Calculate the Social Security and Medicare tax you owe on self-employment income for 2026, including the Additional Medicare Tax and the deductible half of SE tax.
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Enter your net self-employment earnings, then click Calculate to see results.
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A self-employment tax calculator estimates the Social Security and Medicare tax you owe on net self-employment earnings — the self-employed equivalent of the FICA tax that employees split with their employer. NeftCal's tool is built for freelancers, independent contractors, gig workers, sole proprietors, and single-member LLC owners who need a fast, clear estimate of their SE tax for 2026, including the Additional Medicare Tax on high earnings and the deductible half of the tax that lowers their income-tax bill.
Because self-employed workers have no employer withholding and matching these taxes, they are responsible for both shares — 12.4% for Social Security plus 2.9% for Medicare, or 15.3% combined on net earnings from self-employment. The calculator applies the IRS 92.35% net-earnings factor, caps the 12.4% Social Security portion at the annual wage base, taxes all net earnings at 2.9% for Medicare, adds 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above your filing threshold, and reports the half of the total you can deduct on Form 1040. This mirrors the logic of Schedule SE in a form you can run in seconds.
This tool is useful for freelancers and 1099 contractors estimating how much to set aside for taxes, gig workers whose side income clears the $400 filing threshold, sole proprietors running year-end tax planning, newly self-employed people facing their first quarterly estimated payment deadline, and anyone checking whether their earnings approach the Social Security wage base or the Additional Medicare Tax threshold — both of which change your effective rate as income grows.
SE tax is often the single largest tax bill a newly self-employed person faces, and it is easy to underestimate when it is not withheld from pay. Knowing your Social Security portion, Medicare portion, and Additional Medicare Tax separately helps you budget accurately for quarterly estimated payments and avoid underpayment penalties. Pairing this with a business tax calculator to compare entity structures — sole proprietorship versus S-Corp, for example — and a business sales tax calculator to keep sales tax obligations separate completes a fuller view of your tax footprint.
SE tax combines a capped Social Security portion and an uncapped Medicare portion on 92.35% of your net profit
Social Security (12.4%) only applies up to the annual wage base — $185,100 in 2026. Medicare (2.9%) applies to all net self-employment earnings, with no cap.
High earners pay an extra 0.9% on net earnings above the filing-status threshold — $200,000 single, $250,000 married filing jointly — with no employer-equivalent deduction.
You can deduct half of your total SE tax on your personal return, which lowers your taxable income for income tax purposes (not for SE tax itself).
From Schedule C profit to a complete SE tax estimate in under a minute
Input your Schedule C net profit — business income minus deductible business expenses. Use net profit, not gross revenue, because SE tax applies only to net earnings.
Verify the current year's limit at ssa.gov — $185,100 in 2026, for example — and enter it. The calculator applies the 12.4% Social Security portion only up to this amount.
Enter the threshold that matches your filing status: $200,000 for single filers, $250,000 for married filing jointly, or $125,000 for married filing separately.
The calculator applies the 92.35% net-earnings factor, computes the Social Security and Medicare portions plus any Additional Medicare Tax, and totals your SE tax.
See your Total SE Tax, Social Security portion, Medicare portion, and Deductible Half, plus a line-by-line tax breakdown table that shows each step of the calculation.
Download a plain-text estimate for your records, adjust the inputs to run what-if scenarios, and use the result when budgeting quarterly estimated payments.
A realistic freelance scenario, calculated with the same math the calculator uses
Suppose a freelance designer has $90,000 of net profit on Schedule C for the year and files single, with no other self-employment income. For 2026 the Social Security wage base is $185,100 and the Additional Medicare Tax threshold for a single filer is $200,000 — both well above this year's earnings, so the full 12.4% and 2.9% rates apply and no Additional Medicare Tax is owed.
Explanation: This designer's effective SE tax rate on net profit is about 14.1% ($12,716.60 ÷ $90,000), which is the full 15.3% combined rate applied to 92.35% of profit. Because earnings sit below both the wage base and the Additional Medicare threshold, the Social Security and Medicare portions both apply in full. Of the total, $6,358.30 is deductible on Form 1040 — for someone in the 22% bracket that saves roughly $1,399 in income tax, reducing the real net cost of the SE tax to about 12.6% of profit.
Sanity check: if you click Calculate with these three inputs, the calculator reports the same totals above. As this designer's earnings grow past the $185,100 wage base, the Social Security portion stops increasing, so the effective rate drifts down — until earnings cross the $200,000 Additional Medicare threshold and the extra 0.9% pushes it back up.
