1099 vs W-2 — the worker's comparison

Same gross, two statuses. The result panel is the 1099 side — SE tax, federal and state income tax; the comparison puts the W-2 net next to it.

JavaScript is off: you are reading the default scenario, computed by the calculation engine when this page was built. Switching to the other precomputed scenarios needs JavaScript — every figure shown here is complete and readable as it stands.

Result — California — $75,000.00 — single — 1099 vs W-2

1099: total tax (SE + income tax)$18,160.02

W-2: total deductions on the same gross$17,047.68

Gap (1099 tax − W-2 deductions)$1,112.34

Self-employment tax: $10,597.16
Federal income tax: $4,897.74
State income tax: $2,665.12
Left after tax: $56,839.98

Every line: amount, explanation and source. Explanations open line by line.
Line	Per year
Net self-employment income Why this line? Your net profit from self-employment (Schedule C: business income minus business expenses) — the starting point of the whole P3 calculation. Why this rate: Not a tax — it is the income figure the taxes below are built from. What changes it: Revenue and deductible business expenses. Losses and expense rules are outside this estimator. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$75,000.00
SE taxable base (92.35% of net SE income) Why this line? Only 92.35% of your net self-employment income is subject to SE tax. The 7.65% reduction mimics the fact that employees never pay FICA on their employer's FICA share. Why this rate: IRC §1402(a)(12) sets the 92.35% factor (100% − 7.65%). What changes it: It is always 92.35% of net SE income — it changes only when profit changes. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$69,262.50
SE tax — Social Security (12.4%) Why this line? The Social Security part of SE tax: 12.4% (the employee 6.2% + employer 6.2% combined) of the 92.35% base — but only up to what is left of the $184,500 wage base after your W-2 wages. If a job already paid you $184,500, this line is $0. Why this rate: IRC §1401 sets the combined 12.4% rate; the wage base is the SSA's annual figure ($184,500 for 2026). What changes it: W-2 wages consume the wage base first (the mixed W-2 + 1099 case); profit above the remaining base is not charged this part. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$8,588.55
SE tax — Medicare (2.9%) Why this line? The Medicare part of SE tax: 2.9% of the 92.35% base — both the 'employee' 1.45% and the 'employer' 1.45%, because a self-employed person is both. There is no wage cap. Why this rate: IRC §1401: self-employed pay the combined employee + employer Medicare rate, 2.9%. What changes it: It scales with profit; nothing caps it. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$2,008.61
Total self-employment tax Why this line? Your total self-employment tax: Social Security part + Medicare part + any Additional Medicare part. It is separate from income tax — you owe it even if your income tax is zero. Why this rate: The sum of the §1401 components above. What changes it: Profit, W-2 wages (wage-base room), and the Additional Medicare threshold. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$10,597.16
Deduction — one-half of SE tax Why this line? You may deduct one-half of your SE tax (the Social Security + Medicare parts) from gross income when computing income tax. It mimics the fact that an employee never pays income tax on the employer's FICA share. It does NOT reduce the SE tax itself. Why this rate: IRC §164(f) grants the deduction at one-half of the §1401 tax. What changes it: It is exactly 50% of the SE tax (excluding any Additional Medicare part), so it moves with your SE tax. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$5,298.58
QBI deduction — SIMPLIFIED ESTIMATE Why this line? The Qualified Business Income deduction: up to 20% of your business profit, reducing the income that federal income tax applies to. This calculator's version is SIMPLIFIED and labeled ESTIMATION: below the income threshold it applies the full 20% with the statutory overall cap; above the threshold, wage/property limits and the specified-service (SSTB) rules can cut it in real life and are not modeled. Why this rate: IRC §199A grants the 20% deduction; the 2026 thresholds come from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, and OBBBA added a $400 minimum deduction when QBI is at least $1,000. What changes it: Profit level, filing status, and — in real life above the thresholds ($201,750 single / $403,500 joint for 2026) — the business's W-2 wages, property, and whether it is a specified service business. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$10,720.28
Federal income tax Why this line? Federal income tax. On an employee paycheck (P1) this is the amount WITHHELD for the period, computed with the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method for automated payroll (Worksheet 1A): the period wage is annualized, adjusted for the Form W-4 entries — Step 4(a) other income added, Step 4(b) deductions and the Step 2 checkbox adjustment subtracted — taxed on the publication's own annual percentage schedules, then divided back by the pay periods, with the Step 3 amount credited per period and any Step 4(c) extra amount added. On the self-employment side (P3) it is the estimated annual liability: income minus the standard deduction, taxed through the 10%-37% brackets for the filing status. Why this rate: Congress sets the rates in the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS publishes the withholding machinery each year in Publication 15-T (2026 edition for 2026 paychecks) and the annual brackets and standard deductions in its yearly revenue procedure (for 2026: Rev. Proc. 2025-32). What changes it: Pay level and frequency, filing status, and the Form W-4 entries (Step 2 checkbox, Step 3 amount, Steps 4(a)/4(b)/4(c)) — and in P3, the one-half SE tax deduction and the QBI deduction, which reduce taxable income before the brackets apply. Source: IRS — Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IR-2025-103, 2025-10-09) — verified 2026-10-22.	$4,897.74
California income tax Why this line? State income tax on your wages for the state shown — flat in some states (one rate for everyone), progressive in others (brackets like the federal tax), and zero in the nine states that do not tax wages. Why this rate: Each state's legislature sets its own rates, brackets and deductions; the figures here are the state's 2026 parameters as encoded in the data pack. What changes it: The state (each sets its own system), income, the state's standard deduction/exemptions, and state law changes — several states cut rates for 2026. Source: California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) — 2026 indexing announcement (Tax News) and 2026 rate schedules X/Y/Z — verified 2026-10-23.	$2,665.12
Total estimated tax (SE + federal + state) Why this line? Your full estimated annual bill as an independent worker: SE tax + federal income tax + state income tax. This is the amount the quarterly payments divide by four. Why this rate: Not a single tax — the sum an independent worker must budget for, which is why it is shown as one number. What changes it: Every component above it — profit, W-2 wages, state, filing status, and the QBI and half-SE deductions. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$18,160.02
Quarterly estimated payment (each of 4) Why this line? One of four equal estimated-tax payments covering your SE tax + federal income tax + state income tax for the year. 2026 due dates: April 15, June 15, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027. Why this rate: The IRS requires tax to be paid as income is earned (IRC §6654); underpaying by quarter triggers a nondeductible penalty. What changes it: Any change in the annual total. In real life you may instead use safe-harbor amounts (based on last year's tax) or pay more in quarters when income arrives — those strategies are not modeled. Source: IRC §1401/1402 (SE tax), §164(f) (one-half SE tax deduction), §199A (QBI) with 2026 threshold amounts from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.26; estimated-tax due dates IRC §6654 / IRS Form 1040-ES. — verified 2026-10-24.	$4,540.01

