2026 Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
What should I charge? Find your real number, not the naive one.
A freelance hourly rate calculator converts your target take-home income into the rate you must charge clients, after accounting for self-employment tax, business expenses, planned time off, and the reality that most freelancers can only bill 50%–70% of the hours they work. This tool grosses up your income for taxes and expenses, then divides by your true billable hours — the way freelance rates should actually be set.
How Your Freelance Rate Is Calculated
The formula works backward from your income goal: gross up for taxes, add business overhead, then divide by the hours you can actually bill — not the hours you sit at a desk.
| Variable | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Blended tax rate (SE + income) | 25%–35% |
| Annual business expenses | $2,000–$15,000+ |
| Weeks off per year | 2–6 weeks |
| Billable utilization | 50%–70% |
Example: A freelancer targeting $80,000 take-home, $6,000 in expenses, a 28% blended tax rate, 4 weeks off, and 65% billable utilization on a 40-hour week needs roughly $117,111 in gross revenue — worked out across 1,248 billable hours, that's about $94/hr.
⚠️ Expert Pro-Tip
Billable utilization is the number freelancers most consistently overestimate. Most new freelancers assume they'll bill 80%–90% of their time and set rates accordingly — then wonder why they're falling short of their income goal by 30% or more. Track your actual billable hours for one full month before setting your rate. If you're not already tracking, use 55%–60% as a conservative starting assumption; you can always raise your rate once real data proves you're more efficient.
Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Find the rate you actually need to charge — after taxes, expenses, and the hours you can't bill for.
Income Target
Time & Availability
Your Required Hourly Rate
$93.84/hr
Day Rate (8 hrs)
$751
Weekly Rate
$2,440
How We Got There
Reality Check
This ignores taxes, expenses, and non-billable time — it's why "just divide salary by hours" always undercharges freelancers.
Time spent on invoicing, marketing, proposals, and admin that you can't bill a client for — but still must be paid for by your rate.
Based on your results — what to do next:
Verify the 28.0% tax estimate is accurate
We used a blended 28.0% rate to gross up your target income. Run your actual numbers through the SE tax calculator for a precise figure.
Set up estimated tax payments
At $117,111/year in revenue, you'll owe quarterly estimated taxes. See your 4 IRS due dates and safe harbor amounts.
Scaling past this income? Check S-Corp savings
Once net profit clears roughly $60k–$80k, an S-Corp election can cut your self-employment tax bill significantly.