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Once a week: 5 things worth your time, not your feed. No noise, unsubscribe anytime.
1 story, 1 idea, 1 discovery, 1 tool, 1 book.
The Humanevi newsletter
Once a week: 5 things worth your time, not your feed. No noise, unsubscribe anytime.
1 story, 1 idea, 1 discovery, 1 tool, 1 book.
How much do you need to bill, freelancing, to not lose what you make today?
Things your employer covers today that you'd start paying for: health insurance, equipment, an accountant, workspace.
Required monthly revenue
$6,000
Equivalent hourly rate
$55.43
This is a simplified estimate for comparison — it doesn't replace full financial planning for a freelance transition, which should also account for an emergency fund and client seasonality.
Thinking of leaving your job to freelance and wondering how much you must bill to keep your current standard of living? This calculator starts from your present take-home pay, adds what your employer covers today that you would start paying for, and shows the monthly revenue and hourly rate you would need.
You enter today's monthly take-home pay, extra monthly freelance costs (health insurance, equipment, accountant), an estimated tax rate and billable hours per week. Current take-home plus costs is divided by one minus the tax rate, giving the monthly revenue needed. For the hourly rate, weekly hours are multiplied by 4.33 to get the month's billable hours, and the monthly revenue is divided by that figure. Costs raise the target, while a higher tax rate raises it even more.
Today you take home 5,000, would have 800 in monthly costs and pay 20% tax. The revenue needed is (5,000 + 800) ÷ 0.8 = 7,250 a month. With 20 billable hours a week, that is 86.6 hours a month, and the equivalent hourly rate is about 83.72.
This is a comparison estimate, not a full transition plan. It leaves out an emergency fund, client seasonality and any 13th salary or paid vacation you give up. The tax rate is capped at 95%. Also use a financial runway calculator before deciding.
