Estimate only, not tax advice. Check IRS.gov or a tax professional before you pay.
Self-employment tax is the Social Security and Medicare tax for people who work for themselves. An employee splits these taxes with their employer; when you're self-employed, you pay both halves.
That's 12.4% for Social Security plus 2.9% for Medicare. You owe it if your net self-employment earnings are $400 or more.
You don't pay SE tax on your full profit. You multiply profit by 92.35% first. That mirrors the way employees don't pay FICA on the employer's half of FICA. So on $50,000 of profit, SE tax is $50,000 × 0.9235 × 0.153 = $7,064.78.
The 12.4% Social Security part only applies to the first $184,500 of earnings in 2026, and W-2 wages count toward that cap first. The 2.9% Medicare part has no cap, and an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare tax applies above $200,000 ($250,000 married filing jointly, $125,000 married filing separately).
You can deduct half of your SE tax (not counting the Additional Medicare tax) when figuring your income tax. It lowers your income tax, not the SE tax itself. In the $50,000 example, that's a $3,532 deduction.
SE tax isn't billed separately. It's part of your total tax, so you include it in your quarterly estimated payments along with income tax.
Estimate only, not tax advice. Figures are for tax year 2026 from IRS sources (Form 1040-ES, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the pages listed under Sources) and the SSA. Confirm with IRS.gov or a tax professional.
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