Estimate self-employment tax plus the federal income tax your freelance income adds, and what that means per quarter.
Enter your 1099 income for the year, your deductible business expenses, your filing status, and any other income such as a spouse's wages or a W-2 job. The page estimates self-employment tax, adds the federal income tax your freelance profit attracts, and divides the total into a quarterly amount.
Enter expenses you can document. The deduction for a home office, mileage, software and supplies is real, and every dollar of expense reduces both the income tax and the self-employment tax base.
$80,000 of freelance income, $8,000 of expenses, single, no other income:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Net profit | $72,000 |
| Self-employment tax base (92.35%) | $66,492 |
| Social Security portion (12.4%) | $8,245 |
| Medicare portion (2.9%) | $1,928 |
| Total self-employment tax | $10,173 |
| Half of SE tax, deductible | $5,086 |
| Taxable income after the standard deduction | $50,813 |
| Federal income tax | $5,891 |
| Total federal tax | $16,064 |
| Set aside per quarter | $4,016 |
That is 20% of gross profit, which is why a quarter of every payment is a reasonable habit to start with. The two halves of the total behave differently: the $10,173 of self-employment tax is proportional and predictable, while the income tax depends on your bracket and on everything else on your return.
Self-employment tax is the employer and employee halves of Social Security and Medicare, both paid by you because you are both. The tax applies to 92.35% of net profit rather than the whole figure, which approximates the employer half being deductible. Social Security stops at an annual wage base; Medicare does not, and an additional Medicare rate applies above a threshold that depends on filing status.
Federal income tax is computed on profit minus half the self-employment tax minus the standard deduction, then run through the marginal brackets. The estimation here is deliberately simplified: it does not know about itemised deductions, retirement contributions, the child tax credit or state income tax, each of which can move the answer a great deal. A solo 401(k) or SEP contribution, in particular, can reduce this bill substantially, and that is worth a conversation with someone who can model it.
Quarterly payments exist because the United States taxes income as it is earned. Underpayment can trigger a penalty even if you pay in full in April, so the per-quarter figure is the number to act on rather than the annual total. If your income is uneven, pay more in the strong quarters.
Generally April, June, September and January. The IRS publishes the exact dates each year, and the January payment covers the final quarter of the previous tax year.
Ordinary and necessary business costs: software, equipment, mileage, a dedicated home office, professional fees. Personal spending is not deductible, and the rules for mixed-use items are specific.
Because it is both halves of Social Security and Medicare, which an employer and employee normally split. Half of it is deductible against income tax, which softens the effect.
No. Only federal. Most states with an income tax will want their own quarterly payments, on their own schedule.
No. It is an estimate from the brackets built into the tool. Your actual return depends on facts this page cannot see, so use it for planning and confirm with a tax professional.
The 2026 federal pieces are from IRS publications. Quarterly dates and safe-harbor rules are in Publication 505, which this page does not fully model.
Last updated: November 2, 2026. Reviewed by David Liu.