Self-Employed Hourly Rate Calculator
Work out the minimum hourly or daily rate you need to charge to hit a take-home income target, after realistic billable hours, expenses, Income Tax and National Insurance.
Admin, marketing, finding work
Region
Minimum rates
Minimum Hourly Rate
£37.81
At that turnover
Because Income Tax and National Insurance are progressive, the rate needed to hit a take-home target isn't a simple percentage markup - this is solved against the same engine as the Self Employed Tax Calculator. Treat this as a minimum: most freelancers price in a buffer for quiet periods, non-paying clients and business growth.
How the minimum rate is worked out
First, this works out your realistic billable hours: working days per week and hours per day, minus holiday weeks and non-billable time (admin, marketing, finding work), gives a genuine capacity figure rather than assuming every working hour is chargeable.
Then it solves backwards through the tax system
Because Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance are progressive, there's no fixed percentage you can gross a take-home target up by - the marginal rate on your last pound of profit is higher than on your first. This calculator solves for the turnover that actually produces your target take-home, using the same tax engine as the Self Employed Tax Calculator, then divides that by your billable hours and days.