1099 Tax Calculator (2026)

What the 1099 tax calculator actually does

When you earn money as a 1099 contractor, freelancer, or gig worker, the IRS hits your income two different ways. First, self-employment tax — the 15.3% Social Security and Medicare hit, which a W-2 employee only pays half of because their employer covers the other half. Second, federal income tax — the same graduated brackets every American pays, applied on top. Most online calculators only show you one or the other. This one shows both, combined, so you can see your real federal tax bill on a dollar of freelance income.

The output you care about is the big number at the top: Estimated total federal tax. That's SE tax + income tax, the full amount the IRS wants from you by April 15. Everything below it is the breakdown. The Suggested set-aside % at the bottom is the practical number — that's the percentage of every gross 1099 dollar you should be moving into a separate "tax savings" account so that when quarterly estimates come due you're not scrambling.

The 2026 numbers the calculator uses

• Self-employment tax rate: 15.3% on the first $168,600 of net earnings (12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare). Above $168,600 only the 2.9% Medicare continues.
• Additional Medicare surtax: 0.9% on combined income above $200,000 single, $250,000 MFJ, $125,000 MFS.
• 92.35% adjustment: SE tax is applied to net earnings × 0.9235, per Schedule SE.
• Deductible half: 50% of SE tax (excluding the Additional Medicare portion) is deducted from AGI before income tax is computed.
• Standard deduction: $15,400 single / $30,800 MFJ / $15,400 MFS / $23,100 HoH (projected 2026).
• Federal tax brackets (single): 10% to $11,925, 12% to $48,475, 22% to $103,350, 24% to $197,300, 32% to $250,525, 35% to $626,350, 37% above.

A worked example — $80k freelance, single filer

Assume you're a single freelancer with $80,000 of gross 1099 income and $12,000 of legitimate business expenses. No other income.

• Net earnings: $80,000 − $12,000 = $68,000
• Taxable base (92.35%): $62,798
• SE tax: $62,798 × 15.3% = $9,608
• Deductible half: $4,804 (reduces AGI)
• AGI: $68,000 − $4,804 = $63,196
• Taxable income: $63,196 − $15,400 standard deduction = $47,796
• Federal income tax (brackets): $5,497
• Total federal tax: $9,608 + $5,497 = $15,105
• Effective rate (on gross $80k): 18.9%
• Suggested set-aside: 20%

So on $80,000 gross, a single freelancer in 2026 nets roughly $52,895 after federal tax, assuming they're claiming the standard deduction and not buried in credits. State tax, if you live somewhere that has it, comes off the top of that number.

A worked example — $150k with a W-2 spouse

Assume you earn $150,000 gross 1099 with $20,000 of expenses, file MFJ, and your spouse has $90,000 of W-2 income already taxed.

• Net self-employment earnings: $130,000
• SE tax: $18,368 (all under the SS wage base)
• Deductible half: $9,184
• AGI (household): $130,000 + $90,000 − $9,184 = $210,816
• Taxable income: $210,816 − $30,800 standard deduction = $180,016
• Federal income tax (MFJ brackets): $29,431
• Total federal tax (household): $18,368 + $29,431 = $47,800
• Effective rate (on gross $150k 1099): 31.9%

At this income level, set-aside should climb to 30%+ because you're pushing well into the 22% and 24% brackets while still owing the full 15.3% SE tax on most of your net. Note that part of the income tax figure reflects tax on the spouse's W-2 income — the 1099 side alone would be lower in isolation.

Why most online "1099 calculators" give you the wrong answer

A huge share of the self-employment tax calculators on the internet make one of three mistakes. Mistake one: they calculate 15.3% of gross income instead of net × 92.35%. This overstates your SE tax by about 8%. Mistake two: they don't include the deductible half of SE tax in the AGI calculation, which makes your income tax look higher than it actually is. Mistake three — the worst one — they add 15.3% to your marginal income tax bracket and tell you that's your total rate. That's wrong because SE tax applies to net business earnings while income tax applies to taxable income (AGI minus deductions), and those are two different numbers. The calculator on this page handles all three correctly.

When the suggested set-aside percentage applies

The set-aside percentage is rounded up to the nearest 5% intentionally. Freelance income is lumpy — you'll have $15,000 months and $3,000 months, and tax withholding should treat every dollar the same because the IRS will. Round up, move that percentage of every deposit into a high-yield savings account, and reconcile at each quarterly estimated tax deadline. If you end up over-saved at year end, you get a nice surprise when you pay taxes; if you end up under, you don't have a panic moment in April.

A few situations where the suggested percentage may be low:

• You live in a high-tax state (CA, NY, NJ, HI, OR, MN). Add another 5–9% for state tax.
• Your income is rising fast year-over-year. Add 3–5% to hedge against ending the year in a higher bracket.
• You have significant investment income that'll push AGI into a higher bracket.

And one situation where it may be high: if you're going to make major deductible retirement contributions (SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k)), your actual taxable income will be lower than what the calculator assumes. Run the calculator again with your net profit reduced by your planned retirement contribution to see the effect.

Frequently asked questions

How this differs from our Self-Employment Tax Calculator

Our Self-Employment Tax Calculator answers just one question: "How much Social Security and Medicare tax do I owe on my net freelance profit?" It's the right tool if you've already handled income tax elsewhere or just want to isolate the SE tax portion. This 1099 Tax Calculator answers the bigger question: "What's my total federal tax bill on this income?" — which is what you actually need to know to set money aside and pay quarterlies.