Freelance Take-Home Pay Calculator
The number that actually matters: what lands in your pocket each month after expenses, self-employment tax, income tax, and state.
Written by Dorothy Ibrahim, 10+ years in banking & finance
Loading calculator…
How we calculate this
"I made $120,000" and "I kept $120,000" are very different sentences, and for freelancers the gap is large. This calculator runs the whole chain — gross revenue minus business expenses to net profit, then self-employment tax, federal income tax, and an optional flat state estimate — and shows the number that actually matters: your take-home, both per year and per month. Enter your revenue, expenses, filing status, tax year, and state rate.
The formulas
- Net profit
- gross revenue − business expenses
- Federal tax
- self-employment tax + income tax on (net profit − half of SE tax − standard deduction − QBI deduction)Computed by the shared freelancer engine (Schedule SE + Form 1040).
- State tax
- net profit × your flat state rateOptional; a planning approximation, not real state bracket math.
- Annual take-home
- net profit − federal tax − state tax
- Monthly take-home
- annual take-home ÷ 12
Worked example
- With the defaults — $120,000 gross revenue, $20,000 business expenses, single, 2026, no state tax — net profit is $120,000 − $20,000 = $100,000.
- On $100,000 net profit the engine returns self-employment tax of about $14,130 and federal income tax of about $8,235, for total federal tax of roughly $22,365. With no state rate, total tax is the same.
- Annual take-home = $100,000 − $22,365 = about $77,635, and monthly take-home = $77,635 ÷ 12 ≈ $6,470.
- That is roughly 64.7% of your $120,000 gross revenue kept after expenses and tax — the honest "what can I actually spend" figure.
Rates, benchmarks & sources
- 2026 federal income-tax brackets, standard deduction, and QBI threshold. — IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32
- Self-employment tax: 12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare on 92.35% of net profit. — IRS Schedule SE (Form 1040)
- Up to 20% of qualified business income below the taxable-income threshold. — IRS §199A (QBI deduction)
- Tax Guide for Small Business (sole proprietor Schedule C). — IRS Publication 334
Figures current as of 2026-07-02. See our methodology & editorial standards for how constants are versioned and verified.
What this tool doesn’t model
- It assumes a sole proprietor on Schedule C taking the standard deduction, with one business and no S-corp election — itemized deductions, multiple businesses, or an S-corp change the result.
- State income tax is a single flat rate you enter; real state tax has its own brackets, deductions, and rules, so treat the state line as an approximation.
- Nothing here is withheld automatically — the self-employment and income tax shown must be set aside by you and paid through quarterly estimates.
- It is an educational estimate for planning, not tax advice, and does not replace a return prepared or reviewed by a CPA/EA.
Frequently asked questions
How much do freelancers actually take home?
After business expenses and taxes, many US freelancers keep roughly 60–75% of their gross revenue, depending on income, expenses, filing status, and state. This tool gives your specific figure: it runs gross revenue to net profit, then self-employment tax, federal income tax, and state, and reports both the annual and the monthly result.
What comes out of freelance income?
Three things beyond expenses: self-employment tax (15.3% of net earnings for Social Security and Medicare), federal income tax on your taxable income, and state income tax if your state has one. Unlike a W-2 job, nothing is withheld automatically — you set it aside yourself and pay it through quarterly estimates.
Why is my take-home lower than a salaried friend at the same income?
Because your gross revenue is not comparable to a salary. You pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare, buy your own benefits, and cover business expenses out of that number. The 1099 vs W-2 calculator makes the apples-to-apples comparison if you are weighing an offer.
Does this include the QBI deduction and state tax?
It applies the standard deduction, the deductible half of self-employment tax, and the qualified business income (QBI) deduction where you are under the income threshold. State tax is included only as a flat rate you enter — real state income tax has its own brackets and rules, so treat that line as a planning approximation and confirm it with your state tables or a professional.