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Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

Your Recommended Hourly Rate

function calculateFreelanceRate() { var salary = parseFloat(document.getElementById('desiredSalary').value); var expenses = parseFloat(document.getElementById('annualExpenses').value); var hoursPerWeek = parseFloat(document.getElementById('billableHours').value); var vacation = parseFloat(document.getElementById('vacationWeeks').value); var tax = parseFloat(document.getElementById('taxRate').value); if (isNaN(salary) || isNaN(expenses) || isNaN(hoursPerWeek) || isNaN(vacation) || isNaN(tax)) { alert("Please fill in all fields with valid numbers."); return; } // Calculate gross needed (accounting for taxes) var grossSalaryNeeded = salary / (1 – (tax / 100)); var totalAnnualRevenueNeeded = grossSalaryNeeded + expenses; // Calculate total billable hours per year var workingWeeks = 52 – vacation; var totalHoursYear = workingWeeks * hoursPerWeek; if (totalHoursYear <= 0) { alert("Working weeks and hours must result in a positive number of billable hours."); return; } var hourlyRate = totalAnnualRevenueNeeded / totalHoursYear; // Display results var resultDiv = document.getElementById('resultArea'); var hourlyDisplay = document.getElementById('hourlyResult'); var breakdown = document.getElementById('breakdownText'); resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; hourlyDisplay.innerText = '$' + hourlyRate.toFixed(2); breakdown.innerHTML = 'To take home $' + salary.toLocaleString() + ' after taxes and cover $' + expenses.toLocaleString() + ' in expenses, you need to generate a total annual revenue of $' + Math.round(totalAnnualRevenueNeeded).toLocaleString() + ' over ' + totalHoursYear + ' billable hours.'; }

How to Use the Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

Setting your freelance rate is one of the most critical decisions for your business. Many freelancers make the mistake of simply matching a previous employer's hourly wage, which fails to account for the overhead of running a business. This calculator helps you work backward from your financial goals to find a sustainable rate.

Understanding the Key Metrics

  • Desired Annual Net Salary: This is the "take-home" pay you want to have in your personal bank account after all business expenses and taxes are paid.
  • Annual Business Expenses: Include software subscriptions, hardware, office rent, insurance, marketing costs, and professional services like accounting.
  • Billable Hours: Remember that you cannot bill 40 hours a week. You must spend time on admin, sales, and marketing. Most successful freelancers average 20–25 billable hours per week.
  • Tax Rate: Freelancers are responsible for both the employer and employee portions of social security/healthcare taxes, plus income tax. Generally, 25-35% is a safe estimate depending on your location.

Example Calculation

Suppose you want a net salary of $60,000. Your expenses are $5,000 a year. You plan to take 4 weeks of vacation and bill 25 hours per week. Assuming a 25% tax rate:

  1. Gross income needed for $60k net: $80,000
  2. Total revenue (Gross + Expenses): $85,000
  3. Total billable hours (48 weeks × 25 hours): 1,200 hours
  4. Required Hourly Rate: $70.83

The "Hidden" Costs of Freelancing

When using this calculator, don't forget to account for "non-working" time. You should include sick days, public holidays, and professional development time in your "Weeks of Time Off" field. If you don't charge enough to cover these days, you are essentially taking a pay cut every time you get sick or take a holiday.

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