Teaching · For Tutors · Taxes

Your profit pays
both halves of
Social Security.

Type your net profit from tutoring, any wages from a job and your filing status. The estimator builds your 2026 self-employment tax step by step and splits it across the four quarterly due dates.

Estimate the taxWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Tutoring business kit, $69 for 64 items.

The self-employment tax estimator

The worked example is a made-up tutor with $48,000 of profit and $12,000 of wages from a part-time job. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Teaching · For Tutors$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
Self-employment tax for the year in its Social Security, Medicare and Additional Medicare parts, the deduction for half of it, and the amount for each 2026 quarterly payment. It prints as a summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Independent tutors and other self-employed educators, and owners of small tutoring businesses who pay themselves from profit.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Tutoring business kit ($69) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The For Tutors space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Type your expected net profit for the year (income minus business expenses).
  2. Add any W-2 wages from a job and choose your filing status.
  3. Read the self-employment tax, its parts and the deduction for half of it.
  4. Add your income tax estimate to the quarterly amount and set the four dates in your calendar.
  5. Print the summary for your records or your tax preparer.

Estimate the tax

How the tax is worked out

Schedule SE, line by line, in general federal terms.

The worked example: a tutor with a part-time jobNet profit$48,000Schedule C× 92.35%$44,328net earnings× 15.3%$6,78212.4% + 2.9%÷ 4$1,695.55each quarterly paymentThe worked example: a tutor with a part-time jobNet profit$48,000Schedule C× 92.35%$44,328net earnings× 15.3%$6,78212.4% + 2.9%÷ 4$1,695.55each quarterly payment
Self-employed people pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare. The 92.35% factor stands in for the employer half an employee never sees taxed.

The arithmetic

Net earnings from self-employment are 92.35% of net profit; under $400, no self-employment tax is due. Social Security is 12.4% of net earnings up to the wage base ($184,500 for 2026) minus any Social Security wages from a job. Medicare is 2.9% of all net earnings. Together they are self-employment tax, and half of it is deductible when you work out income tax. Additional Medicare Tax is 0.9% of earnings above $200,000 (single or head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately), less your wages.

Quarterly payments

The IRS expects estimated payments from people who will owe $1,000 or more when they file. For 2026 income the dates are April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. This page covers only self-employment tax: income tax on the same profit is extra, and state taxes are not included. A tax professional or IRS Publication 505 can help with safe-harbor amounts.

Sources

  1. Internal Revenue Service. Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax, and its instructions (irs.gov).
  2. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business, and Topic No. 554, Self-Employment Tax (irs.gov).
  3. Internal Revenue Service. Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax, and Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals: 2026 due dates (irs.gov).
  4. Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base: $184,500 for 2026 (ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html).

The worked example is made up. This is an estimate of federal self-employment tax in general terms, not tax advice; it does not include income tax or state taxes. Your figures stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.