How the Side Hustle Income Calculator works

Side hustles are messy in real life: you might charge hourly sometimes, sell fixed-price projects other times, lose a slice to platform fees, and still pay for tools, supplies, ads, gas, or software. This calculator turns that chaos into a clean set of numbers you can use to plan: gross income, take-home income, and the hours you actually need to hit a target.

The calculator has three income “streams” you can mix and match: (1) hourly work, (2) fixed monthly income (like retainers), and (3) per-project income. Then it subtracts platform/processing fees, subtracts expenses, and optionally estimates taxes. The result is a realistic “what lands in my bank account” number.

We first compute your gross income (before fees, expenses, and taxes) by adding:

• Hourly gross = Hourly rate × Hours per week × Weeks per year
• Monthly fixed gross = Monthly fixed income × 12
• Project gross = Average project price × Projects per month × 12

So: Gross annual = (hourly rate × hours/week × weeks/year) + (monthly fixed × 12) + (project price × projects/month × 12)

Many platforms take a cut: marketplaces, gig sites, payment processors, app stores, even invoicing tools. We apply a single percentage to your total gross to estimate this: Annual fees = Gross annual × (Fee % ÷ 100).

If you don’t pay platform fees (for example, all clients pay you via bank transfer), set it to 0%. If you use Stripe/PayPal or marketplaces, use a realistic blended rate (often 2%–20% depending on the platform).

Expenses are what you pay to produce the income: software subscriptions, equipment, training, ad spend, materials, mileage, shipping, etc. We treat expenses as a monthly number: Annual expenses = Monthly expenses × 12.

After fees and expenses: Net (pre-tax) = Gross annual − Annual fees − Annual expenses. This is the number that matters for decisions like “Can I afford to cut hours at my day job?” or “Is my side hustle worth the time?”

Taxes vary widely by country, state, and filing situation. To keep this calculator fast and universally useful, we treat taxes as a simple percentage. If you enter a tax rate: Estimated tax = max(Net pre-tax, 0) × (Tax % ÷ 100). Then: Net after tax = Net pre-tax − Estimated tax.

If you want the “cleanest” planning number, use your expected marginal tax rate for self-employment income or an effective blended rate. If you’re unsure, you can leave it blank and the calculator will show net before tax.

Many side hustles feel high-paying until you account for fees, expenses, and the hours you spend finding clients, revising work, or handling admin. This calculator estimates your effective hourly rate from your total time: Effective hourly = Net pre-tax ÷ (Hours per week × Weeks per year).

If you don’t do hourly work (hours/week is 0), we’ll skip this metric to avoid misleading results.

Side hustle income examples (realistic scenarios)

Example 1: Freelance design on weekends

• Hourly rate: $45
• Hours/week: 8
• Weeks/year: 48
• Monthly fixed: $0
• Project work: $0
• Fees: 3%
• Expenses: $60/month
• Tax rate: 22%

Gross annual = 45 × 8 × 48 = $17,280. Fees (3%) ≈ $518. Expenses = 60 × 12 = $720. Net pre-tax ≈ $16,042. Estimated tax (22%) ≈ $3,529. Net after tax ≈ $12,513 (about $1,043/month).

Example 2: Two projects per month + small retainer

• Monthly fixed income: $300
• Project price: $900
• Projects/month: 2
• Fees: 10%
• Expenses: $150/month

Gross annual = (300×12) + (900×2×12) = 3,600 + 21,600 = $25,200. Fees (10%) = $2,520. Expenses = 150×12 = $1,800. Net pre-tax ≈ $20,880 (about $1,740/month).

Example 3: Goal-driven planning (hit $10,000 net)

Say your goal is $10,000 net (pre-tax) this year. You charge $30/hour and can work 6 hours/week for 50 weeks. Gross = 30×6×50 = $9,000 — not enough. You could either raise your rate, add a monthly retainer, or add one project per month. Goal planning is the point: this calculator makes the gap visible so you can design how to close it.

Planning tips (what to do with the numbers)

• Use net (pre-tax) for “is this worth it?” decisions. That’s the money you keep after costs and fees.
• Use effective hourly to price yourself. If it’s lower than you want, raise prices or cut overhead.
• Turn your goal into a system. Decide which lever you’ll pull: rate, hours, projects/month, or retainers.
• Keep two scenarios saved. One “baseline” and one “stretch.” It makes decisions faster.
• Don’t ignore expenses. Even $50/month becomes $600/year — that’s often a whole extra project.

Note: This calculator is for planning and education. For legal/tax decisions, consult a professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does this include self-employment tax?

  Not automatically. Taxes vary too much by location and filing status. Use the Tax Rate field to approximate your total effective rate. If you want to estimate more precisely, you can use our Effective Tax Rate Calculator and then enter that percentage here.

• What if my income is irregular?

  Use your best monthly average. For example, if you earn $3,000 over three months, use $1,000/month. For deeper planning, pair this with our Irregular Income Budget Calculator.

• How should I estimate platform fees?

  Use a blended percentage. If you use a marketplace that takes 20% plus payments around 3%, you might enter 23%. If you don’t pay fees, enter 0%.

• Why is my effective hourly rate so low?

  Fees and expenses reduce your take-home, and many side hustles require admin time. If you only log “billable hours,” the true hourly can feel surprising. Use this metric to justify price increases or process improvements.

• Can I use this calculator for multiple side hustles?

  Yes. Treat each hustle as a scenario: fill in the numbers, save it, then compare. Many people find one hustle is 2× more profitable per hour.