The Freelancer Money Kit · Steady by Life Well Spent

What should I charge?

Not what feels fair — what actually gets you to your income goal, after tax and after expenses.

This is a different question than "what do I owe" — that's what the free tax calculator answers. This one works backward from what you want to take home.

Annual take-home income goal

What you actually want left over for yourself, after tax and after business expenses.

Annual business expenses

Software, equipment, insurance, everything it costs you to run this — not personal spending.

Filing status

State

Billable hours per week

Actual client-facing hours — not counting admin, marketing, or finding work.

Weeks worked per year

Subtract real vacation, sick time, and slow weeks.

You need to charge at least

$0/hr

Take-home goal$0

+ Estimated tax$0

+ Business expenses$0

= Revenue you need$0

÷ Billable hours this year0

Day rate (8hr)

Monthly retainer

This is a planning estimate, not a guarantee of what the market will pay. It uses flat tax-rate assumptions, the same as the free quarterly calculator. If your actual billable hours run lower than you plan for, this rate will fall short of the goal — it's worth padding your hours estimate conservatively rather than optimistically.

Want the rest of the Kit?

This calculator is one piece. The full Freelancer Money Kit adds a one-page profit & loss template you can hand to a lender, plus account structures built for your specific kind of business — not business in general.