Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Hourly rate to charge
$102.56
8-hour day rate
$821
Billable hours per year
1404
Revenue needed per year
$144,000
Revenue needed per week
$3,000
Overhead cost per billable hour
$17.09
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter target take-home income ($).
- 2Enter annual overhead ($).
- 3Enter working weeks per year.
- 4Enter working hours per week.
- 5Enter billable share of hours (%).
- 6Enter tax rate on profit (%).
- 7Read your hourly rate to charge on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Billable hours are never 40 per week. Once you subtract bidding, driving, and admin, most solo trades bill 55–70% of their working time.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Target take-home income: 90000 $
- Annual overhead: 24000 $
- Working weeks per year: 48
- Working hours per week: 45
- Billable share of hours: 65 %
- Tax rate on profit: 25 %
Results
- Hourly rate to charge: $102.56
- 8-hour day rate: $821
- Billable hours per year: 1,404
- Revenue needed per year: $144,000
- Revenue needed per week: $3,000
- Overhead cost per billable hour: $17.09
What each field means
Inputs
- Target take-home income ($)
- The target take-home income used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 90000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Annual overhead ($)
- The annual overhead used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 24000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Working weeks per year
- The working weeks per year used in the calculation. Starts at 48 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–52.
- Working hours per week
- The working hours per week used in the calculation. Starts at 45 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–90.
- Billable share of hours (%)
- The billable share of hours used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 65 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 10–100 %.
- Tax rate on profit (%)
- The tax rate on profit used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 25 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–60 %.
Results
- Hourly rate to charge
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- 8-hour day rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Billable hours per year
- Returned as a decimal number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Revenue needed per year
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Revenue needed per week
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Overhead cost per billable hour
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
How does the contractor hourly rate calculator work?
Billable hours are never 40 per week. Once you subtract bidding, driving, and admin, most solo trades bill 55–70% of their working time. The underlying maths is: Rate = (target income + overhead) ÷ billable hours ÷ (1 − profit margin).
What do I need to enter?
6 values: target take-home income, annual overhead, working weeks per year, working hours per week, billable share of hours, and tax rate on profit. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move.
What does the hourly rate to charge result mean?
It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds.
Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser.
How accurate is the result?
It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
Who is this tool for?
It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Contractor Hourly Rate Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/contractor-hourly-rate
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/contractor-hourly-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contractor Hourly Rate Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Contractor Hourly Rate Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/contractor-hourly-rate) (2026).