Free tool · Canadian self-employed
Self-employed tax calculator: what you actually keep
Enter what you invoice and what you spend, and see an estimate of your take-home after federal and provincial tax and CPP, plus how much to set aside from every invoice. Works for full-time freelancers and for a side hustle on top of a salary, in every province and territory.
1 · Where and when
2 · Your business
Before GST/HST. Expenses are everything deductible on your T2125: software, supplies, advertising, home office, vehicle, and the rest.
3 · Also employed? (optional)
Enter what you invoice
We need your gross revenue (and ideally your expenses) to estimate what you keep after tax and CPP.
How the estimate is figured.
Tax on profit, not revenue
You are taxed on net income, what is left after deductible expenses. The estimate runs that through the real 2025 or 2026 federal and provincial brackets with the basic personal amounts applied, so the number moves the way your return will.
CPP, both halves
The self-employed pay the employee and employer shares: 11.9% (QPP 12.6% for 2026) up to the year’s ceiling, plus the 8% second tier above it. The estimate deducts half of the base, a simplification that leaves the set-aside a little high. If you also earn a salary, your payroll contributions use up that room first.
What’s left out
Other credits are ignored, which makes the set-aside a little high. Provincial surtaxes and health premiums are ignored too, and those run the other way: they are added to the tax you owe, so in Ontario in particular the real bill is higher than this and you should set aside a little more. GST/HST is separate money entirely; see whether you must register with our $30,000 rule checker.
Uses the same tax model as Claimable’s in-app Safe-to-Spend estimate. Always confirm with the CRA or your accountant. Nothing here is tax advice. Sources: canada.ca, CPP/QPP on self-employment income and canada.ca, income tax instalments.
Questions
- How much should I set aside for taxes as a self-employed Canadian?
- A common rule of thumb is 25 to 30 percent of what you invoice, but the real number depends on your province, your income level, and your expenses. This calculator estimates it for your province and income: federal and provincial income tax plus CPP or QPP, expressed as dollars per $1,000 invoiced. Any GST/HST you collect is on top of that and is never your money to spend.
- How much tax will I pay on my side hustle on top of my salary?
- Side-hustle profit stacks on top of your salary, so it is taxed at your marginal rate from the first dollar. You do not get a second basic personal amount, your salary already used it. Tick the salary option in the calculator: it taxes your business profit in the brackets above your employment income and accounts for the CPP room your payroll contributions already use.
- Do I pay CPP on self-employment income?
- Yes, and you pay both halves, the employee and the employer share. That is 11.9% of net self-employment income between $3,500 and the year's ceiling ($74,600 in 2026), plus a second tier of 8% on income between that ceiling and the higher one ($85,000 in 2026). In Quebec, QPP works the same way, at 12.6% for 2026 (it was 12.8% for 2025). You deduct the employer half, the enhanced part of your own half and the whole second tier from taxable income; the rest of your half earns a credit. If you also have a salary, your payroll CPP uses up room first.
- Do I need to charge GST/HST too?
- Once your worldwide taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or across four consecutive quarters, registration is mandatory. GST/HST you collect is remitted to the CRA, it is never income, which is why this calculator keeps it separate. Use our free GST registration checker to see where you stand against the $30,000 rule.
- What counts as a deductible business expense?
- Anything reasonable you spend to earn business income: software and subscriptions, supplies, advertising, professional fees, bank fees, a share of your home costs if your home is your principal place of business or a space used only for the business where you regularly meet clients, vehicle costs for business driving, and capital assets through CCA. Every dollar you fail to track is taxed at your marginal rate.
- When do I actually have to pay, can I wait until April?
- Your balance for a tax year is due April 30 of the following year, even though self-employed returns are not due until June 15. And once your net tax owing is over $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) this year and in either of the two years before, the CRA asks for quarterly instalments, in March, June, September, and December. Setting aside the calculator's per-invoice amount as you get paid is what makes those dates painless.
- Are these numbers official?
- No. This is a representative estimate using real federal and provincial brackets, basic personal amounts, and self-employed CPP/QPP for 2025 and 2026. It deliberately ignores other credits and deductions, provincial surtaxes (Ontario and PEI), health premiums, and Quebec's separate provincial return mechanics. Credits it leaves out make the set-aside a little high; a surtax or a health premium is added to the tax you owe, so in Ontario the real bill is higher than this and you should set aside more. Confirm with the CRA or your accountant; nothing here is tax advice.
The expenses side is where you win
Keeping more starts with tracking everything.
The tax rates are fixed; your deductions aren’t. Claimable scans your receipts and suggests the CRA line on your T2125, tracks your home office, vehicle, and CCA, and keeps a running estimate of what you owe, so the money you spent earning counts against your income.
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