Self-Employed Tax Calculator — Washington (2026)
Self-employed in Washington? Your tax bill has three layers that a W-2 employee never sees in full: 15.3% self-employment tax on 92.35% of net profit, federal income tax, and no Washington income tax at all. This calculator applies all three to your 2026 net profit and shows the quarterly amount you should be setting aside. Washington does not levy a personal state income tax, so the only mandatory withholding on your earnings is federal income tax plus FICA (Social Security and Medicare).
Washington Self-Employed Tax Calculator
Gross 1099 income minus business expenses.
Self-employment tax vs Washington income tax
Self-employment tax is federal and identical in all 50 states: 12.4% Social Security up to $184,500 of net earnings plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap. Half of it is deductible against income tax, which is why the calculator subtracts it before applying brackets.
Because Washington levies no income tax, the same $80,000 of net profit costs about $18,830 in total tax — one of the lighter loads in the country for freelancers.
Washington has no income tax on wages, but enacted a 7% capital gains tax (above $262K) in 2022. State sales tax is 6.5% (up to 10.4% locally).
Deductions that matter for Washington freelancers
Net profit — not gross revenue — drives every number here. Ordinary and necessary business expenses reduce SE tax, federal tax simultaneously: the 2026 standard mileage rate of $0.67/mile, home-office square footage, software, equipment, professional insurance, and the self-employed health insurance deduction.
Retirement plans go further. A SEP-IRA or solo 401(k) reduces income tax (though not SE tax) and is often the largest single deduction available to a profitable tech contractor in Seattle.
Working for yourself in Washington
Washington's economy leans on tech, aerospace, and shipping, which shapes the contractor market around Seattle — and your fixed costs. With one-bedroom rent near $2,050, a freelancer needs meaningfully more gross revenue than an employee to reach the same lifestyle, because there is no employer paying half of FICA.
Washington has no income tax on wages, but it does levy a 7% capital gains tax on long-term gains above $262,000 — unusual for a no-income-tax state.
Local and payroll taxes Washington adds on top
Paid Family and Medical Leave takes roughly 0.42% of wages and WA Cares long-term care insurance another 0.58%. That deduction sits outside the federal and state income tax lines, so build it into your own budget on top of the numbers above.
Washington has no income tax on wages, but enacted a 7% capital gains tax (above $262K) in 2022. State sales tax is 6.5% (up to 10.4% locally).
Nobody withholds these for you when you are self-employed in Washington. Local wage taxes, city business licences and gross-receipts style levies are yours to register for and remit alongside your quarterly federal and state estimates.
Working across a state line from Washington
Washington has no income-tax reciprocity agreements, so if you live here and work across a state line you generally file a nonresident return in the work state and claim a credit at home to avoid double taxation.
Remote and hybrid work complicates this further: most states tax income where the work is physically performed, so a Seattle resident spending part of the year at a client site in Oregon may owe a nonresident return there. Keep a day-count log if you split time between states.
The rest of your Washington tax bill
Washington charges a 6.5% state sales tax, homeowners pay an average effective property tax of 0.94% of market value, and the minimum wage in force during 2026 is $17.13 an hour.
Seattle's combined rate is about 10.35%, among the highest nationwide.
Income tax is only one part of a state's take. Washington recovers revenue through sales and property tax as well, which is why headline income tax rates alone are a poor guide to how far a salary really goes. With no income tax on wages, retirement distributions are untaxed; only capital gains above $270,000 face the 7% excise tax.
Washington vs Oregon on the same salary
On a $90,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $72,145 a year in Washington against roughly $64,811 in Oregon — a difference of $7,334, or $611 a month.
Effective combined rates are 19.8% in Washington and 28.0% in Oregon. Set that gap against living costs: index 116 here versus 115 there, with property tax at 0.94% and 0.93% respectively.