2026 Self-Employment Tax
For 2026, the Self-Employment Tax figures are 15.3% (Rate), 12.4% (Social security rate), 2.9% (Medicare rate) and 2 more figures below.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Share of net earnings taxedSource: Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Maximum net earnings subject to the social security partSource: Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2026 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2025
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | 15.3% | 15.3% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| Social security rate | 12.4% | 12.4% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| Medicare rate | 2.9% | 2.9% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| Share of net earnings taxed | 92.35% | 92.35% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| Maximum net earnings subject to the social security part | $176,100 | $184,500 | +$8,400 (+4.8%) |
Who it applies to
Self-employed individuals, including sole proprietors and independent contractors, who must file Schedule SE (Form 1040) to calculate and pay self-employment tax.
What changed this year, and why
The self-employment tax rate for 2026 remains 15.3%, the same rate that applied in 2025. The rate covers Social Security and Medicare taxes for individuals who work for themselves. The 15.3% rate is made of two parts: 12.4% for social security and 2.9% for Medicare. Both parts are charged on the same net earnings from self-employment, and only the social security part stops at the year’s wage base.
Common questions
- What is the self-employment tax rate for 2026?
- The self-employment tax rate for 2026 is 15.3%.
- Has the self-employment tax rate changed from 2025 to 2026?
- No. The rate was 15.3% in 2025 and remains 15.3% in 2026.
- What are the two parts of the 2026 self-employment tax rate?
- The self-employment tax rate of 15.3% consists of 12.4% for social security and 2.9% for Medicare. The 12.4% social security part applies only up to the year’s social security wage base, while the 2.9% Medicare part applies to all net earnings from self-employment with no ceiling of its own.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Net earnings subject to self-employment tax takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
The $400 threshold that makes Schedule SE mandatory
If you work for yourself and your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more in a year, you are required to pay self-employment tax and file Schedule SE (Form 1040). This threshold applies to the total of your net earnings from all self-employment activities combined, not to each business separately. The $400 figure is the trigger for the filing requirement; if your net earnings fall below this amount, you do not owe self-employment tax on that income. Net earnings from self-employment are generally calculated using Schedule C if you are a sole proprietor or independent contractor. The rule applies to the net profit from your business, not your gross receipts, so allowable business expenses reduce the amount subject to the threshold test. Meeting this $400 threshold means you must file Schedule SE even if you would not otherwise be required to file a federal income tax return. Note that church employee income is handled under a separate rule and is excluded from this $400 calculation.
Your net earnings from self-employment (excluding church employee income) were $400 or more.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
Church employee income is taxed from $108.28
If you work as a church employee rather than as a self-employed person, the filing threshold is different. The IRS sets a separate dollar amount: if you had church employee income of $108.28 or more during the year, you must file Schedule SE and pay self-employment tax. This rule exists because a church that has not elected to pay the employer share of Social Security and Medicare taxes effectively leaves its employees treated, for SECA purposes, as self-employed, so the employee must cover both the employer and employee halves through Schedule SE. The $108.28 figure is much lower than the general self-employment threshold, so church employees reach the filing requirement on far less earnings. Once the threshold is met, the same 15.3% rate applies - 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare - computed on 92.35% of those church employee earnings. If your church employee income falls below $108.28, you do not owe self-employment tax on those wages.
You had church employee income of $108.28 or more.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
Age and drawing benefits do not exempt you
A common misunderstanding is that reaching retirement age, or already receiving Social Security or Medicare benefits, excuses a self-employed person from paying the tax. There is no age cutoff and no exemption for benefit recipients. If your net earnings from self-employment reach the filing threshold, you owe the tax regardless. Retirees who take on consulting work, gig jobs, freelance assignments, or any other self-employment activity cannot use their age or benefit status to avoid the 15.3% tax. The same 92.35% of net earnings is used to compute the liability, the same Schedule SE is filed, and the same rules for quarterly estimated payments apply. The only way the tax stops applying is if net earnings fall below the filing threshold - not because of the taxpayer's age or benefit status. This applies equally to the 12.4% Social Security portion and the 2.9% Medicare portion.
Note: The self-employment tax rules apply no matter how old you are and even if you are already receiving Social Security or Medicare.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
Half the tax comes back as an adjustment to income
Self-employment tax has two halves: the "employee" share and the "employer" share, and you pay both as a self-employed person. To soften the burden, the IRS allows you to deduct one-half of your SE tax as an adjustment to income when figuring your adjusted gross income. This deduction appears on Form 1040 and reduces the income on which your regular income tax is calculated. It does not reduce your net earnings from self-employment, and it does not reduce the self-employment tax itself - only your income tax. So if your SE tax for the year is a given dollar amount, half of that amount flows through as an above-the-line deduction. The deduction is available regardless of whether you itemize, making it a useful reduction for self-employed taxpayers. Note that the deduction is taken on the income-tax side only; your SE tax liability stays the full amount, including both the 12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare portions, computed on 92.35% of net earnings.
