🧾 Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Calculate self-employment tax and the deductible portion for Schedule SE filing.
Self-Employment Tax vs Income Tax
Self-employment tax (SE tax) is separate from federal income tax. SE tax = 15.3% (12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare) applied to 92.35% of your net SE income. This covers both the employer and employee portions of FICA. As an employee, your employer pays half (7.65%); self-employed people pay the full 15.3%. The good news: you can deduct 50% of SE tax from your gross income.
Quarterly Estimated Tax Deadlines
Self-employed individuals must pay estimated taxes quarterly: April 15 (Q1), June 15 (Q2), September 15 (Q3), January 15 of next year (Q4). Underpayment by more than $1,000 triggers IRS penalties. Safe harbor: pay 100% of prior year's tax liability (110% if prior year AGI exceeded $150,000).
People Also Ask
Maximize retirement contributions (Solo 401k up to $69,000 in 2024, SEP-IRA up to 25% of net SE income). These reduce net SE income and therefore both SE tax and income tax. Also ensure all legitimate business expenses are deducted — SE tax is calculated on net profit, not gross revenue.
Yes — if your net SE income from all self-employment exceeds $400, you owe SE tax. This applies even if you also have a W-2 job. The W-2 Social Security wages reduce the SS portion of SE tax (since SS tax maxes out at $168,600 combined).