Business

Real hourly rate for freelance work

Freelance hourly rate wey go cover your income target, expenses and tax within the hours wey you fit bill.

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Your numbers

Income wey you target for one year ($)

Tax rate (%)

Expenses for one year ($)

Hours wey you work per week

Share wey you fit bill client for (%)

Weeks wey you work per year

Assumption about di amount wey tax apply to

Enter working weeks per year, weekly hours wey pass zero and billable share wey pass zero. All of dem na planning assumptions wey you fit edit.

Result dey update as you type; no Calculate button dey. All calculation dey run inside your browser.

Result

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Hours wey you fit bill / year: —Revenue wey you need: —

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How the result break down

Quantity wey we dey count	Value wey e get
Amount divided by di share wey remain	—
Share wey remain after di tax wey you enter	—
Hours wey you fit bill for one year	—
Revenue wey you need before tax	—
Rate wey you need per hour	—

For gross-revenue tax: revenue × (1 − tax rate) − expenses = income target. For profit-basis tax: (revenue − expenses) × (1 − tax rate) = income target. Di basis wey you choose na assumption, no be tax ruling.

Formula

Billable hours = weekly hours × working weeks × billable fraction Gross-basis revenue = (income target + expenses)/(1 − tax rate) Profit-basis revenue = income target/(1 − tax rate) + expenses Hourly rate = required revenue/billable hours

No minimum floor dey for retained share. Tax rate of 100% dey outside dis model.

Example wey show the calculation

For di default gross-revenue tax basis: target 240,000 + expenses 30,000 = 270,000. Divide by 0.8 to get revenue 337,500. Billable hours = 40 × 48 × 0.6 = 1,152. Rate wey you need = 337,500 / 1,152 = 292.96875 for each hour.

If you select profit-basis tax, di same example change to revenue 330,000 and required rate of 286.458333333 for each hour. Dis show why di tax-basis assumption matter.

Where e fit work and limits

Dis na planning model with one effective tax rate and working-year assumption wey you fit edit. E no apply tax brackets, social contributions, deductions or local rules. Confirm which expenses, if any, reduce your actual taxable base.

Unpaid administration, marketing, leave and downtime must reflect inside your working weeks or billable share. Required rate na break-even target for your assumptions, no be recommendation of market rate.

Version of di formula: 878ace17e7fa · Example don get check: 2026-10-31

Questions wey people dey ask often

Why two tax bases? Your actual situation fit allow expense deductions or no allow dem. Di choice change di arithmetic; e no determine whether you legally qualify for deductions.

Why 48 weeks? Na example wey you fit change to allow time off. Replace am with your own realistic number of work weeks for di year.

Wetin if billable time na zero? No finite hourly rate fit cover positive yearly target without hours wey you fit bill.

Other tools wey relate to dis

Meeting Cost — yearly value of time wey regular meeting dey take
Calculator for Salary After Deductions — pay wey you carry home after tax and deductions
Calculator for break-even point — sales volume wey cover fixed and variable costs

Results na estimates; dem no replace advice from qualified professional.