{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Dataset",
  "name": "How do you calculate your freelance hourly rate?",
  "description": "Freelance hourly rate = (target take-home income + business expenses + taxes) / billable hours per year. A freelancer targeting $80K take-home with $10K expenses, ~30% tax burden, and 1,200 billable hours (25 hrs/week × 48 weeks) needs to bill ~$117/hour. Most freelancers under-price because they use 40 hrs/week × 52 weeks instead of realistic billable hours.",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/answers/how-do-you-calculate-freelance-hourly-rate",
  "dateModified": "2026-07-10",
  "creator": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "RevenueLab",
    "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi"
  },
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "keywords": [
    "Freelance Rate Calculator",
    "Creator Income Tax / Reserve"
  ],
  "distribution": {
    "@type": "DataDownload",
    "contentUrl": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/page.json?path=answers%2Fhow-do-you-calculate-freelance-hourly-rate",
    "encodingFormat": "application/json"
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  "json": {
    "type": "answer",
    "question": "How do you calculate your freelance hourly rate?",
    "shortAnswer": "Freelance hourly rate = (target take-home income + business expenses + taxes) / billable hours per year. A freelancer targeting $80K take-home with $10K expenses, ~30% tax burden, and 1,200 billable hours (25 hrs/week × 48 weeks) needs to bill ~$117/hour. Most freelancers under-price because they use 40 hrs/week × 52 weeks instead of realistic billable hours.",
    "tableTitle": "Freelance rate build-up example",
    "columns": [
      "Component",
      "Amount",
      "Notes"
    ],
    "rows": [
      {
        "label": "Target take-home",
        "value": "$80,000"
      },
      {
        "label": "Business expenses",
        "value": "$10,000",
        "note": "Software, hardware, coworking"
      },
      {
        "label": "Tax reserve (~30%)",
        "value": "$38,571",
        "note": "Self-employment + income"
      },
      {
        "label": "Total revenue needed",
        "value": "$128,571"
      },
      {
        "label": "Billable hours/yr",
        "value": "1,200",
        "note": "25/wk × 48 wks"
      },
      {
        "label": "Minimum hourly rate",
        "value": "$107",
        "note": "Below this you're subsidizing clients"
      }
    ],
    "context": "The single biggest freelance pricing mistake is treating 40 hours/week as billable. Realistic billable hours are typically 50–70% of your workweek — the rest is admin, sales, invoicing, and unpaid rework. If you bill $75/hour on a 60% utilization schedule, your effective rate is $45.",
    "methodology": "Standard freelance pricing formula. Tax reserve assumes US self-employment tax (15.3%) + ~15% federal + state — adjust for your jurisdiction.",
    "dateModified": "2026-07-10",
    "relatedCalculators": [
      {
        "label": "Freelance Rate Calculator",
        "to": "/freelance-rate-calculator"
      },
      {
        "label": "Creator Income Tax / Reserve",
        "to": "/creator-income-tax-calculator"
      }
    ],
    "relatedReading": []
  }
}