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Freelance Rate Calculator

Calculate your target freelance hourly rate and daily rate to hit your target net income after business overhead and self-employment taxes.

Income Goals & Overhead Inputs

$
$

Software, hardware, insurance, legal & accounting costs.

%

Self-employment tax + income tax reserve.

wks

Excludes vacation & sick leave.

hrs

Actual client billable hours.

📊Required Hourly Rate
$111.11/hr
Required Daily Rate (8h)
$555.56
Gross Revenue Goal
$133,333.33
Annual Tax Provision
$33,333.33
⚡

In Brief

To achieve $90,000 net income with $10,000 expenses and 25% tax rate, you must bill $111.11/hr ($555.56/day) across 1,200 billable hours per year.

Gross Revenue Allocation Breakdown

Net take-home income vs Taxes vs Business overhead

Interactive
💡

User Insights

Smart analysis of your current calculation

Rate Optimization Interest Ratio
Cost Assessment
Required Rate: $111.11 / hr

Interest represents Rate Optimization of your total out-of-pocket repayment.

Payoff Acceleration
Prepayment Savings Available

Adding an extra monthly contribution accelerates principal payoff and cuts total financing costs.

📌
Strategic Takeaway

At 25 billable hours/wk, your gross revenue goal is $133,333.33. Increasing billable hours to 30/wk drops required hourly rate to $92.59/hr.

Calculation Methodology & Live Formula Breakdown

Gross Goal = (Net Target + Expenses) / (1 - Tax Rate)
Gross Annual Revenue Goal
$133,333.33
Total revenue needed to net target income after taxes.
Total Annual Billable Hours
1200 hours
Billable weeks multiplied by weekly billable hours.

Freelance Pricing Strategy

Never price freelance work using a simple W2 hourly conversion. Always account for self-employment taxes (15.3% FICA), unbillable administrative overhead, healthcare, and vacation time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is a freelancer's hourly rate higher than W2 employee pay?
Freelancers must cover 100% of their self-employment taxes, health insurance, software, hardware, unbillable administrative hours, and vacation time.
What are billable hours vs working hours?
Working hours include client work plus marketing, invoicing, and admin. Billable hours are strictly the hours paid directly by clients (typically 20-30 hours per 40-hour work week).