Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

Grossing up divides your pre-tax needed income by (1 − tax rate), which correctly finds the larger gross amount that, after that percentage is taken out in taxes, leaves you with your target take-home — simply subtracting a flat tax dollar amount would understate how much you actually need to bill.

Freelancers don't get paid time off by default — every week you don't work is a week with zero billable hours, so your annual target needs to be divided across fewer actual working weeks than a traditional 52-week employee calculation would assume, which directly raises the hourly rate needed.

Only hours you can actually invoice a client for — time spent on admin, marketing, proposals, and unpaid client communication should NOT be counted here, since that non-billable time is exactly why freelancers typically need a materially higher rate than "salary ÷ hours worked" would suggest.

Treat it as a floor, not a goal — it's the rate that covers your stated expenses and take-home target at exactly the billable hours you specified, with no buffer for slow months, unpaid invoices, or client project changes, so many freelancers price somewhat above this calculated minimum.