Free calculators · No sign-up · Tax year 2026
Work out what you owe before it's due.
Straight answers for US freelancers and one-person businesses. Every calculator shows its working, every figure cites the rule it comes from, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Calculators
Each one answers a question people actually type into Google, and shows the worksheet behind the answer rather than a single mystery number.
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Quarterly tax estimator
Work out what to send the IRS every quarter, including self-employment tax, the QBI deduction and the safe-harbour minimum that protects you from penalties.
“How much should I set aside for quarterly taxes?”
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S-corp breakeven
Find the profit level where an S-corp election saves more in self-employment tax than it costs in payroll, filing fees and extra accounting.
“At what income is an S-corp worth it?”
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Freelance rate calculator
Turn the take-home you want into an hourly rate that actually covers tax, unpaid time, health insurance, time off and the hours you cannot bill.
“What hourly rate do I need to charge?”
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Solo 401(k) calculator
See exactly how much you can put into a solo 401(k) this year as both employee and employer, and how much more it shelters than a SEP IRA.
“How much can I contribute to a solo 401(k)?”
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Home office deduction
Compare the simplified $5-per-square-foot method against deducting a share of your real housing costs, and see which gives you the bigger deduction.
“Which home office method gives me a bigger deduction?”
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Mileage deduction
Work out your 2026 business mileage deduction using both IRS rates — 72.5 cents through June, 76 cents from July — and compare it with actual expenses.
“What is my business mileage deduction worth?”
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Self-employment tax
Work out the Social Security and Medicare you owe on freelance profit, including the wage base cap and the half that comes back as a deduction.
“How much self-employment tax will I owe?”
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Estimated tax penalty
See whether you owe an underpayment penalty, quarter by quarter, at the 7% rate the IRS charges for 2026 — and what it would take to stay in the clear.
“Do I owe an underpayment penalty?”
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Freelance take-home pay
See what is actually left from your business profit after federal income tax, self-employment tax and an estimate of state tax.
“What do I actually keep from my freelance income?”
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1099 vs W-2 offer
Compare a contract rate against a salary offer properly — both halves of payroll tax, employer health cover, 401(k) match and unpaid time all counted.
“Is this contract rate better than the salary?”
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Business expense value
Work out what a deductible purchase actually costs you after federal, state and self-employment tax relief — and why a deduction is not a rebate.
“What is a business expense actually worth to me?”
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Invoice late fee
Work out what an overdue invoice is now worth with a monthly late fee, simple or compounded, and see the annualised rate you are actually charging.
“What can I charge on an overdue invoice?”
Guides
S-Corp vs Sole Proprietor: When the Election Actually Pays
The S-corp election saves payroll tax but costs real money to run. Here is where the line falls, and the three things that quietly erase the saving.
Updated September 14, 2026
Quarterly Taxes for Freelancers: What to Pay and When
How estimated quarterly taxes work when you are self-employed: what you owe, the four due dates, and the safe-harbour rule that prevents IRS penalties.
Updated September 14, 2026
How to Set a Freelance Rate That Is Not Secretly a Pay Cut
Why dividing a salary by 2,080 hours produces a rate that loses money, and how to work backwards from the take-home you actually want.
Updated September 14, 2026
Why trust these numbers?
Every figure is sourced
Brackets, wage bases and thresholds come from the IRS revenue procedure for the tax year, and the source is linked in the code that uses it.
The maths is tested
The calculation engine has a unit test suite with hand-checked cases, including the awkward ones like the Social Security cap and QBI phase-outs.
It admits what it can't do
Where the real rules get more complex than the calculator models, it tells you so and suggests checking with a CPA rather than quietly guessing.
Ballpark Tax is not a tax preparer and nothing here is advice about your situation.