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1099 contract or W2 job?
See which one actually pays more.

Put in both offers. We line up taxes, benefits, time off and retirement match side by side, and show every number so you can check our work.

W2 offerThe salaried job
?
Put in your W2 salary.
$/yr
?
Enter the total number of bonuses you expect for the year. Although these usually have a higher witholding, they are still taxed at the same rate as your salary. Bonuses also count for Social Security and Medicare.
$/yr
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Enter the percent of your salary your employer adds to your 401(k) (or similar plan) when you contribute. We add that match to the W2 package. Your own contributions aren't included on either side, so the comparison stays even.
%
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Enter the MONTHLY cost of your benefits. Only include the amount the EMPLOYEE pays. Do not include the amount the EMPLOYER pays. This usually includes your Medical, Dental, and Long Term Disability. This assumes these are taken out pre-Tax as they are part of a qualified Section 125 cafeteria plan.
$/mo
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Enter the YEARLY cost of your Flexible Spending Accounts. This would be things like your Dependent Care or Medical FSA. Other examples include a Commuter package or if you have a high deductble health plan that allows you to contribute to a Health Savings Account. For 2026 the health FSA limit is 3,400; dependent care, commuter and HSA money have their own limits.
$/yr
1099 contractWorking for yourself
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This is the hourly rate that you will bill for your services We use this to calculate your yearly salary via an 8 hour day and a 5 day week.
$/hr
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Enter your business expenses PER YEAR. These are items that would lower your schedule C "Net Profit". DO NOT INCLUDE MEDICAL EXPENSES. This might also include deductions such as the home office deduction, rather than actual expenses.
$/yr
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Enter the MONTHLY cost of your benefits. This usually includes your Medical, Dental, and Long Term Disability. We take it as the self-employed health insurance deduction, up to your business's profit.
$/mo
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This one is the most complicated.For most people who just have one "job" they would take this. However, if you know you have other factors that may eliminate the QBI deduction then consider not taking it for calculation purposes. Sorry, this is not a tax platform so we don't account for partial QBI based on other income. Other factors to consider are whether you are an SSTB. Consider running the calculator for both scenarios if you are not sure. For more info, click here. We figure it only while your taxable income is at or below the QBI threshold (201,750 for 2026); above that it depends on things we can't see, so we show $0.
BothApplies to either offer
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When deciding on this, we recommend including the same number of days that you will get paid time-off from the salary position you are comparing. In addition to the standard considerations such as Holiday, Vacation, and Sick days; be sure to consider other items such as flex days or paid time off to do non-profit work.
days
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Choose 2026 or 2025. Brackets, the standard deduction, the Social Security wage base and the QBI threshold change with the year; the standard deduction field updates when you switch.
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The calculator will only calculate for a SINGLE filer. If you anticipate you will NOT take the Standard Deduction from your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), you can enter what you think you will put for your Itemized deduction. However, please note if you put in a deduction that indicates you are married, it will still calculate rates based on SINGLE filer. We hope to upgrade the calculator in the future to account for different filer statuses. This field will auto-populate the standard deduction based on what tax year you put in.
$
How the calculator works

Disclaimer: This tool is designed to help you compare two compensation packages: self-employed (1099) and salaried (W2). We have done our best to be accurate, but the information should not be considered professional advice. For all tax questions please consult your tax professional.

Key Details: This tool has the following assumptions: 8-hour day, 5-day work week, tax-filing status of Single, your employer’s 401(k) match counts toward the W2 package (your own retirement contributions aren’t included on either side), and no other income sources will be declared. It does NOT account for State taxes.

We have pre-filled the fields with sample values, but you can change any based on your scenario. For example, change the standard deduction if you plan on itemizing to take a larger deduction. Or, increase the business expenses field as appropriate (home office, Internet bill, etc.).  We do include many features other calculators on the web are missing, such as:

  • Flexible Spending Accounts,
  • Employer matching 401k,
  • Your retirement savings,
  • Self-Employed Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction,
  • Self-Employed Healthcare Premium deduction,
  • 2026 tax brackets, standard deduction and Social Security wage base (2025 too),
  • Built-in links to assist understanding each term,
  • and more…including showing total cash and total package

However, each of these may have nuances based on your specific situation that we cannot account for such as: QBI has specialty rules for entity type and SSTB (we only figure it below the QBI income threshold), you might ammoritize equipment, dependents, disabilities, other income sources, etc.

In the results pane, you see the exact numbers we calculate so you can check the work yourself and adjust based on your unique needs. We would love for the popularity of our calculator to merit building an even more robust version which would include State taxes, tax-filing status, and more –  so please tell us what you think!

How this site works

Short version first. Long version if you want it.

This website is for anyone interested in understanding the difference between two employment types … contractor (1099) vs. salaried (W2) employment. If you are here for our calculator to help compare job offers, click here.

Browse the guides →

Guides

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