Imported Gross Context
Start with the take-home income you want, then estimate the gross revenue, billable hours, and freelance rate your plan may require.
Tap presets for a faster setup, keep custom values optional, and export a premium planner snapshot in one click.
This tool works for direct goal planning, but inside the toolkit it also converts imported gross context into a cleaner planning step before budget allocation.
Just set your Income Goal and Tax Rate. Default values for schedule, utilization, and expenses are already beginner-friendly. You can fine-tune later.
$10,000/month after taxes, fees, and expenses = $120,000/year take-home
Yearly totals stay the same. This only changes monthly billable hours and your monthly hourly-rate planning view.
Average Month is on. Your annual billable hours are spread evenly across 12 months. Best for smoother month-to-month planning.
Only client-billable hours count toward your revenue goal.
Smart 2026 uses filing-status brackets, the 2026 standard deduction, and your state/local planning %. Quick picks are planning shortcuts, not exact state tax law.
Smart 2026 estimates federal income tax. Manual mode lets you enter your own combined effective rate.
Software, subscriptions, tools, contractors, home office, and operating costs.
Extra margin for savings, uncertainty, slow months, or growth reinvestment.
No platform/payment fees included
Platform Preset
Processor Preset
Select one platform, one processor, and optional withdrawal. Client Payments / Month is your incoming payment count and does not change when you switch withdrawal method. Example: 15 payments × $0.49 = $7.35 fixed processor fees/month.
No SE tax included
Smart 2026 uses 92.35% net earnings, the 2026 Social Security wage base, and Additional Medicare thresholds by filing status.
Smart mode estimates Schedule SE. Manual mode lets you override with your own effective self-employment tax rate.
Gross rate needed to achieve $10,000/month take-home
Market range: $50 — $100/hr
Your required rate: $214.88/hr
Your take-home goal is the amount you want left for yourself after the costs you choose to model. Gross revenue is the larger amount your freelance business may need to bill before taxes, platform or payment fees, business expenses, and any planning buffer are accounted for.
The calculator works backward from your desired take-home. Higher modeled taxes, marketplace or payment fees, business expenses, or a safety buffer can increase the gross revenue required. Use your own assumptions where possible; presets are planning shortcuts, not guaranteed rates or tax advice.
The calculator's current default planning scenario starts with a $10,000 monthly take-home goal, a 40-hour workweek, 48 working weeks per year, and 50% billable utilization. With the displayed default expense, buffer, tax, and fee assumptions, the tool shows about 20.0 billable hours per week, roughly $11,923 monthly gross revenue, and a required billing rate of about $149.03/hr. Change any assumption and the live result recalculates.
The planner starts with your take-home target, models the selected expenses, fees, taxes, and buffer, then estimates the gross revenue needed. It combines that gross target with your work schedule and billable utilization to estimate billable hours and a required rate. Results are planning estimates and should not replace professional tax, legal, or accounting advice.