Free 1099 Tax Calculator
Estimate your self-employment taxes — Social Security, Medicare, federal income tax, state tax, and QBI deduction — and see exactly what your quarterly estimated payments should be. Built for freelancers, independent contractors, and side-hustlers. Free, instant, no signup.
Gross self-employment / freelance income for the year.
Schedule C deductions — software, home office, mileage, etc.
Filing status
Total of any 1040-ES payments you've sent this year.
Your tax estimate
- Gross income
- $100,000.00
- Business expenses
- $15,000.00
- Net SE income
- $85,000.00
- Social Security (12.4%)
- − $9,733.69
- Medicare (2.9% + 0.9% surtax)
- − $2,276.43
- Self-employment tax
- − $12,010.12
- Federal income tax
- − $5,400.89
- State income tax
- − $0.00
- QBI deduction
- − $17,000.00
- Total estimated tax
- $17,411.01
- Effective rate
- 17.4%
20% deduction off taxable income (Section 199A).
Estimated take-home
$82,588.99/ year
$6,882.42 / month · $3,176.50 / biweekly
Each quarterly payment
$4,352.75
Estimates only. Based on 2025 IRS tables; 2026 rates may differ. Doesn't model SEP-IRA, solo-401(k), HSA, itemized deductions, or QBI phase-out. Consult a tax professional.
Never miss a quarterly deadline
1040-ES estimated taxes are due four times a year. Miss a deadline and the IRS adds an underpayment penalty.
Q1
Apr 15, 2026
Q2
Jun 15, 2026
Due in 10 days
Q3
Sep 15, 2026
Q4
Jan 15, 2027
We'll email you 2 weeks before each quarterly deadline with your estimated payment amount.
Why use this generator
- Freelancer in year one — you've never filed self-employed before and need to know how much to set aside per check.
- Already self-employed mid-year — you've paid Q1 and Q2 and want to confirm Q3 is on track.
- Comparing a W-2 offer to a 1099 contract — the gross numbers look similar, but the take-home math is very different.
- Side hustle crossed $5K — high enough to owe quarterly payments and trigger SE tax on top of regular income tax.
- Year-end planning — adjusting Q4 to land within the IRS safe-harbor window (90% of current year OR 100% of last year, 110% above $150K).
How it works
- 1Enter your gross 1099 income for the year. If you're mid-year, project the full year — quarterly math doesn't care about timing, just total.
- 2Enter your business expenses (Schedule C deductions). Home office, software, mileage, professional services — all reduce your net SE income.
- 3Pick your filing status and state. The 9 no-income-tax states are labeled in the dropdown.
- 4If you've already paid quarterlies this year, enter the total in the bottom field. We show the remaining balance.
- 5Read the breakdown live. Copy the summary, or hit the email field below the quarterly section to get a reminder 2 weeks before each deadline.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is SE tax so much higher than regular FICA?
- As a W-2 employee, you pay 7.65% in FICA (Social Security 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) and your employer matches it. As a 1099, you ARE the employer — you owe both halves, which adds up to 15.3% on the first $176,100 of net SE income (2025 wage base) and 2.9% on everything above it. Half of that SE tax is deductible from AGI, which softens the blow a bit.
- What's the QBI deduction and do I qualify?
- The Qualified Business Income deduction (Section 199A) lets sole proprietors and pass-through entities deduct 20% of their net SE income before federal income tax. In 2025 it's fully available below $197,300 (single/HoH) or $394,600 (MFJ). Above those thresholds it phases out with rules that depend on whether you're in a specified service trade or business — this calculator doesn't model the phase-out, so above-threshold filers should treat the QBI line as zero and consult a CPA.
- When are quarterly estimated payments actually due?
- April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. Note that Q2 is only 2 months after Q1, and Q3 is 3 months after Q2 — the schedule is uneven on purpose to match the income periods (Q1 covers Jan–Mar, Q2 covers Apr–May, Q3 Jun–Aug, Q4 Sep–Dec). If a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, it bumps to the next business day.
- How accurate is this estimate?
- It uses 2025 IRS federal brackets, the 2025 Social Security wage base ($176,100), the 2025 standard deductions, and simplified flat state effective rates. It does NOT model SEP-IRA contributions, solo-401(k) contributions, HSA deductions, itemized deductions, the QBI phase-out, or the W-2/SE combined Additional Medicare threshold. Treat it as a starting point for setting your quarterly amounts; have a CPA review your actual return.
- Can I just pay nothing all year and settle up in April?
- Technically yes, practically expensive. The IRS charges an underpayment penalty (around 8% APR as of 2025) on the shortfall between what you should have paid each quarter and what you actually paid. The safe harbor: pay 100% of last year's tax liability across the 4 quarters (110% if your AGI was over $150K). Quarterlies aren't optional once you owe more than $1,000 at year-end.
- Where do quarterly payments actually go?
- IRS Direct Pay (irs.gov/payments — free, no account needed), EFTPS (eftps.gov — also free, but slower to enroll), or by mail with Form 1040-ES. Don't send a check without the form or the IRS won't know which year/quarter to credit it to. Most freelancers use Direct Pay because it's instant and emails a confirmation.
- I'm a freelancer launching a new business. What else do I need?
- A few legal essentials beyond tax planning: an NDA for client contracts where sensitive info changes hands (one-way or mutual, depending on the relationship), and a Privacy Policy if your website collects ANY visitor data — including Google Analytics. Generate both free at /nda-generator and /privacy-policy-generator — same browser-only approach, no signup.
- Should I incorporate as an LLC or S-Corp?
- Below ~$60K of net SE income: usually not worth the overhead (filing fees, separate tax return, payroll if S-Corp). Above ~$80K: an S-Corp election can save thousands in SE tax by splitting income into reasonable salary (subject to FICA) + distributions (not). The math is sensitive to your state's franchise tax and your specific situation; consult a CPA before electing. If you're comparing a W-2 offer to a 1099 contract, our /salary-calculator gives you the equivalent W-2 hourly rate.