Self-Employment Tax Calculator

Self-employment tax is 15.3% applied to 92.35% of your net profit — 12.4% for Social Security plus 2.9% for Medicare. On $60,000 of net profit, that's roughly $8,478. Enter your numbers above for your exact 2025 estimate.

The IRS lets you reduce your net profit by 7.65% (an adjustment that mirrors the employer-side payroll tax deduction employees effectively get) before applying the 15.3% rate. So you multiply net profit by 0.9235 first, then apply the tax.

Only on the Social Security portion. For 2025, the 12.4% Social Security tax applies to net earnings up to the $176,100 wage base (reduced by any W-2 wages already taxed for Social Security). The 2.9% Medicare portion has no cap and applies to all of your net earnings.

Yes. You can deduct half of your self-employment tax as an above-the-line deduction on your income tax return. This reduces your adjusted gross income — though it does not reduce the SE tax itself.

No — they're separate. SE tax covers Social Security and Medicare for the self-employed. You also owe regular federal (and possibly state) income tax on your profit. Many self-employed people pay both through quarterly estimated tax payments.

Generally anyone with $400 or more of net earnings from self-employment — freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors (1099), and sole proprietors. It covers the Social Security and Medicare contributions an employer would otherwise split with you.