Freelancers pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare. See what you'll owe.
A self-employment tax calculator estimates the Social Security and Medicare tax owed on self-employment profit, which freelancers and business owners pay in full themselves.
Employees split Social Security and Medicare with their employer; the self-employed pay both halves, 15.3% total. It applies to 92.35% of net profit, with the 12.4% Social Security portion capped at the annual wage base and the 2.9% Medicare portion uncapped. That's on top of regular income tax.
You can deduct half of your self-employment tax against your income tax, which offsets some of the sting, the calculator shows that deductible half. Self-employed people also typically pay estimated taxes quarterly rather than through withholding, so setting aside roughly a quarter to a third of profit as you earn it avoids a painful bill at filing.
The Social Security and Medicare tax, 15.3% total, that self-employed people pay on both the employee and employer halves, on 92.35% of net profit.
Yes, you deduct half of your self-employment tax against your income tax. The calculator shows that amount.
No, SE tax is separate from and in addition to federal and state income tax. Budget for both.
See the exact formula and a worked example on our methodology page.