Your freelance income, calculated

Enter your hourly rate (or annual gross) plus working hours to see your gross income across every time period. Runs locally — no data sent anywhere.

Hourly → Annual Annual → Hourly Monthly & Weekly Gross Only

Calculate Your Gross Income

Hourly → Annual Annual → Hourly

What This Calculator Gives You

You charge $75/hour for design work. A client wants 20 hours a week for the next six months. Before you say yes, you need to know what that actually translates to — not just the invoice total, but the real number after business expenses come out. That's what this tool calculates.

Enter your hourly rate (or annual revenue), your typical working hours, and your estimated expenses. You'll get your net freelance income broken down by week, month, quarter, and year — the number that matters when you're deciding whether a contract pays enough, how much to set aside for taxes, or whether your rate needs to go up.

The Gap Between What You Bill and What You Keep

Every dollar a client pays you is revenue on paper. But freelancers don't keep all of it. Software subscriptions ($30/month for Adobe Creative Cloud), website hosting ($15/month), professional liability insurance ($400/year), marketing, equipment, coworking space — these are legitimate business expenses, and they come off the top before the IRS calculates your tax.

A freelance writer billing $80,000 might spend $12,000 on expenses, leaving $68,000 in actual profit. That $12,000 difference matters because the IRS taxes profit, not revenue. When you estimate quarterly payments or compare a 1099 offer to a W-2 salary, the net figure determines what you actually keep.

Example: $75/Hour Designer With $12,000 in Annual Expenses

Inputs: $75/hour, 30 hours/week, 48 weeks/year, $12,000 annual expenses

Line Item	Calculation	Amount
Gross annual revenue	$75 × 30 × 48	$108,000
Annual expenses	Software, hosting, insurance, equipment	−$12,000
Net annual income	$108,000 − $12,000	$96,000
Net monthly	$96,000 ÷ 12	$8,000
Net weekly	$96,000 ÷ 52	$1,846
Net quarterly	$96,000 ÷ 4	$24,000

That $96,000 is what you report on Schedule C (IRS Form 1040). It's also the starting point for calculating self-employment tax and quarterly estimated payments.

How Taxes Connect to Net Income

The IRS doesn't tax your gross revenue — it taxes your profit. The chain works like this:

Schedule C calculates net profit (revenue minus expenses)
Schedule SE applies self-employment tax to 92.35% of that profit — a built-in adjustment that approximates the employer half you don't pay
You deduct half of the SE tax from your income before calculating federal income tax

At $96,000 net profit, your SE tax base is $88,656. Social Security (12.4%) applies up to $176,100, and Medicare (2.9%) applies to the full amount. Combined SE tax: roughly $13,564. Half of that — $6,782 — reduces your taxable income.

This calculator stops at net income. For the actual quarterly tax number, use QuarterlyTaxCalc.com.

1099 vs W-2 and Quarterly Planning

Comparing offers. A company offers $90,000 as a W-2 employee or $110,000 as a 1099 contractor. The 1099 number looks bigger — but after expenses ($10,000) and the full self-employment tax burden ($14,130), you're closer to $85,870. The W-2 employee gets half their FICA covered by the employer. Run the full comparison at 1099vsW2Calc.com.

Planning quarterly payments. At $96,000 net profit, expect roughly $6,500 per quarter in federal tax. Income fluctuates? Recalculate each quarter — the IRS allows variable payments through Form 2210 Schedule AI.

Real-World Scenarios

High revenue, high expenses. A freelance video producer bills $150,000 a year but spends $40,000 on camera equipment, editing software, studio rentals, and travel. Net income: $110,000. The expense ratio is 27% — high, but every dollar is deductible against SE tax and income tax. Without tracking expenses, this producer would overestimate their tax burden by thousands.
Low expenses, high profit margin. A freelance writer earning $65,000 with only $3,000 in expenses (website, subscriptions, home office deduction). Net income: $62,000. The expense ratio is just 5% — lean operation, but the full $62,000 is subject to SE tax. Fewer deductions to offset income means the tax bite feels steeper as a percentage.
Side hustle freelancer. A software engineer making $120,000 at a day job picks up $25,000 in freelance consulting on evenings and weekends. Expenses are minimal ($1,500 for a laptop upgrade and online tools). Net freelance income: $23,500. This side income stacks on top of W-2 wages, pushing total earnings past the Social Security wage base ($176,100) and possibly triggering higher Medicare surtaxes. The quarterly payment needs to account for W-2 withholding already in place — something this calculator doesn't model.

How to Use These Numbers

Each timeframe answers a different question:

Weekly — is this project rate worth your time?
Monthly — can you cover rent, loans, and recurring bills?
Quarterly — how much should you set aside before each IRS deadline (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15)?
Annual — are you earning more this year than last?

The quarterly figure shown here is net income ÷ 4, not a tax estimate. To get the actual payment amount, you'll need to add SE tax and federal income tax — QuarterlyTaxCalc.com handles that.

FAQ

Does this include taxes?

No. This calculator estimates gross and net freelance income before taxes or deductions. For quarterly tax estimates, use QuarterlyTaxCalc.com.

Can freelancers work different hours each week?

Yes. Enter your average weekly hours as an estimate. If hours vary significantly, recalculate when your schedule changes.

Is this a guaranteed income?

No. This is a planning estimate based on the inputs you provide. Actual income depends on client retention, payment timing, and market conditions.

Does this account for self-employment tax?

No. This tool stops at net income. Self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of net profit) is calculated separately — use QuarterlyTaxCalc.com for that.

What counts as a business expense?

Software, hosting, insurance, equipment, marketing, coworking space, professional development — anything directly tied to producing your freelance income. The IRS requires these to be documented on Schedule C.

Data Sources

Schedule C (Form 1040): Profit or Loss from Business — where freelance revenue and expenses are reported
Schedule SE (Form 1040): Self-Employment Tax — calculates SE tax on net profit
IRC §1402(a)(12): The 92.35% adjustment to net earnings for SE tax purposes
IRC §164(f): Deduction for 50% of self-employment tax
Social Security wage base: $176,100 (2025) — SSA
Quarterly estimated tax deadlines: Form 1040-ES, IRS Publication 505

Limitations

Gross-to-net only. Estimates net income from revenue and expenses. Does not calculate taxes, deductions, or take-home pay.

No state or local taxes. Federal figures only. State income tax can add 5–13% depending on where you live.

No tax credits. Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit, and other credits that reduce your actual tax bill are not included.

Simplified expense model. You enter a single annual expense total. The IRS requires expenses to be categorized and documented on Schedule C. This tool doesn't validate what counts as a deductible business expense.

No self-employment tax calculation. Use QuarterlyTaxCalc.com for quarterly tax estimates based on your net profit.

No W-2 withholding offset. If you have a day job with tax withholding, that withholding reduces your required quarterly payments. Not modeled here.

Not tax advice. Planning estimate only. Consult a tax professional for filing decisions.