Also, you can deduct the employer-equivalent portion of your SE tax when calculating your adjusted gross income.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
Only 92.35% of net earnings is actually taxed
Even though the self-employment tax rate is 15.3%, that rate is not applied to every dollar of net earnings. Only 92.35% of net earnings from self-employment is subject to the tax. The remaining share is treated as the employer's portion and is excluded before the tax is computed. Before you figure your net earnings, you generally need to figure your total earnings subject to self-employment tax. The 92.35% multiplier is applied first; then the 15.3% rate - split into 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare - is applied to that reduced base. This adjustment roughly mirrors the way wage earners pay FICA only on their salary, with the employer portion not counted as taxable wages for the employee's share. The effect is meaningful: it lowers the base on which both the Social Security and Medicare portions are computed. The 92.35% figure applies regardless of the taxpayer's age, filing status, or whether they already receive Social Security or Medicare benefits. It is the same multiplier used on Schedule SE to arrive at the amount subject to tax.
Before you figure your net earnings, you generally need to figure your total earnings subject to self-employment tax.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
Nobody withholds it, so you pay it quarterly
Unlike wages from an employer, nobody withholds self-employment tax from the payments you receive as a self-employed individual. There is no paycheck deduction for the 15.3% tax. Instead, you are responsible for paying it yourself, typically through estimated tax payments made quarterly throughout the year. As a self-employed individual, you may have to file Estimated Taxes quarterly and can use these estimated tax payments to pay your self-employment tax. This means you must set aside money during the year to cover both the 12.4% Social Security portion and the 2.9% Medicare portion, calculated on 92.35% of your net earnings from self-employment. Failing to make these quarterly payments can result in penalties and interest when you file your return. The IRS provides guidance on the Estimated taxes page and in Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, for details on computing and remitting these payments on time.
You can use these estimated tax payments to pay your self-employment tax.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
A fiscal-year filer locks in the rate as of the start of their tax year
Self-employed taxpayers who operate on a fiscal year - that is, a tax year that does not match the calendar year - do not get to switch rates partway through. The Internal Revenue Service requires the filer to pick the self-employment tax rate and the maximum earnings limit that are in force on the first day of that tax year and to stick with that same rate and limit for the entire year, even if Congress or the Social Security Administration changes the numbers while the year is still running. For a fiscal year that begins in 2026, for example, the taxpayer uses the 2026 figures for the whole year: the combined rate of 15.3%, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, applied to 92.35% of net earnings. A calendar-year filer, by contrast, simply uses whatever rates are in effect for that calendar year. The rule exists so that a fiscal-year taxpayer has a single, predictable set of numbers to work with from start to finish and does not have to recalculate mid-year if a limit is adjusted.
If you use a tax year other than the calendar year, you must use the tax rate and maximum earnings limit in effect at the beginning of your tax year. Even if the tax rate or maximum earnings limit changes during your tax year, continue to use the same rate and limit throughout your tax year.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
In-home caregivers are usually employees, not self-employed, however it feels
People who provide in-home care to elderly or disabled individuals are generally not treated as self-employed for federal tax purposes. The IRS considers these caregivers to be employees of the individuals they care for because the care recipients have the right to direct what work is done and the caregivers perform that work inside the care recipients' homes. As a result, the caregiver's pay is not reported on Schedule SE and is not subject to self-employment tax. Instead, the care recipient (or whoever pays the caregiver) is treated as a household employer and must handle employment taxes through the household employer rules. This classification applies regardless of whether the caregiver views themselves as an independent contractor or feels they run their own caregiving business. The IRS points taxpayers to its Family caregivers and self-employment tax page and Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide, for the details of how to comply.
Caregivers are typically employees of the individuals for whom they provide services because they work in the homes of the elderly or disabled individuals and these individuals have the right to tell the caregivers what needs to be done.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
Above a threshold, self-employment income also owes the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax
For the 2026 tax year, the IRS requires self-employed individuals in the United States to pay an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on self-employment income above certain thresholds. This tax is separate from and in addition to the regular Medicare tax rate of 2.9% that forms part of the standard 15.3% self-employment tax. The Additional Medicare Tax applies when wages, compensation, or self-employment income exceed the threshold amount for your filing status. For married couples filing jointly, the threshold is $250,000; for married individuals filing separately, it is $125,000; and for single filers, head of household filers, and qualifying surviving spouses with a dependent child, the threshold is $200,000. If you file a joint return, your self-employment income is combined with your spouse's to determine whether the threshold is exceeded. This additional tax has no upper earnings limit, so it continues to apply to all self-employment income above the threshold regardless of how much you earn.
You are liable for an additional 0.9% Medicare Tax if your wages, compensation, or self-employment income (together with that of your spouse if filing a joint return) exceed the threshold amount for your filing status: Filing status Threshold amount Married filing jointly $250,000 Married filing separate $125,000 Single $200,000 Head of household (with qualifying person) $200,000 Qualifying surviving spouse with dependent child $200,000
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare taxes) (IRS)
- Rate
The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%.
The rate consists of two parts: 12.4% for social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insurance) and 2.9% for Medicare (hospital insurance).
- Medicare rate
The rate consists of two parts: 12.4% for social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insurance) and 2.9% for Medicare (hospital insurance).
Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax (IRS)
Generally, the amount subject to self-employment tax is 92.35% of your net earnings from self-employment.
Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2026 (IRS)
- Maximum net earnings subject to the social security part
The OASDI contribution and benefit base is $184,500 for remuneration paid in 2026 and self-employment income earned in tax years beginning in 2026.