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Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Estimate selected 2026 federal self-employment-tax components for one self-employed person, including Social Security, Medicare, and Additional Medicare coordination.
Enter Your Information
Enter your Schedule C net profit or partnership ordinary income subject to self-employment tax. Do NOT include S-corporation K-1 ordinary business income - it is not subject to SE tax. S-corp owner wages are subject to FICA through payroll, but K-1 pass-through distributions are not.
Enter Box 5 wages for this taxpayer and, if filing jointly, the spouse. Additional Medicare Tax uses those combined wages and this person's self-employment earnings. If your spouse also has self-employment income, the Form 8959 amount this screen displays is incomplete and understated, because the joint computation must combine both spouses' self-employment earnings and this screen has no input for the spouse's self-employment income.
Static Illustrative Examples (2026)
These fixed examples are not output from the interactive calculator. The calculator above does not calculate New Jersey Gross Income Tax; the NJ column below uses the stated single-filer assumptions only.
| Schedule C Net Profit | Federal SE Tax | Deductible Half | NJ Income Tax (Est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $7,065 | $3,533 | ~$1,215 |
| $100,000 | $14,130 | $7,065 | ~$4,180 |
| $184,500 | $26,069 | $13,035 | ~$9,563 |
| $250,000 example (single filer) | $29,573* | $14,787 | ~$13,735 |
| Additional Medicare (Form 8959), same $250,000 single-filer example | ~$278 | n/a | n/a |
Assumptions: The $184,500 Social Security wage base applies to net earnings after Schedule SE's 92.35% adjustment, not directly to Schedule C profit. With no W-2 wages, that base is reached at approximately $199,783 of Schedule C profit. Earnings above the remaining wage base add the regular 2.9% Medicare component; the accumulated Schedule SE total still includes Social Security tax up to the base. The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax (above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ / $125,000 MFS) is a separate tax reported on Form 8959, not part of Schedule SE, and no employer-equivalent deduction applies to it. NJ income tax estimates are for a single filer with the basic NJ personal exemption and no other income. Actual amounts depend on deductions, filing status, and other income sources. Use the contact form to describe a requested return-specific calculation or review. Any work requires separate written acceptance, and no result is promised.
How Self-Employment Tax Works
Self-employment tax (SE tax) is how self-employed individuals pay the Social Security and Medicare taxes that employees split with their employers. When you are an employee, the regular combined rate on wages below the Social Security wage base is 15.3%: 7.65% paid by the employer and 7.65% by the employee. The wage base and employee-only Additional Medicare Tax can change those components. A self-employed individual generally bears both regular components through Schedule SE, subject to its separate computation.
The SE Tax Calculation
For an ordinary nonfarm sole proprietor, Schedule C net profit is generally multiplied by 92.35% to compute Schedule SE line 4a (the 7.65% reduction accounts for the employer-equivalent half of SE tax). The tax rates then apply to the resulting Schedule SE net earnings, subject to the wage-base interaction. For 2026:
- • Social Security: 12.4% on Schedule SE net earnings up to the remaining $184,500 wage base for 2026
- • Medicare: 2.9% on Schedule SE net earnings, with no wage-base cap
- • Additional Medicare Tax: 0.9% when combined Medicare wages and self-employment compensation exceed $200,000 (single/head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly), or $125,000 (married filing separately)
The SE Deduction
To account for the employer-equivalent portion of SE tax, you can deduct 50% of your total SE tax from your gross income as an above-the-line deduction (reducing your AGI). This deduction appears on Schedule 1, Line 15.
TCJA Rates Now Permanent
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed July 4, 2025, made the TCJA individual income tax rates permanent. The 37% top bracket, which was scheduled to revert to 39.6% in 2026, is now the permanent rate. This affects how SE income is taxed at the federal level since your net SE earnings flow through to your personal return at these rates.
How an S-Corp Election Changes SE Tax
An S-Corp election changes how these taxes apply. The owner takes a reasonable W-2 salary (subject to FICA), and additional profits are distributed as S-Corp distributions, which are not subject to SE tax. Whether an election helps in a particular situation is a full-return question, not an SE-tax question alone. Any gross payroll-tax difference is only a screening component; QBI, income-tax, benefit, and compliance effects determine the complete-return comparison.
Need a broader component comparison?
Use the S-Corp Tax Comparison Calculator to review modeled sole-proprietor SE tax, owner-employee FICA, and listed NJ entity-compliance costs separately. It does not calculate net savings or select an entity.
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Tax advice disclaimer: This material is for general educational information only and is not legal, tax, or accounting advice for your specific facts. A CPA-client relationship is formed only through a signed engagement letter.