Why this site doesn't try to calculate state tax
Federal self-employment tax and federal income tax brackets work the same way no matter where you live - that's what makes one accurate calculator possible. State tax is a different problem entirely: every state with an income tax sets its own rates, its own brackets, its own deductions, and often its own separate quarterly payment system and due dates. A tool that tried to handle all 50 states accurately would either be far less accurate on the federal side, or would take a lot longer than one night to get right. We'd rather be precise about the federal number and honest about the gap than guess at state numbers and get them wrong.
The 9 states with no income tax at all
If you live in one of these, you only need to worry about the federal number from our calculator - there's no state-level piece to add:
- Alaska
- Florida
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- Wyoming
A couple of these states tax other things (like investment income) in narrow cases, but wages and self-employment/gig income aren't taxed at the state level in any of the nine.
If your state does have income tax
Most states that tax income also expect their own estimated quarterly payments from self-employed people, separate from the federal ones. In general:
- State estimated tax is its own filing, with its own form and its own due dates - sometimes the same as the federal dates, sometimes not.
- State tax rates and brackets vary enormously - some states are close to flat rates, others have several brackets like the federal system.
- Many states allow a deduction for self-employment expenses similar to the federal rules, but the specifics (and whether something like the QBI deduction applies at the state level) vary by state.
The fastest way to get your state's specific rules: search "[your state] estimated tax payments self employed" or check your state's Department of Revenue (every state has one, usually at a URL like "tax.[state].gov" or "[state].gov/revenue").
A reasonable way to estimate your total set-aside
If you're in a state with income tax and want a rough total: take the federal number from our calculator, then add your state's top marginal rate (or your typical effective rate from last year's return) multiplied by your net profit. It won't be exact, but it gets you in the right neighborhood until you can confirm the real number with your state's rules or a tax pro.