What is the 2026 self-employment tax rate?

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3% on the first $184,500 of net earnings (2026). It consists of 12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare. An additional 0.9% Medicare surtax applies above $200,000 (single).

How do I calculate self-employment tax?

Multiply your net profit by 92.35%, then apply the 15.3% rate. You can deduct 50% of the self-employment tax when calculating your adjusted gross income. Our calculator does this automatically.

Do freelancers pay self-employment tax?

Yes. All self-employed individuals — freelancers, contractors, gig workers, and sole proprietors — must pay self-employment tax if net earnings exceed $400 annually.

What deductions reduce self-employment tax?

Business expenses reduce your net profit and thus your self-employment tax. Common deductions: home office, health insurance, retirement contributions, equipment, vehicle expenses, and professional services.

Free Self-Employment Tax Calculator 2026

How self-employment tax works in 2026

By Muhammad AkbarLast reviewed October 24, 2026How we calculate

The short answer

Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of your net profit — 12.4% Social Security on the first $184,500 of net earnings for 2026, and 2.9% Medicare on all of it. On $80,000 of net profit that is $11,303.64, and half of it is deductible against your income tax.

How self-employment tax is actually calculated

The arithmetic runs in a fixed order, and getting the order wrong is how most back-of-envelope estimates go astray. The IRS does it like this:

Step	On $80,000 of net profit
1. Start with net profit (revenue minus business expenses)	$80,000
2. Multiply by 92.35% to get net earnings from self-employment	$73,880
3. Social Security: 12.4% of net earnings, capped at $184,500	$9,161.12
4. Medicare: 2.9% of all net earnings, no cap	$2,142.52
5. Self-employment tax	$11,303.64
6. Deduct half against AGI	−$5,651.82

That 92.35% step exists for a reason worth knowing. An employee's half of payroll tax is paid with pre-tax dollars; reducing net profit by 7.65% before applying the 15.3% puts a self-employed person on comparable footing. Skip it and you overstate the bill by about 7.65%.

Self-employment tax is not your whole bill

Self-employment tax covers Social Security and Medicare only. Federal income tax is a separate calculation on a different base, and most states add a third layer. The calculator above runs all three, which is why its total is considerably larger than 15.3% of profit.

What reduces it, and what does not

Self-employment tax is computed on business profit, before the standard deduction and before the QBI deduction. That has a sharp consequence: the two largest deductions most people have reduce income tax only and do nothing at all to the 15.3%.

Deduction	Reduces SE tax?	Reduces income tax?
Business expenses (Schedule C)	Yes	Yes
Home office	Yes	Yes
Business mileage	Yes	Yes
Standard deduction	No	Yes
QBI deduction	No	Yes
Self-employed health insurance	No	Yes
SEP IRA / Solo 401(k)	No	Yes

This is why a legitimate business expense is worth substantially more than a personal deduction of the same size — it comes off before both taxes, so a dollar of Schedule C expense saves you roughly 15.3% plus your marginal income tax rate.

The mistakes this calculator exists to prevent

Applying 15.3% to gross revenue. It applies to net profit after expenses, then to 92.35% of that.
Forgetting the Social Security cap. Above $184,500 of net earnings the marginal rate drops from 15.3% to 2.9%, which changes planning considerably for higher earners.
Assuming an LLC reduces it. A single-member LLC is taxed as a sole proprietorship. The number does not move.
Treating the 50% deduction as halving the tax. It halves the amount deducted from income, not the self-employment tax itself.
Ignoring the $400 threshold. Below $400 of net earnings no self-employment tax is due at all.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is self-employment tax on $80,000?

$11,303.64. Net profit of $80,000 becomes $73,880 of net earnings after the 92.35% adjustment, then 12.4% Social Security ($9,161.12) plus 2.9% Medicare ($2,142.52). Half of the total is deductible against adjusted gross income.

Do I pay self-employment tax and income tax?

Yes, both. They are separate calculations on different bases: self-employment tax on 92.35% of net profit, income tax on adjusted gross income after the standard and QBI deductions. Most freelancers owe considerably more in the two combined than the 15.3% headline suggests.

At what income do I stop paying Social Security tax?

$184,500 of combined wages and net earnings for 2026. Above that only the 2.9% Medicare portion continues, plus a 0.9% surtax above $200,000 for a single filer.

Can I avoid self-employment tax?

Not legitimately on earned business income, but an S-corporation election can reduce it by splitting profit into a reasonable salary and distributions, with only the salary subject to payroll tax. It typically starts paying for itself above roughly $60,000–$80,000 of profit.

Sources

IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 — 2026 inflation adjustments — tax brackets, standard deduction, QBI thresholds.
IRS Schedule SE instructions — Self-employment tax: the 92.35% adjustment, the Social Security wage base, the Medicare surtax.
IRS Form 1040-ES — Estimated tax deadlines and the safe-harbour rules used for the quarterly schedule.
IRS Publication 334 — Tax guide for small business — deductible expenses and net profit.
IRS Social Security wage base — The $184,500 Social Security cap applied for 2026.

How these numbers are produced

Calculations follow the order of operations on the IRS forms themselves: net profit, the 92.35% adjustment, self-employment tax, the 50% deduction against AGI, the standard deduction, the §199A QBI deduction with its phase-out, then the federal brackets. State tax is computed separately on state AGI less that state's own standard deduction, because no state allows the federal QBI deduction and almost none allow the federal standard deduction.

What it does not cover. The calculators model a single filer or a married couple filing jointly with self-employment income as the main source. They do not model local income taxes, W-2 wages held alongside freelance work, itemized deductions, the alternative minimum tax, or credits. Where a local income tax exists, it is described on that state's page.

Not advice. SelfTaxCalc produces estimates, not tax advice. No one here is a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney, and nothing on this site creates a professional relationship. Estimates are a starting point for planning and for a conversation with a professional — they are not a substitute for one.