Guides
Pricing, taxes and time for US freelancers, with the math shown.
- How many billable hours do freelancers really have in a year?Start from 2,080 hours, subtract holidays, vacation, sick days and admin, and see how billable hours change the rate you need to charge.
- Day rate vs hourly rate: which should freelancers charge?When a day rate beats an hourly rate, how to convert one into the other, and how to set half-day and weekly rates without losing money.
- How to quote a freelance project: hours, buffer, expenses and depositA step-by-step way to turn an estimate into a fixed-price quote, with a contingency buffer, pass-through expenses and a deposit, plus a worked example.
- Hourly to salary conversion chart for 2026 (and what it means for freelancers)Hourly to yearly, monthly and weekly pay from $20 to $150 an hour, plus salary to hourly, benefits value from BLS data and the freelance reality check.
- Self-employment tax explained: 2026 rates, wage base and examplesSelf-employment tax in 2026: 15.3% on 92.35% of profit, the $184,500 Social Security wage base, the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax and worked examples.
- How to calculate your freelance hourly rate (with 2026 tax numbers)A five-step method to price your time: start from take-home pay, add expenses and self-employment tax, divide by the hours you can really bill.