Free · federal · 2026 tax year · no signup
1099 tax calculator that never sees your income
Estimate your 2026 self-employment tax and quarterly payments below. Everything runs in your browser — your income, expenses and family details never leave your device. The mainstream 1099 calculators we checked are lead-gen funnels for tax software; this one is a calculator.
- Official 2026 IRS figures, sourced & dated
- No account, no email, no upsell
- Works offline — proof nothing uploads
How it works
- Enter your expected 2026 1099 income and business expenses — estimates update as you type.
- Add a W-2 job, spouse income, or kids if they apply; the wage base, withholding and Child Tax Credit are handled automatically.
- Optionally enter last year’s total tax to get your penalty-safe minimum under the safe-harbor rule.
- Read off your quarterly payment and the remaining IRS deadlines, then pay at irs.gov (Direct Pay or EFTPS).
Under the hood the estimator follows the same path as Form 1040-ES: net profit → self-employment tax (with the ½ deduction) → AGI → standard or itemized deduction → QBI deduction → the 2026 brackets → credits → what’s left after withholding, split across the IRS deadlines. The methodology page lists every figure and its official source, and the whole thing is visible in “See the full math” above.
Why a tax calculator should run locally
A quarterly-tax estimate needs the most sensitive numbers you have: what you earn, what you spend, how you file, how many kids you have. Type those into a typical “free” tax calculator and they land on the server of a company whose actual product is tax-prep software, bookkeeping subscriptions, or your email address. 1099Local keeps the trade honest: the site is static, the math is a few kilobytes of JavaScript running on your device, drafts stay in your browser’s own storage, and there is no email field anywhere. Ads may eventually pay for hosting — they will never see your numbers, because there’s architecturally nothing to see.
2026 estimated-tax deadlines
| Payment | Covers income earned | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Jan 1 – Mar 31, 2026 | April 15, 2026 |
| Q2 | Apr 1 – May 31, 2026 | June 15, 2026 |
| Q3 | Jun 1 – Aug 31, 2026 | September 15, 2026 |
| Q4 | Sep 1 – Dec 31, 2026 | January 15, 2027 |
Dates per the IRS 2026 Form 1040-ES calendar, compiled July 2026. Weekend/holiday shifts are the IRS’s to make — confirm at irs.gov before a deadline you’re cutting close. Details and what to do if you’re late: the 2026 deadline page.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I set aside for taxes on 1099 income?
There’s no universal percentage — it depends on your profit, filing status, other income and deductions. The 25–30% rule of thumb you see everywhere is a reasonable starting point for mid-range profits, but the calculator above replaces the rule of thumb with your actual number: it applies the real 2026 brackets, self-employment tax, the QBI deduction and the Child Tax Credit to your figures and shows the effective rate, which is what you should actually set aside.
Do I have to pay quarterly estimated taxes at all?
Only if you expect to owe at least $1,000 in federal tax for the year after subtracting withholding and refundable credits. Below that, you can simply settle up when you file. Above it, the IRS expects payment through the year — four estimated payments — or you may owe an underpayment penalty on top of the tax. The calculator tells you which side of the $1,000 line you’re on.
What are the 2026 quarterly tax due dates?
For 2026 income: April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. The “quarters” are uneven — Q2 covers only April and May, while Q4 covers September through December. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday it shifts to the next business day; confirm current dates at irs.gov.
What happens if I missed a quarterly payment?
You don’t get a scary letter the next day — the cost is an interest-based underpayment penalty computed per quarter when you file. The right move is to pay as soon as you can rather than waiting for the next deadline, because the penalty accrues by the day. Enter what you’ve paid so far above and the calculator spreads the catch-up over the deadlines that remain.
Where does my income data go when I type it in?
Nowhere. This site is static — it has no server that could receive your numbers. The tax math is a small JavaScript program running on your own device, and your entries persist only in your browser’s localStorage. You can verify this in your browser’s DevTools Network tab, or by using the calculator with Wi-Fi switched off: it keeps working.
Is self-employment tax really 15.3% on top of income tax?
Essentially yes — 12.4% Social Security (up to the $184,500 wage base in 2026) plus 2.9% Medicare, applied to 92.35% of your net profit. It’s the both-halves version of the payroll tax employees split with their employer. Two softeners: half of it is deductible from your income, and if you also have W-2 wages, those use up the Social Security wage base first. The calculator handles both automatically.
What is the safe-harbor rule?
Pay at least 100% of last year’s total tax (110% if last year’s AGI was over $150,000) — or 90% of this year’s tax — through withholding and timely estimates, and the IRS charges no underpayment penalty even if you end up owing more in April. It’s the standard planning tool for income that’s hard to predict. Enter last year’s tax above and the calculator shows your penalty-safe minimum.
Does this include state income tax?
No — this is a federal estimator. State income tax ranges from zero in states like Texas and Florida to over 13% in California, with completely different rules per state, and a calculator that pretended to cover all 50 accurately would go stale within months. Budget separately for your state; our methodology page explains exactly what is and isn’t modelled.