How Much to Charge to Make $100k a Year (Freelance or Self-Employed)
5 min read·Updated June 2026
It is not $48 an hour
People assume $100,000 a year means about $48 an hour, which is $100,000 divided by 2,080 working hours. That number is a trap. It ignores tax, expenses, time off, and the simple fact that you cannot bill every hour you work. The real rate is far higher.
Work backward through the leaks
Start from take-home and add back what eats it. To keep $100,000 after roughly 25 percent in tax, you need about $133,000 in profit. Add business expenses, say $8,000, and you need $141,000 in revenue. That is the number your rate has to produce.
Then divide by billable hours, not all hours
Here is the part that surprises people. You might work 40 hours a week, but admin, marketing, and quoting are not billable. If you bill 25 hours a week across 48 weeks, that is 1,200 billable hours. $141,000 over 1,200 hours is about $118 an hour, not $48. Same income, completely different rate.
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