Self-Employment Tax Calculator (2026)

Self-employment tax is the Social Security and Medicare tax that freelancers, sole proprietors and partners pay on business profit, because no employer pays half for them. This calculator follows Schedule SE for the 2026 tax year: it applies the 92.35% factor, the $184,500 Social Security wage base (shared with any W-2 wages), 2.9% Medicare and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, and shows the half of SE tax you can deduct.

How to use this tool

1. Enter your net self-employment profit (Schedule C line 31, or partnership SE earnings).
2. Enter W-2 Medicare wages (box 5), then Social Security wages and tips (boxes 3 and 7) if different.
3. Choose your filing status — it sets the Additional Medicare Tax threshold.
4. If you file jointly, add your spouse's W-2 wages.
5. Read the SE tax, the deductible half and the quarterly share.

Formula

NESE = profit × 0.9235; SE tax = 12.4% × min(NESE, max(0, $184,500 − SS wages)) + 2.9% × NESE

Under $400 NESE means no SE tax. Otherwise, Additional Medicare = 0.9% × max(0, NESE − max(0, threshold − Medicare wages − joint spouse wages)). Thresholds: $200,000 single/head/surviving spouse, $250,000 joint, $125,000 separate. Only regular SE tax is half-deductible; Social Security and Medicare wage bases can differ.

Example

A freelance designer with $60,000 net profit and no other job: NESE = $60,000 × 0.9235 = $55,410. Social Security tax = $55,410 × 12.4% = $6,870.84 and Medicare = $55,410 × 2.9% = $1,606.89, so SE tax is $8,477.73. Half of it, $4,238.87, is deducted from income, and the SE share of each quarterly estimate is about $2,119.43.

What this calculator leaves out

Not included: church employee income, the farm and non-farm optional methods, and a spouse's own self-employment income in the joint Additional Medicare Tax. A loss gives zero SE tax.