Know what you owe on side income. This free side hustle income tax calculator estimates self-employment and income tax on your side gig — taxed at your top rate — and shows what to set aside.
Estimate only. You supply the rates, since self-employment and income tax vary by country, year and income. Side income stacks on your job income, so use your top (marginal) income-tax rate. A common US SE-tax rate is 15.3%.
How the Side Hustle Income Tax Calculator Works
Side gig income doesn’t have an employer withholding tax for you, so it’s easy to spend the full amount and get caught short at tax time. This calculator takes your side hustle income and expenses, then applies your self-employment and income tax rates to estimate what to set aside and what you actually keep.
Formula: Net profit = Side hustle income − Business expenses (floored at zero). SE tax = Net profit × SE tax rate ÷ 100. Income tax = Net profit × Income tax rate ÷ 100. Total tax to set aside = SE tax + Income tax. After-tax income = Net profit − Total tax.
- Income — Side hustle income per year, total revenue from the side gig
- Expenses — Business expenses per year, deductible costs of running the side hustle
- SE rate — Self-employment tax rate, covering Social Security and Medicare-style contributions
- Income tax rate — Your top (marginal) income tax rate, since side income stacks on top of your regular job income
- Net profit — Taxable profit after expenses are subtracted from income
Example Scenarios
| Income | Expenses | SE Rate | Income Tax Rate | Total Tax to Set Aside |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $9,000 | 15.3% | 12% | $13,923 |
| $20,000 | $2,000 | 15.3% | 22% | $6,714 |
| $100,000 | $15,000 | 15.3% | 24% | $33,405 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 | 15.3% | 10% | $2,277 |
| $40,000 | $5,000 | 15.3% | 15% | $10,605 |
Side Hustle Income Tax Calculator FAQ
Why do I have to enter my own tax rates instead of the calculator knowing them?
Self-employment and income tax rates vary by country, by year, and by your total income level once combined with your regular job, so there’s no single correct rate to hard-code. Entering your own rates keeps the estimate accurate to your actual situation.Why should I use my top marginal tax rate instead of my average rate?
Side income stacks on top of whatever you already earn from your main job, so it’s taxed at the rate that applies to your last dollar of income, not your blended average rate across all your income. Using your average rate would understate what you owe.What counts as a deductible business expense for a side hustle?
This calculator doesn’t decide that for you — it simply subtracts whatever you enter as expenses from your income before applying tax. Common categories include supplies, a portion of home office costs, mileage, and software, but check current rules that apply to you.Why is there a separate self-employment tax on top of income tax?
Employees split payroll-style tax contributions with their employer, but self-employed and side hustle earners typically cover both halves themselves, which is why a separate self-employment tax rate is applied in addition to ordinary income tax.Can net profit go negative if my expenses exceed my income?
No — the calculator floors net profit at zero rather than showing a negative number, since a loss changes how taxes and deductions work in ways this simple estimator isn’t built to model.Should I set aside the exact percentage this calculator shows, or more?
Many side hustlers set aside a bit more than the calculated estimate as a buffer, since actual liability can shift with deductions, credits, other income changes, or rate changes you didn’t anticipate when you first estimated.Related Calculators
If your side hustle is your only self-employment income, the dedicated self-employment tax calculator breaks that piece down further, while the freelance tax calculator is built around project-based freelance earnings; to see how your side income shifts your overall tax picture, check the income tax calculator.