Tax and Money for the Self-Employed
The manual nobody hands you when you work for yourself.
Self-employment tax first — that’s most of what’s here.
Plus pricing, invoicing, business structure, and the tools worth paying for.
Self-Employment Tax in 2026: How Much to Set Aside
Set aside 25% to 30% of every payment you receive. On $80,000 of net profit that comes to about $22,000, and it covers the 15.3% self-employment tax plus federal income tax.
Straight answers
The chapters
Taxes
What you owe when nobody withholds it for you. Self-employment tax, quarterly payments, 1099 forms, deductions, and the deadlines that matter.
24 articlesPricing
What to charge, how to raise it, and the four costs your rate has to cover.
3 articlesGetting Paid
Invoices that get paid on time, what each payment method actually costs, and what to do when a client goes quiet.
3 articlesBusiness Structure
Sole proprietor, LLC, or S corp. What each one actually changes, and the income where switching starts to pay off.
3 articlesTools & Software
Accounting, invoicing, expense, and banking tools built for one-person businesses. What each does well, what it costs, and who it does not fit.
3 articlesLatest
Every number is sourced
Rates, thresholds, and deadlines come from IRS publications and forms, linked at the bottom of each article.
Written for 2026
Tax rules move. Each article says which year it applies to, and gets revisited when the numbers change.
Not a substitute for a CPA
This is general information, not advice about your situation. For anything consequential, talk to a licensed professional.