Freelance Tax Set-Aside Calculator
The most dangerous money in freelancing is the tax you’ve already earned but not yet paid. Pick your country to estimate what percentage of every invoice to move into a separate account — based on your actual expected profit, not a generic “save 30%”. Country editions are in English.
United States
US freelancers pay federal income tax plus self-employment tax — 15.3% covering Social Security (12.4% up to the annual wage base)…
2026/27 tax year (England, Wales & NI)United Kingdom
UK sole traders pay Income Tax through Self Assessment plus Class 4 National Insurance (6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270,…
2026 tax year (federal + average provincial)Canada
Canadian freelancers pay federal and provincial income tax, plus both halves of CPP contributions (11.9% on pensionable earnings u…
2025–26 income yearAustralia
Australian sole traders pay income tax at individual rates plus the 2% Medicare levy — there’s no separate self-employment tax, bu…
Why “set aside 30%” is both right and wrong
Thirty percent is a fine emergency answer, and a bad plan. A UK sole trader earning £30,000 will over-save dramatically at 30% (their real burden is nearer 15–18%), while a US freelancer in California netting $150,000 will under-save badly (their true all-in rate can pass 35%). The gap between guessing and calculating is often thousands a year — either locked away unnecessarily or, worse, missing when the bill arrives.
Each country calculator above estimates your income tax plus the self-employed contributions specific to that system — US self-employment tax, UK Class 4 National Insurance, Canadian CPP, the Australian Medicare levy — and turns the total into a simple rule: “move X% of every invoice to a tax account.”
The mechanics that actually keep you safe
- Separate account. Transfer the percentage the moment an invoice is paid. Money you can't see is money you won't spend.
- Recalculate quarterly. Income changes; so does the right percentage. Ten minutes, four times a year.
- Know your prepayment system. Quarterly estimated taxes (US), payments on account (UK), instalments (Canada), PAYG (Australia) — every system eventually demands tax in advance, and the first year it kicks in is the year that hurts.