Freelance hourly rate calculator

Start from the income you want to take home and work backwards to the rate you need to charge.

Target take-home income per year ($)

Business expenses per year ($)

Estimated tax rate (%)

Working hours per week

Share of hours that are billable (%)

Weeks off per year (holidays, sick days)

How the estimate works

Your take-home target is grossed up for tax: pre-tax income = take-home ÷ (1 − tax rate). Business expenses are added on top. The total is divided by the hours you can actually bill in a year: working weeks × weekly hours × billable share.

Most freelancers can't bill every hour they work. Admin, sales, invoicing and learning usually take a quarter to a half of the week, which is why the billable share matters more than any other input.

The tax rate here is a single blended guess. Your real rate depends on where you live, your business structure and deductions, so check with a tax professional.