Freelance Billable Rate Calculator
Find the hourly rate a freelancer must bill to keep a target take-home income after self-employment tax, expenses and unpaid time off.
How it works
Pre-tax income = take-home ÷ (1 − tax%) · Revenue to bill = pre-tax income + expenses · Rate = revenue to bill ÷ (billable hours × working weeks)
Unlike a simple rate calculator, this one grosses up for tax and strips out unpaid weeks. Because you keep only (1 − tax) of every pre-tax dollar, your target take-home must be divided by that fraction before adding expenses. Spreading the total over real billable hours — after subtracting vacation, holidays and sick time — is what pushes a freelance rate well above the equivalent salaried wage.
Worked example
To keep $70,000 at a 25% effective tax rate, you first need $70,000 ÷ 0.75 = $93,333 pre-tax. Add $8,000 of expenses for $101,333 to bill. Over 46 working weeks at 25 billable hours (1,150 hours), that is about $88 per hour.
Frequently asked questions
Why divide by (1 − tax rate)?
Because tax comes out of your gross revenue, you must earn more than your take-home target. Dividing by (1 − tax) grosses the figure up so that what is left after tax equals what you wanted to keep.
What tax rate should freelancers use?
Include both income tax and self-employment tax (Social Security + Medicare, about 15.3% on net earnings in the US). Many solo freelancers land in the 20–35% combined range depending on income and location.
How is this different from a basic hourly rate calculator?
A basic tool divides income by hours. This one also grosses up for tax and removes unpaid weeks off, so the rate actually funds the take-home pay you want rather than your pre-tax revenue.
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Educational estimate, not financial advice.