Side Income Calculator
What a side hustle really adds to your income after costs and taxes.
A side hustle earns a gross rate, but the amount that actually lands in your pocket is smaller once business costs and taxes are removed. This calculator walks your side gig through both.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Hourly rate, Hours per week on it, Monthly costs, Estimated tax rate
- What you get
- Estimated monthly take-home, Estimated yearly take-home
- Formula shown
- Yes — every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only — always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Side Income Calculator
- 1 Enter Hourly rate
- 2 Enter Hours per week on it
- 3 Enter Monthly costs
- 4 Enter Estimated tax rate
- 5 Press Calculate. You get Estimated monthly take-home, Estimated yearly take-home, and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 6 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result — that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
$35 an hour, 8 hours a week, modest costs
A small side project with a 20% tax estimate.
You enter
- Hourly rate
- $35.00
- Hours per week on it
- 8
- Monthly costs
- $80.00
- Estimated tax rate
- 20%
You get
- Estimated monthly take-home
- $905.92
- Estimated yearly take-home
- $10,871.04
Gross looks like a four-figure month, but costs and tax pull the take-home down — the yearly figure is the honest measure of what the work adds to your life.
$50 an hour but 12 hours a week and higher costs
A busier side business with a 25% tax estimate.
You enter
- Hourly rate
- $50.00
- Hours per week on it
- 12
- Monthly costs
- $250.00
- Estimated tax rate
- 25%
You get
- Estimated monthly take-home
- $1,761.00
- Estimated yearly take-home
- $21,132.00
Doubling the hours does not double the profit once costs and tax are counted — this is the comparison worth running before scaling up.
Guides that go with it
How to Budget Your Money When Your Income Changes Every Month
A predictable salary makes budgeting almost boring. Freelance and self-employed income does the opposite: one month is fat, the next is thin, and your rent does not care which. By the end of this guid…
How to Save Money on a Low Income Without Feeling Overwhelmed
Saving on a tight income is not about willpower. It is about lowering the number of decisions you have to make each week, then letting a simple system do the rest. By the end of this guide you will ha…
How to Budget Money for Rent, Food, Bills, Savings and Fun
By the end of this guide you will have a working monthly budget that covers rent, food, bills, savings and a bit of fun, built around your actual income rather than a template you found online. Set as…
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to declare side income?
In most countries, yes — income is income whether it arrives as a payslip, an invoice or a marketplace payout, and thresholds for declaring it are usually low. This calculator lets you model the tax so the money you count as profit is closer to what you keep. Rules differ by country: check yours before assuming a side income is tax-free.
What counts as a monthly cost?
Anything you spend to earn the income: materials, platform or marketplace fees, software subscriptions, equipment you replace regularly, and travel that is genuinely for the work. Do not include one-off purchases in full — spread them over the months they serve, or leave them out and subtract them separately.
How many hours should I enter?
Your realistic average, including the admin time nobody bills for — replying to messages, listing items, invoicing. Entering only the “fun” hours overstates the effective hourly rate and is the most common way people talk themselves into a side hustle that pays less than their main job.
Is the hourly comparison fair against my job?
Compare the take-home monthly figure, not the gross rate. Then ask what else the side income costs: evenings, weekends, and the risk that demand dries up. A side income that pays less per hour than your main job is not automatically a bad idea — but you should choose it knowing the number.