Self-Employment Tax Calculator

Estimate your self-employment tax

Use this calculator to estimate the Social Security and Medicare taxes that may apply to your net earnings from self-employment. Enter your projected annual amounts to see an estimated breakdown of the Social Security and Medicare portions of your self-employment tax.

The calculator estimates self-employment tax, not your total federal tax obligation. Your federal income tax and any required estimated tax payments depend on additional information, including other income, withholding, deductions, credits, and filing status.

What to enter in the calculator

Enter the annual amounts that apply to you. Use income after applicable business expenses, not gross business revenue.

• Net business income or loss: Enter your net income or loss from a business or partnership, excluding farm income. For a sole proprietorship, this generally corresponds with the business profit or loss reported on Schedule C.

• Net farm income or loss: Enter net profit or loss from farming, including applicable farm partnership income. Use this field instead of the net business income field for farm income.

• Church employee income: Enter church employee income that is subject to self-employment tax. Do not use this field for ministerial income entered elsewhere in the calculator.

• Employer-paid income: Enter wages and tips from another job that were subject to Social Security tax. The calculator uses this amount to determine how much of your net earnings from self-employment may remain subject to the Social Security portion of self-employment tax.

Wages and tips subject to Social Security tax and net earnings from self-employment count toward the Social Security taxable wage base for the applicable tax year. The Medicare portion of self-employment tax doesn’t have the same wage-base limit. See the Social Security contribution and benefit base for current and historical amounts.

How the calculator estimates self-employment tax

The calculator generally multiplies your net earnings from self-employment by 92.35% before applying the self-employment tax rates.  

The combined self-employment tax rate is 15.3%:

• 12.4% for Social Security

• 2.9% for Medicare

The Social Security portion applies only up to the taxable wage base for the applicable tax year. Wages from another job that were subject to Social Security tax count toward that same limit. The Medicare portion does not have a wage-base limit.

For example, if you enter $70,000 in net business income, the calculator generally begins with this calculation:

• $70,000 × 92.35% = $64,645.00  

• $64,645 × 12.4% = $8,015.98  

• $64,645 × 2.9% = $1,874.71  

• Estimated self-employment tax = $9,890.69

Rounding within the calculator may cause the displayed result to differ slightly. IRS guidance on self-employment tax confirms the 15.3% rate consists of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, and IRS educational guidance explains that taxpayers generally calculate the tax on 92.35% of self-employment profit.  

What the calculator estimate includes

The calculator estimates the regular Social Security and Medicare portions of self-employment tax based on the information you enter. The estimate reflects:

• applicable net business and farm income or loss

• church employee income entered in the designated field

• the 92.35% adjustment to applicable net earnings

• wages and tips from another job that were subject to Social Security tax

• the Social Security and Medicare tax calculations shown in the report

Select View Report to see the estimated Social Security and Medicare portions of your self-employment tax.

What the calculator estimate does not include

This calculator estimates regular self-employment tax, not your complete federal, state, or local tax obligation. The result does not include:

• federal income tax

• state or local taxes

• deductions or credits applied elsewhere on your return

• the effect of federal income tax withholding

• your complete estimated tax payment

• Additional Medicare Tax

A separate 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax may apply when applicable wages, compensation, and self-employment income exceed the threshold for your filing status. Calculate and report Additional Medicare Tax on Form 8959. This calculator does not include it in the self-employment tax estimate.
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How to use your estimate

Use the calculator result to understand the Social Security and Medicare taxes that may apply to your self-employment income. The estimate can help you plan for this portion of your federal tax obligation.

Don’t treat the result as your total estimated tax payment. Estimated payments may include federal income tax and other taxes and account for applicable withholding and credits. Use Form 1040-ES to determine whether you may need to make estimated payments and calculate the amount.

IRS Form 1040-ES guidance states that the form is used to figure and pay estimated tax on income not subject to withholding, including earnings from self-employment.  

Your income, expenses, withholding, and credits can change during the year. Revisit your estimate when those amounts change rather than relying on a single calculation for the full year.

Reporting self-employment tax

Use IRS Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self Employment Tax with your federal income tax return to calculate and report your final self-employment tax for the year. Your final tax may differ from the calculator estimate if your actual income, expenses, wages, or other tax information changes. Follow the Schedule SE instructions for the tax year you are filing.

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