Skip to content
SettleMetric

USOfficial rules, modeled

Freelancer taxes in United States (2026).

A freelancer earning €60,000 a year in United States keeps between 43,467 EUR and 47,738 EUR depending on the scheme — the best option is "Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal tax only" at an effective burden of 20.4%. 3 schemes below, each computed from official rules.

Verified

3 schemes · 8 source records · every result follows the published scheme rules

US · 2026

01

At €60,000 a year

A like-for-like view of every eligible scheme before the full rules below.

  1. 01Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal tax onlyBest result at this incomeNet income47,738 EUREffective burden20.4%
  2. 02Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal + CaliforniaNet income45,969 EUREffective burden23.4%
  3. 03Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal + New York State + New York CityNet income43,467 EUREffective burden27.6%

Reference profile: self-employed · €60,000 annual gross income · no deductible expenses · full-year tax residency.

Full rules

Inside each tax scheme

01activeSole proprietor

Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal tax only

Effective burden at €60k

20.4%

What you pay

  • Social Security self-employment tax (12.4%) — 11.5% of profit (max 22,878/year)
  • Medicare self-employment tax (2.9%) — 2.7% of profit
  • 03
    Additional Medicare tax (0.9% above $200,000 of net earnings)

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 216,567.410%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    > 216,567.410.8%
  • Deduction: one-half of the Social Security self-employment tax — 5.7% of profit (max 11,439/year) (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • Deduction: one-half of the Medicare self-employment tax — 1.3% of profit (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • Federal standard deduction (single filer) — fixed 16,100 per year (deductible from profit) (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • Qualified business income deduction (Section 199A, 20%) — 20% of profit (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • 08
    Federal income tax

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 12,40010%
    12,400–50,40012%
    50,400–105,70022%
    105,700–201,77524%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    201,775–256,22532%
    256,225–640,60035%
    > 640,60037%

Eligibility

  • Activities: Any self-employed trade or business reported on Schedule C
  • Requires tax residency
  • Federal tax alone. This is the complete picture only in the nine states that levy no personal income tax on earned income — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Washington now taxes individuals with adjusted gross income of $1,000,000 or more (Washington DOR), so its exemption is no longer unconditional. Everywhere else, add state (and sometimes city) tax on top: see us-sole-proprietor-california and us-sole-proprietor-new-york-city for the two extremes covered by this dataset. Modelled for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependents and no other income.

Net income examples

Gross/yearNet/yearBurden
30,000 EUR24,656 EUR17.8%
60,000 EUR47,738 EUR20.4%
120,000 EUR90,525 EUR24.6%

Computed by our open tax engine — assumes no deductible expenses, full-year tax residency. Rules as of Jan 1, 2026.

Important context

Federal rules only, for a single filer with no dependents, no other income and no itemized deductions, taking the standard deduction. Not modelled, all of which would lower the figures: the self-employed health-insurance deduction, deductible retirement contributions (SEP-IRA or solo 401(k)), the home-office deduction, and any tax credits. The §199A(i) minimum deduction of $400 introduced by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act only matters at taxable incomes under $2,000 and is not modelled either. The engine applies the §199A deduction at 20% of taxable income, which is the binding limit whenever business profit is the taxpayer's only income; taxpayers with substantial other income can instead be limited by 20% of qualified business income. An S-corporation election — paying yourself a salary and taking the rest as distributions exempt from self-employment tax — is the standard way US freelancers cut this burden further, but the IRS sets no percentage for what counts as reasonable compensation, so there is no official rule to model and no scheme for it here.

02activeSole proprietor

Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal + California

Effective burden at €60k

23.4%

What you pay

  • Social Security self-employment tax (12.4%) — 11.5% of profit (max 22,878/year)
  • Medicare self-employment tax (2.9%) — 2.7% of profit
  • 03
    Additional Medicare tax (0.9% above $200,000 of net earnings)

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 216,567.410%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    > 216,567.410.8%
  • Deduction: one-half of the Social Security self-employment tax — 5.7% of profit (max 11,439/year) (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • Deduction: one-half of the Medicare self-employment tax — 1.3% of profit (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • 06
    California income tax

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit · allowance 5,706 USD

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 11,0791%
    11,079–26,2642%
    26,264–41,4524%
    41,452–57,5426%
    57,542–72,7248%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    72,724–371,4799.3%
    371,479–445,77110.3%
    445,771–742,95311.3%
    > 742,95312.3%
  • Federal standard deduction (single filer) — fixed 16,100 per year (deductible from profit) (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • Qualified business income deduction (Section 199A, 20%) — 20% of profit (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • 09
    Federal income tax

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 12,40010%
    12,400–50,40012%
    50,400–105,70022%
    105,700–201,77524%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    201,775–256,22532%
    256,225–640,60035%
    > 640,60037%

Eligibility

  • Activities: Any self-employed trade or business reported on Schedule C
  • Requires tax residency
  • For a California resident, including Los Angeles — California levies no separate city income tax, so a Los Angeles freelancer pays exactly this. Single filer taking both standard deductions.

