15.3% of 92.35% of your net earnings: 12.4% for Social Security on earnings up to $184,500 (the 2026 wage base) and 2.9% for Medicare on all of it. An extra 0.9% Medicare tax applies above $200,000 ($250,000 filing jointly). Below $400 of net earnings there is no self-employment tax. Half of it comes off your income before income tax. Source: Schedule SE.
Self-employed tax calculator
A self-employed tax calculator for the whole of 2026: enter what you earned and spent. See your self-employment tax, income tax, and what to pay each quarter, with every step of the working shown. For a quick answer from one month or one week of earnings, use the month and week calculator.
Enter your income to see the estimate.
- 1Basics
- 2First estimate
- 3More accurate
- 4Result
The basics
What you earned in 2026, and who you are filing as. A first estimate comes next.
Everything clients and platforms paid you, before expenses: box 1 of a 1099-NEC, the gross amount on a 1099-K, or the yearly total in the app. An estimate is fine. Type an amount above $500,000 if the slider stops short.
$
Where do I find this number?
- Form 1099-NEC from a client or platform: the amount in box 1.
- Form 1099-K from an app or payment processor: box 1a, the gross amount before the app's fees. The fees are a business expense.
- No form yet, or none at all: the yearly earnings summary in the app, or your own records of what you were paid. The income counts even when no 1099 is sent.
- Part of the year so far: what you have been paid so far, plus a guess for the months left. An estimate is fine; you can change it later.
Source: IRS Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business; the 1099-NEC and 1099-K instructions.
Miles driven for the work, including to a pickup. Standard mileage rate in this estimate: $0.725 a mile, the January–June 2026 rate, used for every mile so the deduction is not overstated ($0.76 from July 1).
mi
Deduction: $0
Supplies, platform fees and other Schedule C costs. Not gas or car repairs if you entered miles: the mileage rate covers them. Leave at 0 if you are not sure.
$
Net earnings
$0
Your Schedule C profit. Self-employment tax is worked out from this amount.
Choose your state first. Until then the estimate leaves state income tax out.
%
What is the self-employment tax rate for 2026?
Quarterly tax dates for 2026
Estimated tax for 2026 income is paid to the IRS four times, for the income earned in each period:
| Payment | Income earned | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Jan 1 – Mar 31 | April 15, 2026 |
| Q2 | Apr 1 – May 31 | June 15, 2026 |
| Q3 | Jun 1 – Aug 31 | September 15, 2026 |
| Q4 | Sep 1 – Dec 31 | January 15, 2027 |
A payment is due when you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year after withholding (IRS Publication 505). The calculator above shows the amount of your next payment and how to pay it; state estimated tax is paid to your state on its own dates.
How the estimate works
What this tool does
GigWorkerTax estimates the federal tax on 1099 income for one tax year: self-employment tax, federal income tax after the standard deduction and the qualified business income (QBI) deduction, your state's income tax, and the amount to pay each quarter. It runs in your browser. What you type is saved in this browser so it is there when you come back; the calculator does not send it to our server.
The rules it applies
- Self-employment tax. 15.3% (12.4% Social Security, 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of net earnings, with Social Security stopping at the yearly wage base. No self-employment tax below $400 of net earnings (Schedule SE).
- Income tax. Half of the self-employment tax, health insurance premiums and retirement contributions come off first. Then the standard deduction and the QBI deduction (up to 20%), then the federal brackets for your filing status.
- Credits. The Child Tax Credit is applied up to your income tax. The Earned Income Tax Credit is refundable, so it can take federal tax below zero.
- State tax. Your state's flat rate where it has one, otherwise a typical rate; you can replace it with your own rate.
Sources are IRS Publication 505, Schedule SE, Publication 334 and the yearly inflation adjustments; the methodology page lists every figure and the year it belongs to.
How to read the result
The tax so far stays at the top while you type: the year's tax, the next payment to the IRS and the share of each payout to set aside. After the basics (income, miles, filing status, children and state) you see a first estimate, then choose the details that apply to you, such as a home office, health insurance or a W-2 job; only those add questions.
The result starts with the next payment to the IRS: federal tax divided by four, less anything you entered as paid, spread over the payments left. State estimated tax is paid to your state and is shown on its own line. Under it, sections open one at a time: where every dollar goes (each deduction and tax in the order they are applied, so each number can be followed back to the one before it), the quarterly due dates, the least to pay without a penalty, the payments you have made, and what more retirement savings would change.
What it does not do
- It does not file a return or replace one. It is an estimate for planning.
- It does not itemize deductions, and it does not cover the alternative minimum tax or capital gains. W-2 wages count toward the income tax bracket and withholding, not toward self-employment tax.
- State tax is one rate on your taxable income, not your state's full bracket table, deductions or credits.
- City and county income taxes and local business taxes (for example New York City's unincorporated business tax, Philadelphia's net profits tax, Hawaii's general excise tax) are not included.
- The refundable part of the Child Tax Credit is not included.
- Of the deductions added by the 2025 tax law (P.L. 119-21), the tips deduction is included when you choose it after the first estimate and switch it on; the deductions for overtime, car loan interest and people 65 and over are not.
An example
Example. A single delivery driver in Texas earns $60,000 in 2026 and has $10,000 of business expenses, so net earnings are $50,000.
Self-employment tax is $7,065. Half of it ($3,532) comes off, leaving $46,468. After the $16,100 standard deduction and a QBI deduction of $6,074, taxable income is $24,294 and federal income tax is $2,667. Texas has no state income tax.
Total tax is $9,732, about $2,433 a quarter.
Read more
The guides cover the decisions around the numbers, such as how much to set aside and the 1099 tax guide. To log each payout and see what to set aside week by week, use the set-aside tracker. Who runs this site is on the about page, and every result is an estimate as described in the disclaimer. There are also guides for DoorDash, Uber and Instacart drivers and for freelancers.