How much should I set aside for taxes?
Nothing was withheld from your 1099 income, so the tax bill arrives all at once. This is the same rough band PrivateBooks uses inside the app — a planning guide, not a tax calculation.
Your profit — what's left after business costs — not what the platforms paid you. Starts with an example; type your own over it.
to set aside from $18,000 of profit (25–30%).
Roughly, per quarterly payment:
Where 25–30% comes from
Self-employment tax is about 15% of your net profit on its own — that's the Social Security and Medicare that an employer would normally split with you. Federal income tax sits on top of it, at a rate that depends on your total household income. For most people with modest 1099 profit, the two together land somewhere in this band.
It's a rule of thumb, not your actual bill. Your real number depends on your filing status, other income, credits, deductions and your state. A big W-2 job alongside this work pushes you up the band; a low-income year with credits can push you below it.
When it's due
Estimated tax is paid quarterly, not once a year:
- April 15
- June 15
- September 15
- January 15 (following year)
Missing them can mean a penalty even if you pay the full amount in April. If you're already behind, paying what you can as soon as you can generally beats waiting.
The easy version
Open a second checking account. Every time money lands, move 25–30% of the profit across and don't touch it. That one habit prevents most of the panic.
This is a planning estimate, not tax advice, and not a substitute for a preparer. PrivateBooks shows the same band against your real books once you've imported a year — and tracks the estimated payments you've actually made against it.