Who this site helps
Freelancers, 1099 contractors, sole proprietors, and single-member LLC owners who earn income without an employer withholding taxes from every paycheck face a different math problem than salaried workers. Nobody sends a W-2 worker's Schedule SE at year-end, so someone earning independent income has to estimate self-employment tax, plan quarterly payments, and price a rate that covers taxes before a client contract even starts. Side hustlers testing a first 1099 project alongside a day job run into the same gap: withholding on the day job does not cover self-employment income earned separately. FreelanceMath exists for that testing phase: before a rate is set, a quarterly payment is due, or a home office deduction is claimed. Read more about the project or browse guides for background before running numbers.
Choose a tool by the problem you are solving
What should a freelancer actually calculate first, and in what order? The answer depends on the question being asked, not on a fixed checklist. Wondering how much of a $1,000 invoice actually stays after tax? Start with the Self-Employment Tax Calculator, which applies the 15.3% rate to 92.35% of net earnings the way Schedule SE does. Combining 1099 income with wages, deductions, and filing status into one federal-plus-state-plus-SE picture calls for the 1099 Tax Calculator. Trying to avoid an underpayment penalty in April means working out four payments now with the Quarterly Tax Estimator, which checks safe harbor thresholds against last year's liability.
Pricing questions come up just as often. Deciding what to charge per hour so taxes and slow months do not eat the margin belongs with the Freelance Rate Calculator. Choosing between a fixed project fee and hourly billing on the same scope of work is a job for the Hourly vs Project Rate Calculator. Sending a client a professional bill without opening a separate account is what the Free Invoice Generator is for, no signup, PDF output in the browser.
Deduction and comparison questions round out the set. Sorting simplified square-footage against actual-expense home office deductions runs through the Home Office Deduction Calculator. Weighing a contract offer against a salaried job with benefits needs the 1099 vs W-2 Comparison Calculator. Checking whether a client roster is actually profitable after software, subcontractors, and taxes belongs with the Freelancer Profit Margin Calculator. The full set sits at /tools.
Why these calculations differ from generic estimators
Most online tax estimators skip the formula entirely, showing a single number with no visible math and no path to check it against a primary source. FreelanceMath calculators run the arithmetic in the browser using the same structure as Schedule SE, the federal brackets, and the current Social Security wage base, so the steps are visible rather than hidden behind a result screen. Core tools do not require account creation or an email address to see a number. Each calculator links to a paired guide that walks through the underlying rule in plain language, and the constants behind every tool trace back to the sources listed on Methodology rather than to a third-party aggregator.
What the calculators cover and what they leave out
Every calculator on this site produces a planning estimate, not a filed tax return. State income tax figures, where included, use simplified flat or bracket approximations and do not capture every state's credits, local taxes, or reciprocity rules. Tax credits, the Alternative Minimum Tax, multi-state apportionment, S-corp or partnership elections, and unusual filing situations sit outside the current scope of these models. Someone working a W-2 job alongside 1099 income will find that Social Security wage-base coordination between the two income types is handled as an approximation, not an exact reconciliation. The full breakdown of assumptions, formulas, and known gaps is documented on how the math is built, and that page is the place to check before relying on a result for a real filing decision.
Primary sources and how figures stay current
IRS revenue procedures and SSA wage-base announcements set the constants behind every calculator on this site, not third-party tax software or personal finance blogs. The 2026 inflation-adjusted figures, including bracket thresholds and deduction amounts, come from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, and the 2026 Social Security taxable wage base of $184,500 comes from the SSA's October 2025 announcement. Schedule SE and Form 8995 concepts inform the self-employment and deduction logic at a high level, without reproducing full IRS worksheets on this page. FreelanceMath refreshes these constants every October to November when the next year's revenue procedure and wage base are published, updates within about a week of material IRS or SSA guidance that changes a calculator's output, and corrects errors immediately with the last-updated date revised. Full source citations and the update log live on Methodology.
How to start
Opening /tools is the fastest way to see every calculator in one place, while /guides holds the background reading behind each one. Two starting paths cover most situations: estimating self-employment tax on income already earned, or setting a rate before a new contract begins. The Taxes hub groups the tax-focused calculators and guides together for anyone working through a full-year plan rather than a single question. This page and its calculators provide general information only, not tax or financial advice.