Freelance & Self-Employed calculators

Start from the annual income you need, add self-employment obligations, health coverage, retirement contributions, paid time off, equipment and a margin for gaps between engagements, then divide by the hours you will realistically bill, which is substantially fewer than full-time hours.

Enough for income tax at your expected marginal rate plus self-employment obligations on net earnings plus any state liability. The combined figure varies widely by income and location, so compute it from your own numbers and move it at the moment each payment arrives.

Project pricing is generally better once you can estimate the work, because it decouples income from hours and rewards efficiency , not penalising it. Hourly suits genuinely open-ended work. The prerequisite for project pricing is a written scope.

Prevent it in the statement of work instead of managing it afterwards. Define what is included, what is explicitly excluded, how many revisions are covered and what triggers a change order. Unpaid extra work almost always originates in an ambiguous scope, not a difficult client.

Considerably less than full capacity once sales, proposals, admin, invoicing, bookkeeping, marketing and learning are counted. Measure your own over a representative month , not estimating, because the measured figure is almost always lower than the assumption.

The trade-offs involve liability, tax treatment, administrative burden and how clients contract with you, and the right answer depends on jurisdiction, income level and risk exposure. It is one of the few freelance decisions genuinely worth professional advice.

Structurally instead of reactively: deposits before starting, milestone billing on longer engagements, clear terms on the invoice, and systematic follow-up before an invoice becomes overdue. For a freelancer, payment timing frequently matters more than headline rate.

When consistently booked, when the work has measurably improved, or when costs have risen. Raise for new clients first to establish the level with evidence, then move existing clients at a natural boundary with notice. Expect some attrition and check the higher rate compensates.

A solo 401(k) usually allows a larger contribution at the same income, because it lets you contribute as both employee and employer, while a SEP IRA only has an employer-side contribution. A SEP is simpler to administer. A solo 401(k) can also accept a loan and, depending on the provider, a Roth option.

Start from the income you need, add taxes, benefits and overhead, then divide by the hours you can realistically bill, not a full 2,080.

Generally in April, June, September and January, and the safe harbor calculator shows the minimum to pay to avoid a penalty.

A 1099 rate must be higher to match a W-2 package, since you pay both halves of payroll tax and your own benefits.