Contractor Salary Calculator

How to use

1. Enter the hourly rate you charge clients.
2. Enter billable hours you can realistically sustain per week.
3. Enter weeks you expect to work per year, allowing for holidays, sick days, and gaps.
4. Read annual, monthly, and weekly income, then stress-test with lower hours.
5. Compare the result against salaried offers after subtracting taxes and benefits you fund yourself.

General information only — not medical, financial or legal advice. Figures cross-checked against public official sources (IRS / HMRC / NHS / WHO guidance); content last reviewed September 2026. For decisions that matter, confirm with a licensed professional in your country.

About this tool

Comparing a contractor rate to a salaried offer with the same number in it is a mistake, because the two incomes are built differently. This calculator multiplies your hourly rate by billable hours per week and weeks worked per year, then spreads the result into monthly and weekly figures you can budget against. The honest inputs matter: independent contractors commonly bill 60 to 70 percent of working time, because sales, admin, invoicing, and learning consume the rest, and unpaid holidays, sick days, and gaps between contracts come straight off the total. Your rate also has to carry self-employment tax, retirement savings, and insurance that an employer would otherwise fund. A 75 dollar rate across 30 billable hours and 46 weeks yields 103,500 dollars before self-employment tax, insurance, and retirement savings. That is the comparison this tool makes visible. Estimates assume steady billable patterns; taxes, expenses, and contract gaps vary by trade and location.Run the numbers twice: once with an optimistic pipeline and once with a slow quarter, then budget from the smaller figure. Set aside roughly 25 to 30 percent of each payment for taxes until an accountant confirms your actual bracket. Quarterly estimated payments keep penalties away, and a separate tax account makes that routine painless.

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