How your total SE tax changes as income crosses the wage base and the Additional Medicare threshold
Your Total SE Tax is the number to plan around, but the Social Security portion and the Additional Medicare Tax are what make it non-linear. These are illustrative 2026 figures using a $185,100 wage base and a $200,000 single-filer threshold — verify both at ssa.gov and irs.gov for your situation.
| Net Self-Employment Earnings | Estimated SE Tax (2026) | General Read |
|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $4,238.87 | Full 15.3% combined rate on 92.35% of profit; well below the wage base |
| $60,000 | $8,477.73 | Same rate structure; a comfortable margin below the wage base and threshold |
| $100,000 | $14,129.55 | Still below the $185,100 wage base; the full Social Security portion applies |
| $150,000 | $21,194.32 | Approaching the wage base; most Social Security exposure still applies |
| $250,000 | $29,925.65 | Wage base reached — Social Security caps; Additional Medicare Tax ($277.88) now applies |
| $400,000 | $35,189.60 | Social Security fully capped; Medicare uncapped plus $1,524.60 of Additional Medicare Tax |
For the Social Security portion: the 12.4% charge stops growing once your net earnings from self-employment reach the wage base. From that point, additional earnings are taxed only for Medicare, which is why the effective rate falls as income rises between the wage base and the Additional Medicare threshold.
For the Medicare and Additional Medicare portions: the 2.9% base tax is uncapped, and the extra 0.9% begins only above your filing threshold. Because the 0.9% applies to every dollar above the threshold, it adds roughly $900 per $100,000 of income above it — meaningful for high earners planning quarterly payments.
Risk considerations: the wage base and thresholds change annually, state taxes are not included, and if you also have W-2 wages the calculator doesn't reconcile them against the same wage base. Treat the result as a planning estimate to verify at filing, not a guaranteed tax bill.
This calculator provides estimates for educational and informational purposes only. Results may vary depending on business conditions, accounting methods, taxes, market trends, and other factors. It should not be considered financial, legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. Consult qualified professionals before making business decisions.
Where this SE tax estimator earns its keep
Estimate SE tax on project income and set aside the right amount per invoice.
Ride-share, delivery, and task-platform income is self-employment once it clears the $400 threshold.
Year-end estimate of the Social Security and Medicare tax on Schedule C profit.
See how much a new side business adds to your SE tax before you scale it up.
Compare sole-proprietor SE tax with a structure where distributions avoid it, using the Business Tax Calculator.
Size each of your four estimated payments so you avoid underpayment penalties.
New freelancers can see the true cost of self-employment before their first filing.
Check whether approaching the Social Security wage base changes your marginal SE rate.
High earners can see when the extra 0.9% begins and exactly how much it adds.
Estimate the deductible half of SE tax for your income-tax planning.
Track the $400 threshold when a side business adds to student income.
Estimate SE tax on your share of partnership income.
Lenders often ask for a defensible tax estimate — have your SE tax figure ready.
Re-run at year-end with final numbers to prepare for your tax return.
What this SE tax calculator does well, and where it can't replace Schedule SE or a tax professional
Three different tax layers — make sure you're reading the right one
| Aspect | Self-Employment Tax (this tool) | Employee FICA | Business Income Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it funds | Social Security + Medicare | Social Security + Medicare | Federal (and state) government revenue |
| Who pays it | Self-employed person pays both shares | Employee and employer split both shares | The business/entity on taxable profit |
| Combined rate | 15.3% (12.4% SS + 2.9% Medicare) | 15.3% split: 7.65% employee, 7.65% employer | Depends on brackets and entity type |
| Wage base | 12.4% capped at the annual wage base; 2.9% uncapped | Same wage base, capped per employer | Not wage-based |
| Additional Medicare | +0.9% above the filing threshold | +0.9% withheld on wages over $200,000 | Not applicable |
| Deduction | Half of SE tax deductible on Form 1040 | Employee share not deductible; employer share is a business expense | Business deductions reduce taxable profit |
| NeftCal tool | This calculator | Payroll Calculator | Business Tax Calculator |
SE tax funds the same programs as FICA but is paid entirely by the worker, with the 92.35% factor and half-of-tax deduction offsetting the employer share. Business income tax is a separate layer computed on taxable profit. Pair this tool with the Business Tax Calculator for entity comparisons and the Business Sales Tax Calculator to keep sales tax obligations separate.
Common questions about self-employment tax
Official guidance to complement this calculator — not a substitute for professional tax advice
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