Texas 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 Texas, 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 |
| Texas 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.
Texas and self-employment income
Texas has no personal income tax, and a 2019 constitutional amendment prohibits one. Self-employment income earned in Texas is taxed only by the federal government.
Texas at a glance, for a one-person business
| Stands in for an income tax | Franchise tax on margin, at 0.75% (0.375% for retail and wholesale) |
|---|---|
| Where it starts | $2,650,000 of annualized revenue for the 2026 and 2027 report years |
| Are freelance services taxable? | Mostly no; data processing and information services are taxable |
| State licence | None at state level |
| What a sole proprietor files | Nothing — a sole proprietorship is outside the franchise tax entirely |
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 Texas against the rest.
What a Texas freelancer may still owe
- A sole proprietorship is outside the Texas franchise tax entirely: no return, no information report, nothing to file.
- A single-member LLC is inside it. It owes no tax while annualized revenue is at or below $2.65 million for the 2026 and 2027 report years, but it must still file an information report every year. The threshold is re-set every two years; it was $2.47 million for 2024 and 2025.
- Above the threshold the rate is 0.75% of margin, or 0.375% for retail and wholesale, with a compensation deduction limited to $480,000 per person for those report years.
- Sales tax applies to goods and to about a dozen named services. Most freelance consulting and writing is outside it; data processing and information services are inside, at a reduced effective rate.
- There is no state income tax to estimate, so the only quarterly payments are federal.
Texas business obligations last read against the agency's own pages on 2026-09-09: Franchise tax rates and thresholds, Franchise tax overview (98-806). These are outside the calculator; it computes income tax only.
The same work, two entities
A consultant with $200,000 of profit is far below the $2.65 million franchise tax threshold, so no franchise tax is payable either way. The entity still decides the paperwork. As a sole proprietorship there is nothing to file with the Comptroller at all. As a single-member LLC the business is inside the franchise tax even though it owes none, which means an information report every year; letting it lapse costs the entity its right to transact business in the state and, eventually, the liability shield the LLC was formed for. The threshold is reset every two report years — it was $2.47 million for 2024 and 2025 — so it is worth re-reading rather than remembering.
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 Texas 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 Texas 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 — Texas'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 Texas 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 a Texas 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
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · 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.