Need more? The full version adds what is listed under "What you get".
What you get: Saved rates for each client or contract , side by side: day rate, billable days, invoices and tax set-aside in one table. · Excel .xlsx with 3 sheets and live formulas (Rate, Tax, Months): change a vacation day or a month's invoice and the day rate and targets recalculate. · Invoice calendar .ics (Google Calendar, Outlook, iPhone): one reminder a month with that month's target invoice and the tax to set aside.
Made-up example (it is filled in below): a US freelancer matching a $95,000 salary, with 185 real billable days in 2027, needs a $630.86 day rate. Billing the usual salary ÷ 260 = $365.38 a day leaves a $49,113.80 shortfall every year: the real rate is 1.73× the shortcut, which is 42.1% under it.
Most day rate calculators ask you to guess a tax reserve and divide by 260 days. This one works out the tax itself (US 2027 federal brackets, self-employment tax and the QBI deduction, or UK 2026/27 income tax and Class 4 NI) and counts the days a client can actually book: weekdays minus public holidays, vacation, sick days, admin and the gaps between contracts. No sign-up; your numbers stay in this browser.
Your numbers
Pro: keep every rate, track the year, take the files
Saved rates for each client or contract, side by side: day rate, billable days, invoices and tax set-aside in one table.
Year tracker: type what you actually invoiced each month and see if you are ahead or behind, plus the day rate the rest of the year needs when a contract ends early.
Excel .xlsx with 3 sheets and live formulas (Rate, Tax, Months): change a vacation day or a month's invoice and the day rate and targets recalculate.
Invoice calendar .ics (Google Calendar, Outlook, iPhone): one reminder a month with that month's target invoice and the tax to set aside.
Project quote: estimated days × your day rate + a contingency %, printed with the rate card (day, half day, hourly and weekly rate) or saved as PDF. Plus CSV and a JSON backup to move to another browser.
Pro: $19 once, for every scenario and every year you plan.
What the job leaves you. The salary minus what an employer withholds (US: FICA and federal income tax with the standard deduction, plus your state %; UK: Class 1 NI and income tax), plus the benefits you now pay yourself.
What you must invoice. The revenue whose profit, after your business costs and the self-employed tax, leaves exactly that amount. US: self-employment tax 15.3% on 92.35% of profit (the 12.4% part up to the wage base), half of it deducted, the 20% QBI deduction under the threshold, the year's brackets. UK: Class 4 NI 6% from £12,570 to £50,270 and 2% above, income tax 20/40/45% with the Personal Allowance tapered over £100,000.
Billable days. Weekdays in the year minus the public holidays, vacation, sick days, 12 months of admin days and 5 days for each week between contracts.
Day rate = invoice needed ÷ billable days, rounded up to the cent. Hourly = day rate ÷ billable hours.
Rates are before VAT or sales tax. Benefits are treated as after-tax money (a pension or SE health deduction would lower the rate a little). Not covered: Scottish income tax bands, UK limited companies and dividends, IR35, student loans, the US QBI phase-in above the threshold (no QBI is taken there, so the rate errs high). A calculation with your numbers, not tax advice.
Sources, read on 12 November 2026
IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-35 (tax year 2027 brackets, $16,600 / $33,200 standard deduction, QBI threshold $208,300 / $416,600) · Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026) · irs.gov/pub/irs-drop
IRS Publication 15 (2026): Social Security wage base $184,500. The 2027 base could not be read today, so $184,500 is used for 2027 too; it only matters once 92.35% of profit passes it.
GOV.UK Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances; Self-employed National Insurance rates (2026 to 2027); Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. The 2026/27 bands are used for the whole calendar year.
GOV.UK bank holidays (England and Wales) · US federal holidays by the 5 U.S.C. 6103 rule (a Saturday holiday is taken on Friday, a Sunday one on Monday).
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day rate calculator for freelancers and contractors: type the salary you want to match and get the day rate after US self-employment tax and federal brackets, or UK income tax and Class 4 NI, on your real billable days.
Is it free?
Yes. The free version on this page works without an account. The full version ($19 once) adds: Saved rates for each client or contract , side by side: day rate, billable days, invoices and tax set-aside in one table. · Excel .xlsx with 3 sheets and live formulas (Rate, Tax, Months): change a vacation day or a month's invoice and the day rate and targets recalculate. · Invoice calendar .ics (Google Calendar, Outlook, iPhone): one reminder a month with that month's target invoice and the tax to set aside.
How do I use it?
1. Enter your details in the free version below. 2. See your result right away on this page. 3. Need more? The full version adds what is listed under "What you get".
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