Self-Employment Tax Basics for U.S. Small Business Owners
Updated: October 2026. Rules and rates change; confirm with a professional or official source.
If you work for yourself, you pay both the employee and employer sides of Social Security and Medicare. This is self-employment (SE) tax.
The rate
15.3%: 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare, applied to 92.35% of net earnings. The Social Security part stops at an annual wage base. You can deduct half of SE tax when figuring income tax.
Separate from income tax
You also owe federal income tax (and often state tax), so your set-aside is larger than SE tax alone.
Quarterly estimated payments
Generally due around April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15. Common safe-harbor rules involve paying 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% for higher incomes). Confirm at IRS.gov.
Tips
Move a percentage of each payment into a tax account, track expenses all year and consider a CPA.
Try the self-employment tax calculator.
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