Most freelance rate calculators divide your target salary by 2,080 hours and call it done. That ignores self-employment tax (15.3%), the fact that you can't bill every hour you work, and expenses like health insurance that employees never pay out of pocket.

ChargeWhat works backwards from your target take-home pay and accounts for everything: SE tax on 92.35% of net profit, federal and state income tax across all 50 US states, realistic billable hours based on actual working weeks and daily capacity, monthly business expenses, health insurance premiums, and a profit buffer for slow months and unexpected costs.

Inputs include target annual take-home pay, US state selection, weeks off per year, billable hours per day, monthly business expenses, health insurance costs, and a profit buffer percentage. Outputs include minimum hourly rate, recommended rate with buffer, day rate equivalent, annual billable hours, and SE tax estimate. A visual breakdown shows exactly where each dollar of your rate goes. A what-if panel shows how raising your rate affects annual take-home.

Free, no signup required.