Free Calculator

What's Your True Hourly Rate?

Most freelancers overestimate their real earnings by 40-60%. Enter your numbers and see the truth.

💰 Income

$
hrs

Don't count admin, invoicing, prospecting — just client work

wks

52 minus vacation, sick days, holidays

🎯 Tax Situation

$

If you have a day job, enter that salary here

💸 Costs of Being Self-Employed

$
$
$

Software, tools, coworking, phone, internet, etc.

hrs

Invoicing, email, proposals, bookkeeping, marketing

Your True Hourly Rate
$ -- /hr
What you charge
$75/hr
What you keep
$42/hr

Annual Breakdown

Gross freelance income $0
Self-employment tax (15.3%) -$0
Federal income tax -$0
State income tax -$0
Health insurance -$0
Retirement contributions -$0
Business expenses -$0
Net income $0
Total hours worked (incl. admin) 0

W-2 Equivalent Salary

To match your current net as an employee (with employer-paid benefits), you'd need a salary of:

$0/yr

Estimated Quarterly Tax Payments

Pay this to the IRS each quarter to avoid penalties:

$0
Due: Apr 15 · Jun 15 · Sep 15 · Jan 15

Detailed breakdown with tax optimization tips

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💡 Why is my real rate so much lower?

As a freelancer, you pay both sides of Social Security and Medicare (15.3% combined). An employer pays half of this for W-2 employees — but you're both the employer and the employee.

Add health insurance (which employers typically subsidize 70-80%), unpaid time off, and all the hours you spend on admin work you can't bill for — and the gap grows fast.

✅ Ways to close the gap

  • Raise your rate — most freelancers undercharge. If your real rate shocks you, your rate is too low.
  • Reduce admin hours — automate invoicing, use templates for proposals, batch your email time.
  • Max out deductions — home office, vehicle, phone, internet, software, professional development.
  • Open a SEP IRA or Solo 401k — reduce taxable income by up to $69,000/year.
  • Bill more hours — going from 30 to 35 billable hours/week is a bigger raise than adding $5/hr to your rate.