Short answer: To take home $60,000 a year with $6,000 of business costs, a 28% tax set-aside, 4 weeks off and 65% of a 40-hour week billable, you need at least $73 an hour. Round up and quote $75/hr. The method is in our guide, How to Set Your Freelance Rate (Without Guessing).
Check our math
Here is the result above, step by step, using the numbers already filled in.
- Take-home goal plus business expenses$60,000 + $6,000 = $66,000
- Add your 28% tax set-aside$66,000 ÷ (1 − 28%) = $91,667
- Working weeks52 − 4 = 48
- Hours worked per year48 × 40 = 1,920
- Billable hours (65%)1,920 × 65% = 1,248
- Minimum hourly rate$91,667 ÷ 1,248 = $73.45 → $73/hr
- Day rate (8 billable hours)$73.45 × 8 = $588
Rounded to the dollar, as the calculator shows it. The rounded-up quote, $75/hr, is the next $5.
How this calculator works
The calculator works backward from the money you want to keep. It adds your business expenses to your take-home goal, then grosses that up for taxes: if you set aside 28%, every $1 you bill leaves you 72¢, so the revenue you need is your goal divided by 0.72. Then it divides by the hours you can actually bill: the weeks you work, times your weekly hours, times the share of those hours a client pays for.
Billable share is the number most people skip. Finding clients, writing proposals, invoicing and admin are real work nobody pays for, and for most freelancers they take a third of the week or more. That's why the default is 65%.
The tax set-aside is a flat percentage you choose. Self-employed people pay self-employment tax of 15.3% on 92.35% of their profit (IRS: Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)) on top of income tax, so 25–30% is a common range. To find your real percentage, run your expected profit through the self-employment tax calculator.
Hourly rate needed by take-home goal
| Take-home goal | Rate at 60% billable | Rate at 75% billable | Day rate at 65% |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $55/hr | $44/hr | $410 |
| $50,000 | $68/hr | $54/hr | $499 |
| $60,000 | $80/hr | $64/hr | $588 |
| $70,000 | $92/hr | $73/hr | $677 |
| $80,000 | $104/hr | $83/hr | $766 |
| $90,000 | $116/hr | $93/hr | $855 |
| $100,000 | $128/hr | $102/hr | $944 |
| $120,000 | $152/hr | $122/hr | $1,122 |
| $150,000 | $188/hr | $150/hr | $1,389 |
Assumes $6,000 of expenses, a 28% tax set-aside, 4 weeks off and 40-hour weeks. Day rate is 8 billable hours.
Worked examples
Part-time designer
Wants $30,000 a year on the side, works 20 hours a week, takes 6 weeks off and bills 60% of the time. Expenses are $3,000 and she sets aside 25%.
| Result | |
|---|---|
| Minimum rate | $80/hr |
| Revenue needed per year | $44,000 |
| Billable hours per year | 552 |
Full-time consultant
Wants $120,000 take-home, works 45-hour weeks, takes 5 weeks off and bills 70%. Expenses are $12,000 and he sets aside 32%.
| Result | |
|---|---|
| Minimum rate | $131/hr |
| Revenue needed per year | $194,118 |
| Day rate | $1,049 |
Using your result
Treat the result as your minimum and quote above it. Most freelancers round to a clean number (the calculator suggests the next $5), and many quote a project or day price instead of an hourly one so clients compare value, not hours.
Run the calculator twice: once with the hours you hope to bill and once with a slow-month version. If the slow-month rate is far higher, you need either more savings as a buffer or more clients in the pipeline.
Recheck the rate when something big changes: you raise your take-home goal, your expenses jump, or you move up a tax bracket. When the new rate is higher than what you charge, plan the increase with How to Raise Your Freelance Rates (Without Losing Clients).
What it doesn't cover
- This is a floor, not a market rate. Specialized skills, rush work and larger clients can support more.
- The tax set-aside is a single percentage, not a bracket calculation. Check it with the self-employment tax calculator.
- Retirement savings and health insurance aren't added for you. Put insurance in expenses and savings in your take-home goal.
- It assumes your billable share holds all year. A slow quarter lowers it.
Read more
- How to Set Your Freelance Rate (Without Guessing)
- How to Calculate Your Freelance Day Rate
- How to Raise Your Freelance Rates (Without Losing Clients)
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge per hour as a freelancer?
Enough to cover your take-home goal, expenses and taxes over the hours you can bill. With the calculator's starting numbers ($60,000 take-home, $6,000 expenses, 28% tax set-aside, 65% billable), that's $73 an hour. Change the inputs to match your situation.
What hourly rate do I need to make $100,000 a year freelancing?
To take home $100,000 with the same expenses and taxes, you need about $128 an hour if you bill 60% of a 40-hour week, or $102 at 75%. See the table above for other goals.
What freelance rate gives me $50,000 take-home?
About $62 an hour at 65% billable, with $6,000 of expenses and a 28% tax set-aside.
What share of my time is billable?
Most freelancers bill 60–70% of their working hours. The rest goes to finding clients, proposals, invoicing and admin. If you're just starting out, assume less.
Should I charge more than the calculated rate?
Usually, yes. The result is the least you can charge and still hit your goal. Price above it for specialized work, tight deadlines or clients with bigger budgets, and see How to Raise Your Freelance Rates (Without Losing Clients) when it's time to go up.
How do I turn my hourly rate into a day rate?
Multiply by the billable hours in a day. The calculator uses 8, so $73 an hour is $588 a day. See How to Calculate Your Freelance Day Rate for when a day rate makes sense.
Sources
Reviewed against IRS sources: October 2026 · Updated October 2026 · By the NetTakeHome team. Estimates for planning, not tax, legal or financial advice.