Most freelancers pick a rate that sounds reasonable, work all year, and end up
with far less than they expected. This works backwards instead — from the money you want to
keep, to the number you have to put on the invoice.
Your situation
Your required hourly rate
—
Day rate (8h)
—
Break-even rate
—
Billable hours/year
—
Reality check
Gross revenue at that rate
—
Net profit after business costs
—
Estimated total tax
—
What you actually take home
—
What utilisation costs you
Billable utilisation
Billable hours/year
Required rate
Every point of utilisation you
lose has to be paid for by a higher rate. This is why "just work more hours" rarely fixes it.
Tax settings — 2026, single filer. Change these if you file differently.
Knowing your rate is half the problem
This tells you the rate you need. It can't tell you whether you're actually getting it —
that depends on which clients quietly eat your hours.
Project Profit — your real hourly rate per client, flagging the ones losing you money
Income & expense logs — Schedule C categories, outstanding invoices
Tax estimator — quarterly amounts and safe-harbor logic
Dashboard — which of your cash is genuinely yours, and which is the IRS's