1099 vs W-2 Pay Calculator

How to do it

1. 1
   Step 1: Open 1099 vs W-2 Pay Calculator and add your input

   Type your numbers or text, add your file, or pick the options you need. Nothing is uploaded: everything stays in your browser.

2. 2
   Step 2: What 1099 vs W-2 Pay Calculator does

   Find the W-2 salary that matches a 1099 contractor rate after self-employment tax and benefits.

3. 3
   Step 3: Read the result and compare

   The result appears at once. Change one value to see how the answer moves, then keep the figure that fits your case.

4. 4
   Step 4: Copy or save it

   Copy the result or download it. For an important decision, confirm it with the official source or an adviser.

About this tool

Enter what you would earn as a contractor, your business expenses, your own health cost and the value of the benefits an employee would get. The tool works out your take-home as a contractor after self-employment and income tax and shows the W-2 salary that would give you the same.

What the contractor pays

A 1099 worker pays both halves of Social Security and Medicare: 15.3% of 92.35% of profit, with the Social Security part stopping at the wage base. Half of that tax is deducted when working out income tax. The contractor also pays for health insurance and gets no paid leave.

What the employee pays

An employee pays 7.65% FICA and income tax on the salary. The employer pays the other half of FICA and the value of benefits such as health insurance, a 401(k) match and paid time off.

The result

The equivalent W-2 salary is the salary whose after-tax pay plus the after-tax value of benefits equals the contractor's take-home. Taxes use one flat combined income-tax rate you enter, so it is an estimate.

Worked example

$100,000 of contractor income with $6,000 of expenses, $7,200 of health cost, benefits worth $9,000 and a 29% combined income-tax rate: profit is $94,000, self-employment tax $13,282, income tax $25,334 and take-home $48,184. The W-2 salary that gives the same is about $61,853, or 61.9% of the contractor rate.

Tips for best results

Check every box before you rely on a result, because one wrong digit changes the whole answer. Use the exact figures from your payslip, bill, certificate or contract, and keep a note of the date you calculated. Rates, thresholds and rules change from time to time, so for tax, fees and legal matters treat the output as an estimate and confirm with the official source named on this page. You can run as many scenarios as you like; nothing is saved or sent, and refreshing the page clears the boxes.