FREE CALCULATOR
A quick estimate of how much of your profit to put aside for taxes — so April isn't a surprise.
Rough estimate for planning only, not tax advice. It applies your bracket rate to all of this profit as if it were additional income and ignores credits, other deductions, the Social Security wage cap and state-specific rules. Check with a tax professional or the IRS estimated-tax worksheet for your real numbers.
Employers withhold tax from a paycheck automatically. Self-employment income has nothing withheld, and on top of income tax there's self-employment tax — Social Security and Medicare, about 15.3% on 92.35% of your net earnings. That's why a common rule of thumb is to set aside somewhere around 25–30% of profit, though your real number depends on your bracket and state.
If you expect to owe a meaningful amount, the IRS generally expects estimated payments during the year rather than one payment in April. Splitting your set-aside into four is a simple way to plan for that.
Log income and expenses as you go and get a live profit dashboard, monthly charts and an automatic tax set-aside, so you always know what's actually yours. Excel and Google Sheets.
Many people use roughly 25-30% of profit as a starting point; this calculator estimates it from your bracket and state. It's an estimate, not tax advice.
Social Security and Medicare tax for people who work for themselves, about 15.3% applied to 92.35% of net self-employment earnings, with half of it deductible for income tax.
Often, if you expect to owe a meaningful amount for the year. Check the IRS estimated-tax rules or a tax professional for your situation.
Free to use, no sign-up. Built by Gragg Robotics, LLC in Waterville, Maine. More free tools: all calculators.