Self-employment tax calculator
Self-employed Americans pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare. Enter your net self-employment profit to see the tax, the deduction and what is left.
Estimate for US federal self-employment tax only (2024 rules); excludes income tax and state tax.
How this calculator works
Employees split Social Security and Medicare tax with their employer: 6.2% + 1.45% each. The self-employed pay both halves — 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare — on 92.35% of net profit. That is why the effective rate is about 14.13%, not 15.3%.
Social Security tax applies only up to the annual wage base ($168,600 in 2024), reduced by any W-2 wages you already have. Medicare has no cap, and higher earners pay an additional 0.9%. Half of the self-employment tax is deductible against income tax.
The formula
taxable base = net profit × 92.35%
Social Security = 12.4% × min(base, wage-base − W-2 wages)
Medicare = 2.9% × base
self-employment tax = Social Security + Medicare
deductible half = self-employment tax ÷ 2On $80,000 of profit the tax is about $11,304 (14.1%), half of which — $5,652 — is deductible against income tax.
Worked example
On $80,000 of profit the self-employment tax is $11,304 — an effective rate of 14.1%. Half of it, $5,652, is deductible against income tax.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting quarterly payments. Self-employed people generally pay estimated tax four times a year; missing them triggers penalties.
- Not deducting the half. The employer-half deduction reduces taxable income and is easy to overlook.
- Mixing profit and revenue. The tax applies to net profit after expenses, not gross receipts.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay self-employment tax on top of income tax?
Yes — self-employment tax funds Social Security and Medicare; federal and state income tax are separate and calculated on profit after the deductible half.
What is the 92.35% figure?
It approximates the employee's share of FICA that the self-employed do not pay twice, so the tax base is reduced accordingly.
What is the 2024 Social Security wage base?
$168,600. Above that, only the 2.9% Medicare portion applies.
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