2026 self-employment tax calculator

Start with profit, not sales

Enter annual Schedule C net profit after allowable business expenses. This worksheet covers a simple sole proprietor using the regular method. It is not an S corporation payroll tool or a partnership allocation calculator. A loss is outside its scope. Enter your own Social Security wages separately from Medicare wages because those amounts can differ. Do not enter a spouse's Social Security wages; the Social Security limit is individual. The spouse Medicare input is used only for joint filers.

Formula and illustrative example

Net earnings are modeled as profit × 92.35%. Below $400 of net earnings, this simplified regular-method estimate is zero. Social Security tax is 12.4% of the smaller of net earnings and the remaining 2026 $184,500 wage base after your Social Security wages. Regular Medicare tax is 2.9% of net earnings. At $60,000 illustrative profit and no wages, net earnings are $55,410; Social Security is $6,870.84 and Medicare is $1,606.89, totaling $8,477.73. The modeled income adjustment is half that regular SE tax: $4,238.87.

Additional Medicare and limits

The separate 0.9% tax applies above $200,000 for single or head-of-household filers, $250,000 for joint filers, and $125,000 for separate filers. This worksheet estimates the total on entered wages and net earnings, not a balance after employer withholding. That additional tax is not included in the deductible half. Railroad wages, church income, optional methods, foreign coverage agreements, losses, multiple businesses and community property allocations need separate review. Federal income tax and state taxes are additional.

Sources checked October 29, 2026: IRS Schedule SE instructions, SSA 2026 taxable wage maximum, and IRS Additional Medicare Tax questions. Confirm current-year filing instructions before filing.