are self-employed, you cover both halves — but you also get to deduct half of it against your income.
| Component | Rate | Applies to | Your amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 12.4% | Net earnings up to the $176,100 wage base | $10,879 |
| Medicare | 2.9% | All net earnings, no ceiling | $2,544 |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% | Combined wages and net earnings above $200,000 | $0 |
| Total self-employment tax | — | Reported on Schedule SE | $13,423 |
| Deductible half | — | Reduces adjusted gross income, not self-employment tax | − $6,712 |
What This Calculator Does and Doesn't Cover
An estimate, not tax advice
This calculator provides a simplified estimate for planning purposes only. It does not account for every provision that may apply to your situation, and it is not a substitute for professional guidance. Talk with Alumbra CPA about your specific facts.
- Only 92.35% of net profit is subject to self-employment tax. That adjustment approximates the employer-side deduction an employee would receive.
- The Social Security portion stops at the annual wage base. Medicare has no ceiling, and an additional 0.9% applies above higher income thresholds.
- W-2 wages count first toward the Social Security wage base. If your job already used it up, the Social Security portion of your self-employment tax drops to zero.
- Half of your self-employment tax is deductible in arriving at adjusted gross income. It lowers income tax, not the self-employment tax itself.
- The income tax figure is a rough estimate using the standard deduction and ordinary brackets. It does not include the qualified business income deduction, credits, or state tax.
- Not included here: the qualified business income deduction, S-corporation salary planning, retirement plan contributions, the self-employed health insurance deduction, and state or local tax.
Self-employment tax is manageable when you plan for it quarterly
We help consultants, contractors, and business owners set realistic estimated payments, review entity structure, and find the deductions that actually apply to their work.