US Freelancer Rate Calculator
Find the hourly and day rate to charge in United States to reach the take-home pay you want after tax, in USD.
Forged in Faith, Built to Last
Rules year: 2026 tax year (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, SSA 2026 fact sheet). Estimate only, not tax, legal or financial advice. Check official guidance or a qualified professional.
Official sources
- IRS: Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 tax rate tables and standard deduction
- IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments (standard deduction $16,100 / $32,200)
- SSA: 2026 Social Security wage base $184,500 and FICA rates
- IRS: Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
- IRS: Self-employment tax (Schedule SE)
Free vs Pro
Free
- Hourly and day rate for your take-home goal
- Tax and set-aside breakdown
- Billable hours and weeks
No account needed. Nothing you type is saved. With a free account (no card): 2 full PDF/CSV exports a month, shared across all tools.
Pro adds
- PDF and CSV export
- JSON API with your licence key
- Saved history: save your inputs and reopen them later
Get Pro: CA$5.00 CAD/month or CA$49.00 CAD/year · one plan for all our tools · cancel any time · secure Stripe checkout
Pro is billed in Canadian dollars: about US$3.56 a month or about US$34.86 a year at the Bank of Canada rate on 2026-10-21. Your card provider converts at its own rate and may add a fee.
About this tool
US Freelancer Rate Calculator (2026) is a free online tool from Crusader Empire: Find the hourly rate a US freelancer needs to charge after income tax and self-employment tax. Works backwards from the take-home pay you want through 2026 federal income tax and self-employment tax.
Free: Hourly and day rate for your take-home goal, Tax and set-aside breakdown, Billable hours and weeks. Pro adds: PDF and CSV export, JSON API with your licence key.
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Suggest an improvement / rate this tool
What would make US Freelancer Rate Calculator (2026) more useful? Bugs, missing features, confusing wording: our R&D team reads every suggestion. Nothing is offered in return, and we never publish reviews without permission.