Self-employment tax calculator

Enter your net profit to see your 2026 Social Security and Medicare tax as a self-employed person, the half you can deduct, and how W-2 wages change it.

By the Calcist team · Checked against known answers · Updated October 27, 2026

Private: calculated on your device. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Estimates for planning, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures use US rules unless the page says otherwise.

Next: Add income tax with the 1099 tax calculator, then plan payments with the quarterly estimated tax calculator.

How self-employment tax is calculated

Net earnings = net profit × 92.35%
SE tax = 12.4% × min(net earnings, $184,500 − W-2 Social Security wages) + 2.9% × net earnings
Deduction = SE tax ÷ 2

Self-employed people pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare: 12.4% and 2.9%, or 15.3% in all. Because an employer could deduct its half, you first multiply your profit by 92.35% (100% − 7.65%). The 12.4% part stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500. If you also had a W-2 job, those wages use up the wage base first. The 2.9% part has no cap.

If your net earnings (profit × 92.35%) are under $400, you owe no self-employment tax. You can deduct half of your SE tax when you work out your adjusted gross income, which lowers your income tax but not the SE tax itself.

Additional Medicare Tax: an extra 0.9% applies to net earnings above $200,000 (single, head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately). That threshold is reduced by your W-2 wages. It's figured on Form 8959, isn't part of SE tax and isn't deductible.

Worked example

A single freelancer has a $50,000 net profit and no other job.

Net earnings: $50,000 × 0.9235 = $46,175
Social Security: 12.4% × $46,175 = $5,725.70
Medicare: 2.9% × $46,175 = $1,339.08 (1,339.075 before rounding)
SE tax: $7,064.78. Deductible half: $3,532.39.

With a $150,000 W-2 job and a $200,000 profit, only $34,500 of the wage base is left: 12.4% × $34,500 = $4,278, plus 2.9% × $184,700 = $5,356.30, for $9,634.30 of SE tax. The Additional Medicare threshold drops to $50,000, so 0.9% × $134,700 = $1,212.30 more.

What this calculator leaves out

Income tax. For the full picture, use the 1099 tax calculator or the quarterly estimated tax calculator.
The farm and nonfarm optional methods, church employee income, and ministers' special rules on Schedule SE.
Tips and wages subject to Social Security but reported elsewhere (Form 4137 or 8919). Add them to W-2 wages.
Partnership income has its own rules for what counts as self-employment income. This calculator assumes your whole profit counts.

Sources

2026 Form 1040-ES – 2026 SE tax worksheet: 92.35%, $184,500, 12.4% and 2.9%, half deductible
SSA contribution and benefit base – $184,500 for 2026
IRS Topic 554, Self-employment tax – $400 rule, 92.35%
Schedule SE (Form 1040)
26 U.S.C. 1402 (net earnings from self-employment) – wage base reduced by wages; $400 minimum
IRS Topic 560, Additional Medicare Tax – 0.9% thresholds, reduced by wages for SE income

How we checked this

Before every update, this calculator is run in a real browser with these known answers, and it must match all of them:

$50,000 profit, single: 15.3% × $46,175 = $7,064.78 ✓
$200,000 profit with $150,000 W-2 wages: only $34,500 of the wage base left, $9,634.30 ✓
Same: Additional Medicare 0.9% × $134,700 = $1,212.30 ✓
Joint, $190,000 W-2 wages: no Social Security part, 2.9% × $92,350 = $2,678.15 ✓
$400 profit: net earnings $369.40 are under $400, no SE tax ✓

Last checked October 26, 2026. Spotted something wrong? The math is done in your browser with the formula shown on this page, so you can check any result by hand.

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Questions people ask

What is the self-employment tax rate for 2026?

15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security on up to $184,500 of net earnings and 2.9% for Medicare on all of it. It applies to 92.35% of your net profit, so the effective rate on profit is about 14.13% below the cap.

Do I pay self-employment tax if I made under $400?

No. If your net profit times 92.35% is less than $400, you don't owe self-employment tax. You may still need to file a return and pay income tax.

Does having a W-2 job lower my self-employment tax?

It can. Social Security tax stops at $184,500 of combined wages and self-employment earnings. If your W-2 wages already used part of that, less of your profit gets the 12.4%. Medicare's 2.9% still applies to all of it.

Is self-employment tax deductible?

Half of it is. You deduct 50% of your SE tax on Schedule 1, which lowers your adjusted gross income and your income tax. It doesn't lower the SE tax itself.

Why multiply by 92.35%?

It mimics the employer deduction an employee gets. Employees don't pay FICA on their employer's 7.65% share, so self-employed people pay on 100% − 7.65% = 92.35% of their profit.

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