Net income examples

Gross/yearNet/yearBurden
30,000 EUR24,295 EUR19.0%
60,000 EUR45,969 EUR23.4%
120,000 EUR83,735 EUR30.2%

Computed by our open tax engine — assumes no deductible expenses, full-year tax residency. Rules as of Jan 1, 2026.

Important context

California has no separate self-employment or payroll tax on the self-employed (State Disability Insurance is elective for them), and no city income tax, so a Los Angeles freelancer pays exactly the federal amounts plus this state tax. California does not allow the federal §199A qualified business income deduction, which is why its taxable base is markedly higher than the federal one; it does start from federal adjusted gross income, so it inherits the one-half-of-self-employment-tax deduction. Vintage caveat: the Franchise Tax Board had not yet published the 2026 indexed rate schedule at the verification date — its own rates page lists 2025 as the latest — so the 2025 Schedule X brackets are used with the 2026 standard deduction the FTB has published. Because brackets rise with inflation, this slightly overstates 2026 California tax. Not modelled: the personal exemption credit ($153 for 2025, a flat reduction in tax) and the 1% Mental Health Services Tax on income over $1,000,000.

03activeSole proprietor

Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal + New York State + New York City

Effective burden at €60k

27.6%

What you pay

  • Social Security self-employment tax (12.4%) — 11.5% of profit (max 22,878/year)
  • Medicare self-employment tax (2.9%) — 2.7% of profit
  • 03
    Additional Medicare tax (0.9% above $200,000 of net earnings)

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 216,567.410%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    > 216,567.410.8%
  • Deduction: one-half of the Social Security self-employment tax — 5.7% of profit (max 11,439/year) (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • Deduction: one-half of the Medicare self-employment tax — 1.3% of profit (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • 06
    New York State income tax

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit · allowance 8,000 USD

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 8,5003.9%
    8,500–11,7004.4%
    11,700–13,9005.1%
    13,900–80,6505.4%
    80,650–215,4005.9%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    215,400–1,077,5506.9%
    1,077,550–5,000,0009.7%
    5,000,000–25,000,00010.3%
    > 25,000,00010.9%
  • 07
    New York City resident income tax

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit · allowance 8,000 USD

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 12,0003.1%
    12,000–25,0003.8%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    25,000–50,0003.8%
    > 50,0003.9%
  • Federal standard deduction (single filer) — fixed 16,100 per year (deductible from profit) (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • Qualified business income deduction (Section 199A, 20%) — 20% of profit (a deduction that lowers the tax base, not a payment)
  • 10
    Federal income tax

    Progressive scale · base: annual profit

    Annual profit · USDRate
    ≤ 12,40010%
    12,400–50,40012%
    50,400–105,70022%
    105,700–201,77524%
    Annual profit · USDRate
    201,775–256,22532%
    256,225–640,60035%
    > 640,60037%

Eligibility

  • Activities: Any self-employed trade or business reported on Schedule C
  • Requires tax residency
  • For a New York City resident — the five boroughs levy a city income tax on top of the state's. A resident of New York State outside the city pays the federal and state parts only. Single filer taking the federal and state standard deductions.

Net income examples

Gross/yearNet/yearBurden
30,000 EUR22,959 EUR23.5%
60,000 EUR43,467 EUR27.6%
120,000 EUR80,908 EUR32.6%

Computed by our open tax engine — assumes no deductible expenses, full-year tax residency. Rules as of Jan 1, 2026.

Important context

New York City residents pay three income taxes on the same base — federal, state and city. Neither New York State nor the city allows the federal §199A qualified business income deduction; both start from federal adjusted gross income, so both inherit the one-half-of-self-employment-tax deduction. Two further New York levies are not in the component list because both are cliffs the tax-engine DSL cannot express, and both are zero at ordinary freelance incomes — but they are real and they bite hard once crossed. The metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax charges self-employed residents of the five boroughs 0.60% of their **whole** net earnings from self-employment once those earnings exceed $150,000 a year (about $162,400 of business profit): at $150,000 it is nothing, a dollar later it is $900. The Unincorporated Business Tax charges 4% of unincorporated business taxable income, but a liability of $3,400 or less is credited in full and $3,401–$5,400 partially, which holds it at zero until roughly $100,000 of profit. Figures above those thresholds therefore understate what a New York City freelancer actually pays. Not modelled: the New York City school tax credit, the state household credit, the state's tax-benefit recapture above $107,650 of adjusted gross income, and the Yonkers surcharge, which applies outside the city.

02

Try your own numbers

Change income, currency and expenses to recalculate every active scheme for United States.

full calculator
  1. 1 Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal tax only
    47,738 EURnet/year
    20.4% burden
  2. 2 Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal + California
    45,969 EURnet/year
    23.4% burden
  3. 3 Sole proprietor (Schedule C) — federal + New York State + New York City
    43,467 EURnet/year
    27.6% burden