Tax / Self-Employment Tax Calculator
🇺🇸 SE Tax 🆓 Free 📅 Auto Year

💼 Self-Employment Tax Calculator

Calculate your self-employment tax (Social Security + Medicare), the deductible half, estimated income tax and total tax burden. Auto-updated for 2025.

🧮 SE Tax Calculator Auto Year

⚠️ Disclaimer: Estimates only. Consult a CPA or tax professional for your specific situation.

📋 SE Tax Rates Current Year

ComponentRateWage Base / Limit

📋 Federal Income Tax Brackets

RateSingleMarried Filing Jointly

📆 Quarterly Due Dates

QuarterIncome PeriodDue Date
Q1Jan 1 – Mar 31April 15
Q2Apr 1 – May 31June 16
Q3Jun 1 – Aug 31September 15
Q4Sep 1 – Dec 31January 15 (next year)

📐 How Self-Employment Tax Works

What is Self-Employment Tax?

When you're an employee, your employer pays half of Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) taxes — you pay the other half. When self-employed, you pay BOTH halves — that's the SE tax. The IRS lets you deduct half of it to partially offset the burden.

Step 1 — Net Earnings Subject to SE Tax

Net SE Income = Gross SE Income − Business Expenses

SE Tax Base = Net SE Income × 92.35%
(= multiplying by 0.9235)

Why 92.35%? Because the deductible half of SE tax
(7.65%) is subtracted first. This mirrors how employees
don't pay FICA on the employer's matching share.

Step 2 — Calculate SE Tax

Social Security = SE Tax Base × 12.4%
(only on first $176,100 in 2025)

Medicare = SE Tax Base × 2.9%
(no wage base limit)

Additional Medicare = 0.9% on SE income over
$200,000 (single) or $250,000 (MFJ)

SE Tax Total = Social Security + Medicare + Add'l Medicare

Step 3 — Deductible Half of SE Tax

Deductible SE Tax = SE Tax Total ÷ 2

This deduction reduces your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI),
which in turn reduces your federal income tax.
It is an "above-the-line" deduction — you don't need
to itemize to claim it.

Step 4 — Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)

AGI = Net SE Income
− Deductible Half of SE Tax
− Self-Employed Health Insurance
− SEP-IRA / Solo 401k Contributions
− Home Office Deduction
− Other Business Deductions
+ Other W-2 Income

Step 5 — Estimated Federal Income Tax

Taxable Income = AGI − Standard Deduction

2025 Standard Deductions:
Single / MFS: $15,000
MFJ: $30,000
HOH: $22,500

Federal Income Tax = Apply progressive brackets to
Taxable Income

Step 6 — Total Tax Burden

Total Tax = SE Tax + Federal Income Tax

Effective Total Rate = Total Tax ÷ Net SE Income

Important: SE tax is paid IN ADDITION to income tax.
This is why self-employed individuals often pay more
total tax than employees at the same income level.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

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