Contractor Tax Guides
Everything 1099 contractors need to understand their taxes, set the right rate, and compare offers — written plainly, updated for the 2026 tax year.
The 2026 federal brackets applied to 1099 income after SE tax, the half-SE deduction, and the standard deduction — plus the exact percentage to pull from every invoice at your income level. Includes a live per-invoice withholding calculator.
A $50/hr W-2 job and a $50/hr 1099 contract are not the same offer. This guide builds the exact math to convert between them — SE tax, benefits gap, PTO loss — so you can accept the right one.
When you're weighing a $130,000 W-2 salary against an $85/hr 1099 contract, neither number means what it looks like. Full side-by-side breakdown with an interactive comparison calculator.
Build your rate from the bottom up — target net income, tax load, benefits cost, business overhead, and billable utilization. Includes a live rate calculator and utilization-rate sensitivity table.
How the 15.3% SE tax works, where the 0.9235 multiplier comes from, how the $184,500 SS wage base cap changes the math at higher incomes, and the above-the-line deduction most contractors miss.
The $80,000 net income threshold, how salary-to-distribution bifurcation works, IRS reasonable compensation requirements, and a full cost breakdown of the annual admin overhead before you elect.
The true annual cost of replacing employer-sponsored health insurance, dental, vision, and a 401(k) match — with real 2026 premium data by age and family size.
Every Schedule C write-off available to independent contractors in 2026 — home office, mileage, equipment, health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, and more. With dollar-value estimates.
The four 2026 deadlines, the safe-harbor rule that prevents underpayment penalties, and exactly how to calculate what you owe each quarter — without overpaying or triggering IRS interest.
A complete walkthrough of S-Corp taxation — how pass-through income works, payroll tax obligations, Form 1120-S filing requirements, and the distributions strategy that reduces your overall tax bill.