1099 self-employment tax estimator
Enter a year of net self-employment earnings and this page works out the Social Security and Medicare tax that comes with them, plus the half you can deduct later. It runs entirely in your browser.
This page estimates the Social Security and Medicare self-employment tax on net 1099 earnings; it does not compute income tax, quarterly payments, or a tax return.
Fill in the fields to see a result.
- Tax year 2026.
- 92.35% of net earnings is the amount subject to the tax.
- Self-employment tax starts at $400.00 of net earnings.
- The 2026 Social Security wage base is $184,500.00. Medicare has no wage base.
- The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax is not included: it depends on your combined income and how you file.
- These are estimates for planning, from IRS Topic 554 and Schedule SE.
The generator opens on a United States 1099 record. No figure from this page travels with you.
How the figures are worked out
Self-employment tax is not charged on every dollar of profit. The IRS takes 92.35% of your net earnings — what is left after business expenses — and treats that as the amount subject to the tax. The estimator does the same, in whole cents, before anything else happens.
The Social Security part is 12.4%, and it stops once the year's Social Security wage base is used up. Wages an employer already taxed for Social Security use that base first, so the estimator subtracts the figure you enter from the wage base and charges 12.4% on whichever is smaller: your earnings base, or the room left over. The Medicare part is 2.9% and has no ceiling at all.
Below $400 of net earnings there is no self-employment tax, so the estimator says so instead of showing a figure. Above it, the two parts are added together, and half the total is shown because that half is deductible against income tax.
The result is an estimate for planning, worked out from the rates the IRS publishes for the year you pick. Your own tax return can come out differently once expenses, credits and other income are counted.
What this tool leaves out
- It does not calculate federal or state income tax.
- It does not work out quarterly estimated payments or their due dates.
- It leaves out the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, which depends on your combined wages, self-employment income and filing status.
- It does not subtract business expenses for you — enter earnings that are already net of them.
- It does not calculate credits, penalties or interest, and it does not prepare a tax return.
- It covers United States federal self-employment tax for 2025 and 2026 only.
Sources
Sources last reviewed Aug 17, 2026.
- IRS — Topic no. 554, Self-employment taxThe 92.35% rule, the 12.4% and 2.9% rates, the $400 threshold and the deductible half.
- IRS — Schedule SE (Form 1040), tax year 2025Lines 7 to 10: wages already taxed for Social Security reduce the base left for self-employment earnings.
- IRS — Instructions for Schedule SE, tax year 2025The 2025 Social Security wage base of $176,100.
- IRS — Publication 15 (Circular E), 2026The 2026 Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- IRS — Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding ratesThe 6.2% and 1.45% halves behind the 12.4% and 2.9% self-employment rates.
Common questions
How much self-employment tax will I owe on 1099 income?
Multiply your net earnings by 92.35%, then take 12.4% for Social Security up to the year's wage base and 2.9% for Medicare with no limit. On $60,000 of net earnings in 2026 that comes to about $8,478. The estimator above does the arithmetic in your browser.
Does a W-2 job change my self-employment tax?
It changes the Social Security part. Wages your employer already taxed for Social Security use up the same annual wage base, so only what is left of that base is charged at 12.4%. Once those wages reach the base, the Social Security part of your self-employment tax is zero — the 2.9% Medicare part still applies.
Do I owe self-employment tax if I made less than $400?
No. Self-employment tax starts at $400 of net earnings for the year. Below that the estimator shows a result saying so rather than an error. You may still have to report the income on your tax return.
Is the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax included?
No. That surcharge depends on your combined wages and self-employment income and on how you file, none of which this page asks for. It is worked out on your income tax return, not on Schedule SE.
Which tax years does the estimator cover?
2025 and 2026. Each year has its own Social Security wage base — $176,100 for 2025 and $184,500 for 2026 — and the estimator uses the one for the year you pick.