2026 tax year · self-employed

1099 tax calculator

No tax is withheld on 1099 income. Estimate self-employment, federal and state tax on your net profit, then set it aside before it's due.

If you're paid on a 1099, you owe self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of net profit) plus federal and state income tax. This calculator estimates all three.

How self-employment tax is built

Self-employment tax is 15.3%, 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare, charged on 92.35% of net profit. The Social Security half stops once net earnings reach $184,500 for 2026; Medicare has no cap. Half of the self-employment tax is deductible from AGI, so it lowers income tax even though it doesn't lower the self-employment tax itself.

This federal layer is identical in all 51 jurisdictions. What changes from state to state is the income tax stacked on top of it, which is what each state page below works out.

Work through the whole picture

Next for self-employed income

Quarterly estimated taxes Nobody withholds on 1099 income, so you pay the IRS four times a year. See what each 2026 payment should be and when it's due. Form 1040-ESDue dates Would an S-corp cut this? Once profit clears roughly $80k, an S-corp election can lower the 15.3% self-employment tax. See whether it saves more than it costs. S-corpPayroll W-2 job vs 1099 contract Compare an offer as an employee against the same money as a contractor, after self-employment tax and the benefits you'd give up. Offer compare Deductions by profession What your trade can legitimately write off against Schedule C profit, from the home office to mileage and equipment. Schedule C Self-employed retirement SEP-IRA vs Solo 401(k): how much pre-tax income you can shelter this year, and what it saves at your bracket. SEP-IRASolo 401(k) Underpayment penalty Missed or shorted a quarterly payment? Estimate the IRS penalty and the safe-harbor amount that keeps you clear of it. Safe harbor

The same $50,000 of 1099 profit, four states

Total tax (federal + self-employment + state) on $50,000 of 1099 profit, single filer, 2026

The federal and self-employment layers are identical everywhere; the state layer is the whole difference. Your state's page below shows its own brackets and a full worked example.

Choose your state

Each state page is built on that state's 2026 income tax rules with a worked example:

Set the money aside before it's due

Self-employment income arrives without tax taken out, so the whole 1099 tax bill (the 15.3% self-employment tax plus federal and state income tax) is yours to plan for. The most common freelancer mistake is treating a gross deposit as spendable, then facing a four- or five-figure balance at filing.

Estimate the total here, split it across the four 2026 quarterly deadlines, and move that share into a separate account each time you're paid. Doing that is the difference between a routine payment and an April scramble.

See your quarterly schedule