Self-Employment Tax by State (2026)

Why your state doesn't change your SE tax

Self-employment tax funds Social Security and Medicare, which are federal programs. Every freelancer in the United States pays the same 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, whether they work from Miami or San Francisco, and the Social Security portion stops at the same $184,500 wage base everywhere. No state can raise it or lower it.

What varies enormously is state income tax, which is charged on the same profit. Eight states take nothing at all. Fifteen apply a single flat rate. The rest use graduated brackets that climb with income — up to 13.3% at the top in California. On $80,000 of freelance profit, that difference is worth thousands of dollars a year, which is why so many location-independent freelancers watch it closely.

2026 state income tax at a glance

Each state name links to a full page for that state: what it adds on top of the federal 15.3%, worked figures, and the quarterly rules that apply there.

Top marginal rates shown for graduated states; most freelancers pay less than the top rate. CA, NY, NJ, OR, MN, DC, CT, MD, HI, and VA pages use exact statutory brackets matching the estimator. PA, MA, and IL use flat / exact; OH uses BID / exact (first $250k business income deductible, then 3%). *Ohio’s ~2.75% individual rate applies to nonbusiness income — Schedule C freelancers start with the BID. Some cities add local income tax — NYC, many PA / OH municipalities, and MD counties, for example. See the 2026 set-aside study for modeled set-aside % by state. Rates change; verify with your state revenue department before filing.

State × topic matrix (2026)

Every state has a self-employment tax landing. Quarterly, paycheck, and 1099 vs W-2 guides are filled for eight high-traffic states (California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey) with unique facts — not 51 cloned doorway pages. Remaining cells stay on the national calculators until they can be written to the same bar.

• Quarterly estimated taxes by state
• Paycheck take-home by state
• 1099 vs W-2 by state

Putting the two together

For original scenario data across all 50 states + DC, see the PiggyMath 2026 freelancer tax set-aside study (downloadable CSV; each row includes a state_quality badge).

Compare states in the state tax comparison calculator, or enter your profit and rate in the quarterly tax calculator to see federal self-employment tax, federal income tax and state tax combined into one quarterly payment. If your state has no income tax, just leave the state rate at zero.

One caution before you pack: no-income-tax states raise revenue elsewhere. Texas and New Hampshire have some of the highest property taxes in the country, and Tennessee and Nevada lean on sales tax. The headline rate is only part of the picture.

Frequently asked questions