Free tool
Self-employment tax calculator
Enter your net profit to see your self-employment tax, the part you can deduct and how the Social Security wage base caps it. Uses the 2026 base from the Social Security Administration.
Information only, not tax advice. Final answers depend on your full tax situation.
Questions and answers
How is self-employment tax figured?
You take your net profit, multiply it by 92.35%, then multiply that by 15.3%. The 15.3% is 12.4% for Social Security plus 2.9% for Medicare. The 12.4% part stops once your earnings reach the Social Security wage base for the year.
What is the Social Security wage base?
It is the most income the 12.4% Social Security part applies to in a year. The Social Security Administration set it at $184,500 for 2026 ($176,100 for 2025). If you also have W-2 wages with Social Security tax, they count toward the same limit.
Can I deduct part of self-employment tax?
Yes. The IRS lets you deduct the employer-equivalent half of your self-employment tax when you figure your adjusted gross income. It lowers your income tax, not the self-employment tax itself.
What is the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax?
An extra 0.9% Medicare tax applies to wages and self-employment income above $200,000 for single filers, $250,000 for married filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately. It is figured on a separate form, so this tool only flags it.
Sources
- SSA: Contribution and Benefit Base (2026 base $184,500) (read via a text fetch because ssa.gov blocks simple scripts; checked 2026-10-01)
- SSA: 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment Fact Sheet (checked 2026-10-01)
- IRS: Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes) (rate 15.3% and the deduction of the employer-equivalent half; its wage-base figure is for an older year, so the SSA figure is used; checked 2026-10-01)
- IRS Tax Topic 554: Self-employment tax (92.35% of net earnings, $400 minimum; checked 2026-10-01)
- IRS Tax Topic 560: Additional Medicare Tax (0.9% above $200,000 single, $250,000 joint, $125,000 separate; checked 2026-10-01)
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