Compare scenarios

As a 1099 contractor: kept after tax

$56,839.98
Net self-employment income minus SE tax, federal and state income tax (this result).

As a W-2 employee: net pay

$57,952.32
The paycheck engine on the same gross: federal tax withheld by the IRS Pub. 15-T method, FICA and state tax — the employer pays its own FICA share on top, which is not your deduction.

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Methodology, limits and sources

Rates verified on 2026-10-24 (primary sources listed per line).

QBI is the SIMPLIFIED estimate (20% of qualified business income, overall cap applied). See limits doc.

Annual estimate method. The S-corp comparison is an internal-coherence model (same engine both sides), not a filing recommendation: the IRS requires reasonable compensation, and S-corp administration costs are not modelled.

Where the gap comes from

As an employee, FICA is split: you pay 6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare, and the employer pays the same again on top of your gross — 7.65% you never see withheld. As a 1099 contractor you pay both shares yourself as the self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of net SE income), softened by the deduction of one half of it against income tax (IRC §164(f)). That employer share is most of the gap in the cards above.

What this comparison leaves out

It compares taxes only. It does not price the things employment carries and contracting does not: employer-paid benefits, unemployment insurance coverage, workers' compensation coverage, or the employer's share being invisible in a W-2 offer. A 1099 offer at the same gross is not the same offer — the tax gap above is the measurable part of the difference.

The employer's side of the same choice

See the W-2 vs 1099 calculator for employers.