Self-Employment Tax Calculator (US)
Freelancing & Remote WorkCalculate your US self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) on net self-employment income, including the wage base cap and Additional Medicare Tax.
Total Self-Employment Tax
Social Security plus Medicare tax, plus Additional Medicare Tax if it applies.
Deductible Half (Above-the-Line)
$4,238.87
Half of your Social Security and Medicare portions is deductible from your income tax.
Social Security Portion
$6,870.84
12.4% up to the annual Social Security wage base, combined with any W-2 wages entered.
Medicare Portion
$1,606.89
2.9% on all net self-employment earnings, with no wage base cap.
Additional Medicare Tax
$0.00
An extra 0.9% on combined income above your filing status threshold, if it applies.
Net Earnings Subject to SE Tax
$55,410.00
Your net self-employment income after the required 92.35% adjustment.
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If you work for yourself, freelance, or run a business as a sole proprietor, you owe self-employment tax on top of regular income tax, covering the same Social Security and Medicare programs a paycheck job funds automatically through payroll withholding.
This calculator applies the real IRS mechanics, not just a flat 15.3% multiplication: your net earnings are first adjusted to 92.35% before the rate applies, the Social Security portion stops once your combined self-employment and wage income reaches the annual wage base, and the Additional Medicare Tax kicks in above a filing-status threshold.
If you also have a W-2 job, enter what you already expect to earn there, since Social Security tax on your paycheck wages counts toward the same annual wage base as your self-employment income.
Half of your self-employment tax is deductible on your income tax return, and this calculator shows that amount too, so you can see the real net cost, not just the sticker number.
How Self-Employment Tax Is Calculated
Self-employment tax covers the same Social Security and Medicare programs that payroll tax funds for a regular paycheck, except as a self-employed person you are responsible for both the employee and employer shares yourself, since there is no employer to split the cost with.
The income you enter here should be your net self-employment income, meaning your business profit after real expenses, not your gross revenue. If you are a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, this is the profit figure from Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, which then carries over to Schedule SE, Self-Employment Tax, to calculate the tax shown on this page.
The 92.35% Adjustment, Explained
Before the tax rate applies, the IRS has you multiply net self-employment income by 92.35%. This roughly mirrors the fact that a regular employee''s payroll tax is calculated on their full wages, but their employer''s matching half of that tax is never itself subject to payroll tax, so this adjustment keeps self-employed and W-2 workers on comparable footing.
That adjusted figure is then split into two parts: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, for a combined 15.3% self-employment tax rate on income within the normal range.
The Additional Medicare Tax
Above a certain income level, an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies on top of the regular 2.9% Medicare portion. The threshold depends on your filing status and considers your combined wages and self-employment income together, not self-employment income alone.
| Filing Status | Additional Medicare Tax Threshold |
|---|---|
| Single | $200,000 |
| Head of Household | $200,000 |
| Married Filing Jointly | $250,000 |
| Married Filing Separately | $125,000 |
Unlike the regular Medicare tax, there is no employer-equivalent share of the Additional Medicare Tax, even for W-2 employees, so it is not included in the deductible-half calculation below.
The Self-Employment Tax Deduction
Half of your self-employment tax, specifically half of the Social Security and Medicare portions, is deductible when figuring your adjusted gross income for income tax purposes. This is often called the above-the-line deduction, since you can claim it even if you take the standard deduction rather than itemizing.
This deduction lowers your income tax, not your self-employment tax itself. Estimate the income tax side separately with the Tax Calculator.
This deduction exists because a regular W-2 employee never pays income tax on their employer''s half of payroll tax either, so it puts self-employed taxpayers on the same footing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is self-employment tax calculated?
First, your net self-employment income is multiplied by 92.35% to get your taxable earnings. Then a 12.4% Social Security tax applies up to the annual wage base, and a flat 2.9% Medicare tax applies with no cap. For example, $60,000 in net self-employment income becomes $55,410 in taxable earnings, producing about $8,477 in total self-employment tax for 2026, well under the Social Security wage base so the full amount is taxed at 12.4%.
What is the 92.35% adjustment for?
The IRS allows you to calculate self-employment tax on only 92.35% of net self-employment income, an adjustment that roughly accounts for the fact that an employee''s employer-paid payroll tax is not itself subject to payroll tax.
Is there a cap on self-employment tax?
Yes, but only on the Social Security portion. The 12.4% Social Security tax stops once your combined self-employment and W-2 wage income for the year reaches the Social Security wage base, $176,100 for 2025 and $184,500 for 2026. The 2.9% Medicare portion has no cap and keeps applying to all of your net earnings, no matter how high.
What is the Additional Medicare Tax?
It is an extra 0.9% Medicare tax on income above a threshold that depends on your filing status: $200,000 for single or head of household, $250,000 for married filing jointly, and $125,000 for married filing separately. It applies on top of the regular 2.9% Medicare tax, and unlike the regular Medicare tax, only the employee or self-employed person pays it, there is no employer-equivalent share.
Can I deduct self-employment tax?
Yes. You can deduct half of your self-employment tax, specifically half of the Social Security and Medicare portions, when calculating your adjusted gross income for income tax purposes. This deduction does not reduce your self-employment tax itself, only your income tax.
Is self-employment tax the same as income tax?
No, self-employment tax funds Social Security and Medicare specifically and is calculated separately from, and in addition to, your regular federal (and state) income tax on the same net income. Use the [Tax Calculator](freelancing-remote-work/tax-calculator) to estimate your federal income tax on top of this.
Do I still owe self-employment tax if I also have a W-2 job?
Yes, on your self-employment earnings, but your W-2 job matters for the Social Security wage base calculation. Social Security tax already withheld from your paycheck counts toward the same annual wage base as your self-employment income, so entering your expected W-2 wages above gives a more accurate Social Security portion once you are close to or above the cap.
How do I actually pay self-employment tax?
You report and calculate it on Schedule SE with your annual tax return, but most self-employed people pay it throughout the year through quarterly estimated tax payments rather than all at once in April. The [Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator](freelancing-remote-work/quarterly-estimated-tax-calculator) can help plan those payments.
How can I reduce or avoid self-employment tax?
Yes, the most common real strategy is electing S-Corp tax treatment for your business, which lets you pay yourself a reasonable salary (subject to Social Security and Medicare tax) while taking the rest of the profit as a distribution, which is not subject to self-employment tax. This involves real payroll, filing, and compliance costs, so it only tends to pay off once your net self-employment income is well into six figures, and it is worth discussing with a real tax professional before electing it, since this calculator does not model S-Corp savings.
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The Social Security Wage Base Cap
The 12.4% Social Security portion only applies up to an annual limit called the wage base, and this limit is shared across all your earnings for the year, self-employment income and any W-2 wages combined, not a separate limit for each.
Once your combined income for the year passes this limit, the 12.4% Social Security tax stops applying to anything above it. The 2.9% Medicare portion has no such limit and keeps applying to every dollar of net self-employment earnings, no matter how high your income goes.