Enter your earnings and expenses to see the estimated tax.
Understanding the Self-Employment Tax Calculator for 2025
Self-employment tax is a tax consisting of Social Security and Medicare taxes primarily for individuals who work for themselves. It is similar to the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from the pay of most wage earners. For 2025, the rates remain the same as in previous years.
How Self-Employment Tax is Calculated
The calculation involves a few key steps:
Determine Taxable Base: The first step is to determine your net earnings from self-employment. This is generally your gross income from the business minus your business expenses. However, for tax purposes, you only pay SE tax on 92.35% of your net earnings. This is because the employer's portion of FICA taxes (7.65%) is considered deductible.
Calculate SE Tax: The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%, which comprises 12.4% for Social Security (up to an annual limit) and 2.9% for Medicare (no limit). For 2025, the Social Security earnings limit is $168,600.
Deduct Half of SE Tax: A significant benefit is that you can deduct one-half of your calculated self-employment tax when determining your adjusted gross income (AGI). This reduces your overall income tax liability.
The 2025 Tax Rates and Limits
Social Security Rate: 12.4%
Medicare Rate: 2.9%
Total SE Tax Rate: 15.3%
Taxable Base Percentage: 92.35% of net earnings
Social Security Earnings Limit (2025): $168,600
Using the Calculator
The Self Employment Tax Calculator simplifies this process. You need to input:
Net Earnings from Self-Employment: This is your gross business income minus allowable business expenses.
Business Expenses: The total deductible expenses incurred in your self-employment activities.
The calculator will then perform the following:
Calculate the portion of net earnings subject to SE tax (Net Earnings * 0.9235).
Apply the 15.3% SE tax rate to this amount, but capped by the Social Security limit for the Social Security portion.
Display the estimated total self-employment tax.
Calculate and display the deductible portion of the SE tax (half of the total SE tax).
Example Calculation
Let's assume a self-employed individual has:
Net Earnings: $70,000
Business Expenses: $5,000
Steps:
Gross Income = $70,000 + $5,000 = $75,000
Net Earnings for SE Tax calculation = $75,000 (Gross) – $5,000 (Expenses) = $70,000
Amount subject to SE Tax = $70,000 * 0.9235 = $64,645
Total SE Tax = $64,645 * 0.153 = $9,889.69
Deductible Portion (Half of SE Tax) = $9,889.69 / 2 = $4,944.85
This calculator will estimate these figures for you. Remember, this is an estimate for informational purposes. Consult with a tax professional for advice specific to your situation.
function calculateSETax() {
var netEarningsInput = document.getElementById("netEarnings");
var businessExpensesInput = document.getElementById("businessExpenses");
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("result");
var netEarnings = parseFloat(netEarningsInput.value);
var businessExpenses = parseFloat(businessExpensesInput.value);
if (isNaN(netEarnings) || netEarnings < 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = 'Please enter a valid net earnings amount.';
return;
}
if (isNaN(businessExpenses) || businessExpenses < 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = 'Please enter a valid business expenses amount.';
return;
}
// For 2025, SE tax is calculated on 92.35% of net earnings.
// Net earnings for SE tax purposes is Gross Earnings – Business Expenses.
// Assuming the input 'netEarnings' is the actual profit before SE tax calculation.
var taxableBasePercentage = 0.9235;
var seTaxRate = 0.153; // 12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare
var socialSecurityLimit2025 = 168600;
// Calculate the earnings subject to SE tax
var earningsForSEtax = netEarnings * taxableBasePercentage;
// Calculate Social Security tax part
var socialSecurityTaxableIncome = Math.min(earningsForSEtax, socialSecurityLimit2025);
var socialSecurityTax = socialSecurityTaxableIncome * 0.124;
// Calculate Medicare tax part
var medicareTax = earningsForSEtax * 0.029;
var totalSETax = socialSecurityTax + medicareTax;
// Deductible part of SE tax is half of the total SE tax
var deductibleSETax = totalSETax / 2;
// Display the results
resultDiv.innerHTML =
'Estimated SE Tax: $' + totalSETax.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2}) +
" +
'Deductible SE Tax: $' + deductibleSETax.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2}) + '';
}