How the maths works
Most day-rate advice fails because it divides target salary by 260 working days. Nobody bills 260 days: holidays, sales time, admin, gaps between contracts, and sick days typically cut billable days to 150–200 per year. This calculator uses your own billable estimate, adds business costs back in, then grosses up for a tax set-aside so the target you hit is take-home, not turnover.
The tax set-aside default (25%) is a planning buffer, not tax advice — your effective rate depends on your profits, allowances, and whether you operate as a sole trader or limited company. If you're tracking this properly, our guides cover freelance finance basics, and more tools are listed on the products page.