Fill Out IRS Schedule SE (Form 1040) Online
Self-Employment Tax
Internal Revenue Service
Calculates the Social Security and Medicare tax owed on net earnings from self-employment.
Reviewed July 2026
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Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax, calculates the Social Security and Medicare tax owed on net earnings from self-employment. Employees split these taxes with their employer through payroll withholding; self-employed people pay both halves through Schedule SE.
You can complete Schedule SE in the Universal PDF editor: bring over your net profit from Schedule C or your K-1, follow the calculation lines, and download the finished PDF.
What is Schedule SE used for
Schedule SE converts your self-employment profit into the tax that funds Social Security and Medicare. The Social Security Administration uses the information from this schedule to credit your earnings record, which affects your future retirement and disability benefits.
The tax applies no matter your age, and even if you are already receiving Social Security or Medicare benefits.
Who needs to file Schedule SE
You generally must file Schedule SE when your net earnings from self-employment reach the filing floor stated in the official instructions, which is low enough that most active freelancers and business owners meet it. Church employee income has its own, separate floor.
- Sole proprietors and single-member LLC owners with net profit on Schedule C
- General partners with self-employment earnings on Schedule K-1
- Gig workers and independent contractors, even without a 1099 form
- Farmers with net farm profit on Schedule F
- Ministers and members of religious orders, under special rules in the instructions
How to fill out Schedule SE
Most filers only need Part I, which walks the profit through a short series of multiplications.
- Enter net farm profit and net nonfarm profit from Schedule F, Schedule C, and applicable K-1 amounts
- Multiply by the percentage shown on the form to get net earnings from self-employment
- Apply the Social Security wage base limit from the instructions, coordinating with any W-2 wages you also earned
- Calculate the Social Security and Medicare portions and add them for the total self-employment tax, which goes to Schedule 2
- Take the deduction for one-half of self-employment tax on Schedule 1
- Use Part II only if you elect an optional method to compute earnings in a low-profit year
How Schedule SE attaches to Form 1040
The self-employment tax lands on Schedule 2, which flows into total tax on Form 1040, and the deduction for half of the tax flows through Schedule 1. On paper returns, attach Schedule SE with your other schedules in sequence order.
Frequently asked questions
It is the Social Security and Medicare tax paid by people who work for themselves. It substitutes for the payroll taxes an employer would normally withhold and match.
Possibly. Self-employment earnings are taxed in addition to your wages, though the Social Security portion is coordinated with W-2 wages up to the annual wage base described in the instructions.
Yes. One-half of your self-employment tax is deductible as an adjustment to income on Schedule 1, which lowers your income tax but not the self-employment tax itself.
Yes. The tax applies regardless of age or whether you already receive Social Security or Medicare benefits.
They let farmers and some low-profit businesses report a minimum amount of self-employment earnings so they can keep building Social Security credits. The eligibility rules are in the official instructions.
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