Alaska Self-Employment Tax Calculator (2026)
Federal self-employment tax, federal income tax and how much to set aside for each estimated payment on 1099 income earned in Alaska, which has no personal income tax. Business, sales, local and entity-level taxes are outside the calculator and are described below.
Federal 2026 data checked against the official publications, last on 2026-09-05 Runs in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere, not even when you reload or share the link No sign-up Methodology and data status
- Total tax
- $14,803
- Effective rate
- 20.6%
- Set aside per quarter
- $3,701
- After-tax income
- $57,197
| Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Net profit (income − expenses) | $72,000 |
| Self-employment tax | $10,173 |
| Social Security (12.4%) | $8,245 |
| Medicare (2.9%) | $1,928 |
| Federal income tax | $4,630 |
| Adjusted gross income | $66,913 |
| Standard deduction | −$16,100 |
| Qualified business income deduction (20%) | −$10,163 |
| Taxable income · marginal rate 12.0% | $40,651 |
| Alaska income tax | None |
| Total federal + state | $14,803 |
Amounts to set aside, not bills: federal $3,701 for each Form 1040-ES installment (Apr 15, Jun 15, Sep 15, Jan 15). For the safe-harbor amount and payments you have already made, use the quarterly calculator with these inputs.
Alaska and self-employment income
Alaska has no state income tax and no state sales tax. Self-employment income earned in Alaska is taxed only at the federal level, and there is no state return to file.
Alaska at a glance, for a one-person business
| Stands in for an income tax | Nothing at state level; boroughs and cities tax locally |
|---|---|
| Where it starts | Set by each borough, not by the state |
| Are freelance services taxable? | Depends on the borough — Anchorage has no sales tax, Juneau and Ketchikan do |
| State licence | Alaska business licence, $50 a year ($25 if 65+ or a disabled veteran) |
| What a sole proprietor files | The licence renewal, and a local sales tax return only where the borough imposes one |
None of this is income tax, so none of it is in the calculator above. The same five rows for all 9 states without an income tax sets Alaska against the rest.
What an Alaska freelancer may still owe
- Almost every business needs an Alaska business licence: $50 a year, or $25 a year for a sole proprietor who is 65 or older or a disabled veteran. It can be bought for one or two years at a time and renews by 31 December.
- There is no state sales tax, but boroughs and municipalities may levy their own, and several tax services as well as goods. Anchorage has none; Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka do. Check the borough you invoice from, not just the one you live in.
- No state-level estimated payments exist, because there is no state income tax. Your only quarterly obligation is the federal one this calculator computes.
Alaska business obligations last read against the agency's own pages on 2026-09-09: AS 43.70.030, business licence fee, Alaska Taxable, municipal tax rates. These are outside the calculator; it computes income tax only.
Same designer, two Alaskan cities
A designer billing $90,000 a year pays federal self-employment and income tax and files no Alaska return at all. Based in Anchorage, that is the end of it — the municipality levies no sales tax, so there is nothing to register for beyond the $50 state licence. Move the identical practice to Juneau and the city's own sales tax comes into play, because it reaches services rather than goods alone. Alaska is the one no-income-tax state where the answer is decided by the borough code rather than by anything the state publishes.
How the federal part is worked out
Net profit is 1099 income less business expenses (Schedule C). Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of that profit — 12.4% Social Security up to $184,500 of combined wages and earnings, 2.9% Medicare on all of it. Half of that tax, the $16,100 standard deduction ($32,200 joint) and the 20% qualified business income deduction come off before the 2026 brackets are applied; the child tax credit and the earned income credit then reduce what is left, and the refundable parts can offset self-employment tax. The methodology page sets out the full sequence and every rule the calculator leaves out.
Quarterly estimated tax deadlines (2026)
If you expect to owe $1,000 or more of federal tax for the year, the IRS expects four estimated payments (Form 1040-ES). Because Alaska has no income tax, there is no separate state estimate to make.
The 2026 dates are April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026, January 15, 2027. The federal amount is split into four equal Form 1040-ES installments after any withholding you entered; paying 100% of last year's tax instead (110% above $150,000 of prior-year AGI) also avoids the penalty. The quarterly calculator works that out and subtracts what you have already paid, and the guide to the due dates explains the rule.
Common questions
Do I pay self-employment tax if Alaska has no income tax?
Yes. Self-employment tax is a federal tax that funds Social Security and Medicare. It applies in every state regardless of state income tax.
Is half of self-employment tax really deductible?
Yes, for federal tax. The employer-equivalent half is an adjustment to income on Schedule 1, which lowers your AGI and therefore your federal income tax. It does not reduce the self-employment tax itself.
Does an LLC change these numbers?
For federal income tax and self-employment tax, a single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship follows exactly the calculation shown here. State and local obligations can still differ: an LLC may be a taxable entity for a state's franchise, gross-receipts or excise tax, and may owe registration or licence fees a sole proprietor does not — Alaska's are listed above. Electing S-corporation status changes the federal arithmetic too (salary plus distributions) and is outside this tool's scope.
What if I moved to Alaska during the year?
Income earned while you were a resident of another state is taxable there under that state's rules. This calculator assumes all income was earned as an Alaska resident.
Data sources and status
Federal figures for 2026: verified · last verified 2026-09-05 · the revenue procedures and forms they were read from, with every other data set
Alaska Department of Revenue · How figures are checked · Corrections log
Other states
Comparing the states that skip the income tax altogether? What the 9 states with no individual income tax charge instead puts the gross-receipts taxes, sales tax treatment of services and licence fees side by side.
Paying as you go? The quarterly estimated tax calculator applies the federal safe harbor and subtracts what you have already paid.