Pennsylvania Self-Employment Tax Calculator
If you work for yourself in Pennsylvania, you owe self-employment tax: the self-employed version of the Social Security and Medicare taxes an employer would otherwise split with you. This calculator estimates your federal self-employment tax on your net business profit, applying the IRS Schedule SE method (2025 rates), and adds the Pennsylvania state income tax on those earnings using the brackets published by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Enter your net self-employment income (your business profit after expenses) and filing status to see the breakdown. Self-employment tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security up to the annual wage base, plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap), applied to 92.35% of your net earnings, and you can deduct half of it from your income before income tax is calculated. The figures here are the federal SE tax and the Pennsylvania income tax on the same income; your regular federal income tax is separate. Use it to plan quarterly estimated tax payments and to set aside the right amount from each invoice.
On $80,000 of net self-employment income (single) in Pennsylvania: federal SE tax is about $11,303.64, plus Pennsylvania income tax of about $2,282.49, roughly $13,586.13 total.
How Pennsylvania self-employment tax is calculated
SE earnings base = net self-employment income x 0.9235
federal SE tax = SS base x 12.4% (up to wage base) + Medicare base x 2.9%
deductible half = SE tax / 2
Pennsylvania income tax = state tax on (net income - deductible half)
Pennsylvania self-employment tax: frequently asked questions
How much self-employment tax will I pay in Pennsylvania on $80,000.00 of net income?
On $80,000.00 of net self-employment income, the federal self-employment tax (Social Security + Medicare) is about $11,303.64, plus roughly $2,282.49 of Pennsylvania state income tax on your net earnings after the deductible half of SE tax, for about $13,586.13 total. Enter your own net income above.
What is the self-employment tax rate?
Federal self-employment tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security up to the 2025 wage base of $176,100 and 2.9% Medicare with no cap), applied to 92.35% of your net self-employment earnings, per IRS Schedule SE. You can deduct half of it as an above-the-line deduction.
Does Pennsylvania tax self-employment income?
Yes. Pennsylvania taxes self-employment income as part of your state taxable income, using the Pennsylvania income tax brackets published by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. The federal SE tax is separate and goes to the IRS.
Is the self-employment tax the same as income tax?
No. Self-employment tax is the self-employed equivalent of FICA payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare). It is separate from federal and Pennsylvania income tax, which also apply to your net business profit. This page shows the SE tax and the Pennsylvania income tax on that income.
Official sources
- Self-employment tax rates and method (Schedule SE, 2025): US Internal Revenue Service, as at Jun 12, 2026.
- Pennsylvania income tax brackets (tax year 2025): Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, as at Jun 12, 2026.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 26 June 2026. See our methodology. General information, not financial or tax advice.