What hourly rate do you need to make $100,000 as a freelancer?
To take home $100,000 a year with the default assumptions you need to charge about $144.21 per hour on 1,093 billable hours. That is revenue of $157,624, because taxes, expenses, health insurance and retirement come on top.
Rate by yearly take-home pay
Taking home $50,000 needs about $76.56 per hour and $150,000 about $211.22 with the default assumptions.
Assumptions: single filer, 4% state tax, 5 days of 8 hours, 33 days off, 60% billable, $450 health insurance and $500 retirement per month, $4,400 expenses a year, no buffer.
| Take-home per year | Revenue needed | Taxes | Hourly rate | Day rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $83,678 | $17,878 | $76.56 | $612 |
| $75,000 | $119,628 | $28,828 | $109.45 | $876 |
| $100,000 | $157,624 | $41,824 | $144.21 | $1,154 |
| $150,000 | $230,872 | $65,072 | $211.22 | $1,690 |
“Make $100,000”: take-home or revenue?
The phrase is ambiguous. If you mean take-home pay, the table above applies: the revenue you must bill is higher than the number you want to keep. If you mean revenue of $100,000, enter the take-home pay that is left after taxes, expenses and savings as your goal in the calculator.
The effect of billable hours
At $100,000 take-home, 50 percent billable time needs $173.05 per hour and 70 percent needs $123.61.
For $100,000 take-home the rate depends strongly on how much of your time you can bill:
| Billable share | Billable hours per year | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | 911 | $173.05 |
| 60% | 1,093 | $144.21 |
| 70% | 1,275 | $123.61 |
The effect of your state tax
Moving from a state without income tax to one with 8 percent changes the rate for $100,000 take-home from $137.31 to $151.93.
State and local income tax is entered as an effective percentage of profit. For $100,000 take-home:
| State tax rate | Total taxes | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | $34,286 | $137.31 |
| 4% | $41,824 | $144.21 |
| 8% | $50,265 | $151.93 |
| 10% | $54,876 | $156.15 |
Adding a buffer for late payments
A buffer of 10 percent raises the rate by about the same percentage and protects the take-home goal from late payments and slow weeks.
| Buffer | Revenue needed | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | $157,624 | $144.21 |
| 5% | $165,505 | $151.42 |
| 10% | $173,387 | $158.63 |
| 15% | $181,268 | $165.84 |
Make the numbers yours
Your state tax, filing status, health insurance, retirement savings and expenses move the result. Enter your own values in the calculator to see your minimum rate and the taxes to set aside per quarter.
Frequently asked questions
What hourly rate do I need to make $100,000 a year as a freelancer?
With the default assumptions about $144.21 per hour if you want to take home $100,000, which means $157,624 of revenue on 1,093 billable hours.
Why is the rate more than $100,000 divided by 2,080 hours?
A salary is paid for 2,080 hours a year, including paid time off. A freelancer bills only the hours that are sold, pays both halves of Social Security and Medicare and funds expenses, health insurance and retirement.