1099 vs W-2 Calculator 2026
The same gross pay is not the same job. This compares take-home on both sides — including the employer's half of payroll tax, which most comparisons leave out.
Your comparison
Where these figures come from
- FICA rates
- 6.2% + 1.45% each side · IRS Pub. 15 (2026)
- Wage base
- $184,500 · SSA release, 24 Oct 2025
- SECA rate
- 15.3% on 92.35% · IRC §1401
- Additional Medicare
- 0.9%, employee only, no employer match
- Verified
- 2 October 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is 1099 better than W-2?
Neither is better by itself — and the usual comparison is wrong. A 1099 worker pays both halves of FICA, about 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit. A W-2 employee pays one half, 7.65%, and the employer pays the rest. But that employer half is real money the employer spends to have you. If the same employer paid it to you as a contract rate instead, you would receive it as income and pay both halves yourself. Nothing is gained or lost; the money is routed differently.
So how much more should a 1099 rate be than a W-2 salary?
At minimum, enough to cover the employer's FICA contribution — 7.65% of wages up to the Social Security wage base, and 1.45% above it. On top of that, a 1099 must fund what the benefits covered: health insurance, any retirement match, paid time off, and the fact that unpaid downtime is now yours to absorb. The calculator above gives you the tax floor; the benefits figure is what you add on top of it.
Does the additional Medicare tax work differently for the two?
Yes, and it is easy to miss. The 0.9% applies to a 1099 worker's net profit above $200,000 single or $250,000 joint. For a W-2 employee it is withheld from wages above the same threshold — and the employer does not match it. That is the one piece of FICA where the two sides are not symmetric.
What can a 1099 worker deduct that a W-2 employee cannot?
Half of the self-employment tax is an above-the-line deduction, which reduces adjusted gross income. Beyond that a 1099 can deduct ordinary business expenses — mileage, a home office, equipment, software — and can fund a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k), which a W-2 employee generally cannot at the same amounts. Those deductions narrow the gap this page shows, and are not included in the figures above.
Does the state change the answer?
It changes the dollar amounts on both sides, but not the structure: state income tax applies to the 1099's profit and to the W-2's wages roughly the same way. Where it does differ is that some states treat self-employment income differently, and a few cities levy local taxes on wages that a contractor may not owe.