Why quarterly, and why this matters
As a freelancer, there is no employer withholding taxes from each paycheck. The IRS still expects the money throughout the year, so it asks you to send estimated payments four times a year: mid-April, mid-June, mid-September, and mid-January.
Missing those deadlines — or underpaying — triggers an underpayment penalty on top of what you owe. Most freelancers learn this the first April after going full-time, and it is not a pleasant lesson.
The three taxes you actually owe
A self-employed freelancer in the US pays three stacked taxes on net income (revenue minus expenses):
Self-employment tax — 15.3%
12.4% for Social Security plus 2.9% for Medicare. This replaces what an employer would normally split with you.
Federal income tax — roughly 17% effective on $50K–$150K
This is the effective rate after the standard deduction for most mid-range freelancer incomes, not the bracket rate.
State income tax — 0% to about 10%
Nine states charge no earned income tax (TX, FL, WA, NV, SD, WY, AK, TN, NH). California, New York, Hawaii, and Oregon sit at the high end.
A rough set-aside by location
If you want one number to aim at, set aside this share of every payment the moment it hits your account. These are estimates designed to slightly overshoot — better to get a refund than owe money with a penalty.
No-income-tax states (TX, FL, WA, NV, SD, WY, AK)
Set aside about 32%.
Most states
Set aside 35% to 38%.
California, New York, Hawaii
Set aside about 40%.
Oregon
Set aside about 41%.
How FreelanceFlow calculates your quarterly estimate
FreelanceFlow takes your tracked income and logged expenses, subtracts expenses from income to get your net, then applies the combined self-employment and income-tax rate for your state or country.
You see an estimated quarterly obligation updated in real time as you invoice and spend. No waiting until March, no reconstructing 12 months of bank statements, no surprise bill.
Expenses do the heavy lifting
Every legitimate business expense you log reduces your taxable income. Software subscriptions, a portion of your home office, a percentage of your phone bill, business travel, equipment — all of it can bring the number down.
The freelancers who owe the least are not the ones with tricks; they are the ones who log every expense consistently throughout the year. FreelanceFlow's expense tracker pushes every logged expense into the tax summary automatically.
What to actually send the IRS
Quarterly estimates go to the IRS on Form 1040-ES — either mailed with a voucher or paid online at IRS.gov via Direct Pay or EFTPS. Your state usually has its own parallel form and deadline.
FreelanceFlow does not file for you — no tool does, really. What it does is give you a clean quarterly number and an exportable summary so your accountant (or you) can handle the actual filing without digging through records.