Schedule SE Self-Employment Tax Calculator 2026
Calculate your 2026 Schedule SE self-employment tax — 15.3% combined Social Security and Medicare on net SE earnings, plus the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax above thresholds and the deductible half.
| SE Earnings | |
| Net SE Earnings | — |
| × 92.35% (SE Adjustment) | — |
| Net SE Earnings Subject to SE Tax | — |
| Social Security (12.4%) | |
| 2026 SS Wage Base | — |
| Already Paid via W-2 | — |
| Remaining SS Wage Base | — |
| SS Portion of SE Tax | — |
| Medicare (2.9% + 0.9% AM) | |
| Medicare Base (2.9%) | — |
| Additional Medicare (0.9%) | — |
| Totals | |
| Total Self-Employment Tax | — |
| Deductible Half (above-the-line) | — |
Schedule SE calculates the 15.3% self-employment tax — covering Social Security and Medicare for self-employed individuals — on net earnings from sole proprietorships, single-member LLCs, and active partner distributions reported on Schedule K-1.
How 15.3% Breaks Down
SE tax has two components: 12.4% Social Security on the first $176,100 of combined W-2 wages and net SE earnings (2026 wage base), and 2.9% Medicare with no income cap. Above income thresholds ($200k single / $250k MFJ), the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax applies. Combined ceiling: 15.3% up to wage base, then 2.9% from there until AM threshold, then 3.8% (source: irs.gov).
The 92.35% Adjustment
Before applying the 15.3% rate, multiply your net SE earnings by 92.35% (1 ÷ 1.0765 ≈ 92.35%). This adjustment is the IRS's way of letting self-employed people deduct the employer-equivalent portion of SE tax from the income base — paralleling how employer payroll tax is paid above employee gross wages.
Half-SE Deduction (Form 1040 Schedule 1)
You can deduct 50% of your SE tax (Social Security and Medicare parts, not Additional Medicare) as an above-the-line adjustment on Schedule 1, Line 15. This reduces your adjusted gross income, lowering your income tax, EITC eligibility threshold calculations, and various tax credit phase-outs. It does not reduce the SE tax itself.
S-Corp Election: The Legal Way to Cut SE Tax
The single biggest lever to reduce self-employment tax is electing S-corporation status for your business (Form 2553). As a sole proprietor, 100% of net earnings face the 15.3% SE tax. As an S-corp owner-employee, only your reasonable salary (wages) faces FICA (Social Security + Medicare) — the remaining distribution flows through free of employment tax. On $150,000 of business profit split as $80,000 salary + $70,000 distribution, you save roughly $10,700 in SE tax vs. sole prop. The catch: the salary must be "reasonable" per IRS S-Corp compensation guidance or the IRS will reclassify distributions as wages and hit you with back taxes plus penalty. Rule of thumb: pay yourself at least what you would pay an outside hire for the same work. Consult a CPA before electing — S-corp comes with payroll cost and corporate tax return burden.
Schedule SE Calculator Errors to Avoid
Common mistakes the calculator prevents: (1) Forgetting to combine W-2 wages with SE income for the Social Security wage-base cap — a $150k W-2 employee with $50k of SE income owes SS SE only on $26,100 (the room left below $176,100 in 2026); (2) Double-counting the 92.35% adjustment — apply it once to net SE earnings, not twice; (3) Missing the 0.9% Additional Medicare — kicks in at $200k single / $250k MFJ on combined earnings, filed on Form 8959; (4) Claiming SE tax on Schedule K-1 limited-partner income — only the general-partner or LLC-manager share is subject to SE tax; passive limited-partner distributions are not.
Last updated 2026-07-03. Sources: IRS Schedule SE, SSA wage base, IRS S-Corp reasonable compensation guidance.