How much is self-employment tax?

Federal self-employment tax is 15.3% — 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. It is applied to 92.35% of your net self-employment earnings. The Social Security portion only applies up to the annual wage base ($168,600 for 2024); Medicare has no cap.

Does Rhode Island have a separate self-employment tax?

No. Rhode Island does not levy a separate self-employment tax. Self-employed Rhode Islanders pay the federal 15.3% SE tax plus regular Rhode Island state income tax on their net earnings using the standard 3.75 / 4.75 / 5.99 percent brackets.

Can I deduct half of my self-employment tax?

Yes. You can deduct one-half of your federal self-employment tax as an above-the-line adjustment to income on your federal return. This calculator subtracts that half before estimating your income tax base.

What is the 92.35% adjustment?

Self-employment tax is computed on 92.35% of your net earnings, not 100%. This factor accounts for the employer-equivalent half of FICA, mirroring how an employee's wages are reduced by the employer's share before Social Security and Medicare are applied.

Should I make quarterly estimated payments?

Usually yes. Self-employed people generally owe quarterly estimated taxes to the IRS and the Rhode Island Division of Taxation to cover SE tax and income tax. Use this estimate to size your set-aside, then pay quarterly to avoid underpayment penalties.

Rhode Island Self-Employment Tax Calculator

Email me this result

Get this tool's output sent to your inbox, plus one useful tool a week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

Self-employed Rhode Islanders owe two separate taxes: the federal 15.3 percent self-employment tax and regular Rhode Island state income tax. This calculator combines both, applies the 92.35 percent adjustment and Social Security wage cap, and shows the total you should set aside.

How it works

Federal self-employment tax is computed on 92.35 percent of your net earnings:

SE base   = net earnings × 0.9235
SS tax    = min(SE base, $168,600) × 0.124
Medicare  = SE base × 0.029
SE tax    = SS tax + Medicare

The Social Security portion (12.4 percent) only applies up to the 168,600 dollar wage base for 2024; the Medicare portion (2.9 percent) has no cap. You may deduct one-half of the SE tax from income before computing your income tax.

For the state portion, Rhode Island applies its graduated brackets (3.75, 4.75, and 5.99 percent) to your net earnings minus the half-SE deduction and the standard deduction.

Example

A freelancer with 80,000 dollars of net earnings has an SE base of 73,880 dollars. SE tax is 12.4% (9,161 dollars) plus 2.9% (2,143 dollars) = 11,304 dollars. Half of that, 5,652 dollars, is deductible. Rhode Island then taxes roughly 80,000 − 5,652 − 10,550 standard deduction = 63,798 dollars at its brackets, about 2,392 dollars of state tax.

Notes

This tool models the federal SE tax and Rhode Island income tax only; it does not include the 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax on very high earners, federal income tax, or business credits. Rhode Island has no separate self-employment levy. The Social Security wage base and brackets change yearly. Estimate only, not tax advice — confirm at irs.gov and tax.ri.gov.