Freelancer taxes, free
Free freelance tax calculator for 2026. Enter what your clients paid you and see the 15.3% self-employment tax, the federal income tax on top of it, and the quarterly payments that keep freelance taxes penalty-free. Taxes for freelancers are self-employment taxes: no client withholds anything from an invoice. Actual 2026 figures, under a minute.
Before you pay
An employee has income tax and half of Social Security and Medicare taken out of every paycheck. A freelancer gets the full invoice and owes all of it: income tax plus the 15.3% self-employment tax, paid during the year through quarterly estimates. The first year of freelancing full time is when April surprises people most.
Clients that pay you past the reporting threshold send a 1099, but the income is taxable whether the form shows up or not. Retainers, one-off projects, platform payouts and international clients all land in the same place on your return: net profit from self-employment. The calculator wants the total across every client.
Map all four quarterly payments →A home office, the business share of your phone and internet, software subscriptions, a laptop, professional development, contractor help and travel to client work all reduce the profit the tax is calculated on. Enter your profit after those costs; if you have never tracked them, the write-off estimator shows what they are typically worth.
Estimate the write-offs you are missing →Want invoices, quarterlies and the filing handled from books that are kept every month?
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A common rule is 25 to 30 percent of net profit, but the honest answer depends on your income tax bracket and state. The calculator gives you the real number: self-employment tax plus federal income tax on your actual profit, and the quarterly schedule to pay it on time.
Usually yes, once the tax on your freelance profit is more than $1,000 for the year. Add your W-2 wages and withholding in the optional fields and the calculator tells you whether your paycheck withholding already covers it.
The $600 line decides whether a client sends a 1099, not whether the income is taxable. All of it is taxable, and self-employment tax starts once your net self-employment profit for the year passes $400.
Roughly above $80,000 of profit, when the self-employment tax saved on distributions clears the cost of payroll and a separate return. Amadae runs that math for members and handles the election, salary and payroll when it pays off.
Estimate only, using TY2026 federal figures (Rev. Proc. 2025-32): the standard deduction, a simplified QBI deduction, and no credits or capital gains. State taxes are separate. Not tax advice.
Terms behind this calculator
Self-employment tax/Quarterly estimated taxes/QBI deduction/Business meals deduction
We connect your client income, keep the books, set the tax aside as you get paid, schedule the quarterly payments, and switch you to an S-corp when it saves more than it costs.
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