Freelance Rate Calculator
Salary $85k ≠ freelance $41/hr. On the 1099 side, taxes, downtime, health insurance, and late invoices all come out of the same number.
Billable reality: 25 h/wk billed is already ~60% utilization, normal for a solo consultant who also sells, answers email, and invoices. The buffer row accounts for time you can't bill at all.
How the math works
- Billable hours/yr = hours × weeks (buffer already reduces your week; don't double-count).
- Minimum rate = (income target + SE tax on gross + overhead + health) ÷ billable hours. SE tax is 15.3% of gross (net of the deductible half: ≈ 14.13% effective on revenue).
- Quote rate = minimum × 1.35, covers negotiation cuts, scope creep, unpaid collection lag, and profit.
- Project quotes: rate × estimated hours × 1.15 for the estimating risk on fixed-price work.
The 1.35 multiplier is the freelance tax on being solo: the discount you'll give, the 30 days your invoice sits unpaid, the client that evaporates mid-project.
How do I convert a salary to a freelance hourly rate?
Multiply the salary by roughly 1.5–2× and divide by 40×52, that's the honest shortcut (salary $85k → $55–75/hr quoted), and this tool shows exactly why each extra piece exists: SE tax, benefits, downtime, late pay.
Why can't I bill 40 hours a week?
You can bill 40 h/wk for a few weeks. Over a year, solo pros average 20–30 billable hours, selling, admin, and dead months are real and unpaid. Rate math built on 40 h/wk is how freelancers underprice themselves into burnout.
What about project-based pricing?
Price from the minimum rate: hours × rate × 1.15. If the client values the outcome above your hours (and you can prove it), price on the outcome, the floor is what this tool computes.