Schedule SE Generator Report your self-employment tax

Fill out Schedule SE (Form 1040) online by copying in the amounts from your other schedules, and watch the official IRS schedule fill in as you type. Download it as a PDF or print it to attach to your return.

View the form on IRS.gov

How to fill it out: IRS instructions for Schedule SE

Whose self-employment income

As shown on your Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-SS, or 1040-NR. On a joint return, use the name of the spouse with the self-employment income. If you both have some, each of you files a separate Schedule SE.

The SSN of the person named above.

Your SSN stays on this device. The PDF is created in your browser, and nothing you type is uploaded or saved.

Net earnings (lines 1a to 4c)

Copy the amounts from your other schedules. For a negative amount, switch to Loss or Negative: it prints in parentheses, as the IRS asks.

Farm income (lines 1a and 1b) Optional

From Schedule F, line 34, and farm partnerships (Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), box 14, code A). Skip it if you use the farm optional method.

Only if you received social security retirement or disability benefits: CRP payments included on Schedule F, line 4b, or in Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), box 20, code AQ. Enter a positive number; the parentheses are printed.

Schedule C, line 31, plus Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), box 14, code A (other than farming). Ministers and members of religious orders: see the instructions for what else to include. Skip it if you use the nonfarm optional method.

Line 1a plus line 2, minus line 1b. Only church employee income? Skip lines 1a to 4b and enter 0 on line 4c.

If line 3 is more than zero, multiply it by 0.9235. Otherwise, enter the amount from line 3.

Only if you use one or both optional methods in Part II (step 5): lines 15 plus 17.

If it’s less than $400, stop: you don’t owe self-employment tax. Exception: if it’s under $400 and you had church employee income, enter 0 and continue.

Church employee income and line 6

Church employee income (lines 5a and 5b) Optional

Wages from a church or church-controlled organization that elected out of employer social security and Medicare taxes. Pay as a minister or member of a religious order doesn’t count here.

If less than $100, enter 0.

Your net earnings from self-employment.

Social security part (lines 7 to 10)

Line 7 is already printed: $176,100, the most combined wages and self-employment earnings subject to social security tax for 2025.

Boxes 3 and 7 of your Forms W-2 added together, plus railroad retirement (tier 1) compensation. If it’s $176,100 or more, skip lines 8b to 10 and go to line 11.

Unreported tips and uncollected wages (lines 8b and 8c) Optional

If zero or less, enter 0 here and on line 10.

Medicare part and totals (lines 11 to 13)

Line 10 plus line 11. Also enter it on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 4, or Form 1040-SS, Part I, line 3.

Optional methods (Part II)

Most people skip this. The optional methods can give you social security credit, or help with some credits, in a year with a loss or low earnings.

Farm and nonfarm optional methods (lines 15 to 17) Optional

Line 14 is printed on the form: $7,240, the maximum income for the optional methods. Check the instructions to see if you qualify.

The smaller of two-thirds of gross farm income (not less than zero) or $7,240. Also include it on line 4b.

The smaller of two-thirds of gross nonfarm income (not less than zero) or line 16. Also include it on line 4b. You can use this method no more than five times.

0 of 6 required

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Understanding Schedule SE

Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax, is where people who work for themselves figure the social security and Medicare tax on their net earnings. It’s similar to the taxes withheld from most employees’ pay, and the Social Security Administration uses it to figure your benefits.

You must file it if your net earnings from self-employment on line 4c are $400 or more, or if you had church employee income of $108.28 or more. The tax applies at any age, even if you already get social security or Medicare. For 2025 it’s 12.4% for social security on earnings up to $176,100, counting wages subject to social security tax, plus 2.9% for Medicare on all of your net earnings, and you can deduct half of it on Schedule 1.

Filling out Schedule SE step by step

Start with the name and SSN of the person who had the self-employment income. Then copy in your net profit or loss from Schedule C, line 31 (plus farm or partnership income, if any) and work down Part I: net earnings on lines 3 to 6, the social security part on lines 8 to 10, and the totals on lines 11 to 13. The generator doesn’t do the math, so figure each line with the instructions or your tax software, and use the Loss switch for negative amounts.

Every amount appears on the official schedule as you type. Once the required lines are done, download the PDF or print it and attach it to your return. Need a different form? Browse all tax form generators.

What you might ask about Schedule SE

Who has to file Schedule SE?

Anyone whose net earnings from self-employment on line 4c are $400 or more, or who had church employee income of $108.28 or more. That includes sole proprietors, freelancers, independent contractors, and partners with self-employment income. Ministers with an approved Form 4361, and members of certain religious sects with an approved Form 4029, may not need to file it.

How is self-employment tax figured?

Your net profit is multiplied by 92.35% to get your net earnings (line 4a). Social security tax is 12.4% of those earnings up to the yearly limit, $176,100 for 2025 minus any wages already subject to social security tax, and Medicare tax is 2.9% of all of them. Line 12 is the total, and half of it is your deduction on line 13.

Do my spouse and I file one Schedule SE together?

No. Each spouse with self-employment income files a separate Schedule SE, even on a joint return. Put the name and SSN of the spouse whose income it is at the top.

What if I have more than one business?

Combine the net earnings from all of them on one Schedule SE. A loss from one business reduces the income from another.

What are the optional methods in Part II?

They let you report a set amount of net earnings in a year with a loss or low income. That can give you social security credit and may help with the earned income credit, the additional child tax credit, or the child and dependent care credit, but it can also raise your self-employment tax. You can use the nonfarm optional method no more than five times.

Where do the totals go on my return?

Line 12 goes on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 4, and line 13 goes on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 15. Attach Schedule SE to your Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-SS, or 1040-NR. Form 1040-SS filers skip line 13.

Which tax year does this generator fill?

The 2025 Schedule SE, for 2025 returns. The social security wage limit changes every year, so for another year use that year’s schedule from IRS.gov.

Is my information safe?

Your entries never leave your browser. The PDF is generated on your device, and nothing you type, including your SSN, is uploaded to or stored by forms.app. Closing the page clears everything, so download or print the schedule first.

Is this Schedule SE generator free?

Yes. Fill out, download, and print as many copies as you need, with no fee and no account.