Software, insurance, accountant, equipment.
52 minus holiday, sick days and gaps between contracts.
Not days worked. Days a client pays for.
A planning estimate, not tax advice. UK tax depends on your structure, income band and IR35 status. Confirm with an accountant before setting rates.
Calculated entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
Set your target
Enter the income you want to take home in a year, before you think about rates at all.
Be honest about days
Billable days matter more than anything else here. Most people overestimate them badly.
Read the floor
The result is your minimum. Below it you work at a loss once tax and costs are paid.
How the calculation works
The calculation runs in the opposite direction to how most people price. Instead of picking a rate and hoping it adds up, it starts with the income you want and works out what has to be true for that to happen.
It grosses up your target income to cover tax and National Insurance, adds your business costs, then divides by your billable days. The figure that moves the result most is billable days, not the income target.
Three and a half billable days a week is realistic for a UK freelancer once you account for pitching, admin, invoicing and the gaps between contracts. Assuming five will produce a rate that looks competitive and quietly loses money.
What this calculator does not do
This is a planning estimate, not tax advice. UK tax depends on your structure, your income band and whether you operate through a limited company.
It does not handle IR35. An inside-IR35 engagement is taxed very differently and the equivalent rate is materially higher.
It does not account for pension contributions, income protection or holiday pay unless you include them in business costs.
Questions
How many billable days is realistic?
Three to four a week for most solo freelancers. Above four assumes almost no time for admin or finding the next contract.
Should I include unpaid work in the days?
No. Enter only days a client pays for. Unpaid time is already accounted for by the gap between billable days and a full week.
What tax percentage should I use?
Ask your accountant. Thirty percent is a common placeholder for a sole trader, but it varies a lot by structure and income.
My rate looks too high to charge. Now what?
Usually the days are unrealistic or the overhead is higher than the work can carry. Raising billable days or cutting costs helps more than lowering the rate.
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