Researched by the ExpatMoneyEU Team · Last updated 14 November 2026 · Data: formula-only calculator — no country tax rates are hard-coded. Enter your own country’s rates; defaults are an example only.
Free freelance tax reserve calculator
The result updates instantly as you type. The reserve is your gross income multiplied by your combined tax and contribution rates. Share the link above and anyone opening it sees your exact inputs.
Illustrative figures notice: the default rates (25% income tax, 15% social contributions) are an example showing the calculator’s method — they are not the rates of any country. Enter your own country’s actual rates before relying on the result. Methodology: monthly reserve = monthly gross income × (tax rate + contribution rate); safe to spend = income − reserve; annual reserve = monthly reserve × months.
Worked example: €3,000 a month at 25% tax and 15% contributions
Example: reserve €1,200 a month — €14,400 a year — spend €1,800
Gross income of €3,000 times the combined 40% (25% tax + 15% contributions) gives a monthly reserve of €1,200. That leaves €1,800 a month safe to spend. Over 12 months the reserve is €14,400 and the spendable income is €21,600. Try it live in the calculator above: it is pre-filled with exactly this example. The lesson is the gap between the two numbers — a freelancer who spends the full €3,000 has no money left when the €14,400 bill arrives.
→ Freelance day rate calculator — price your work so the reserve gets fed every month
What is a tax reserve?
A tax reserve is money you set aside from every invoice, in a separate account, for the tax and social contributions you will owe later. As an employee, your employer deducts tax before you ever see your pay. As a freelancer, nobody deducts anything: the full invoice lands in your account, and the tax bill arrives months later as a lump sum. The reserve restores the deduction your employer used to make — you just make it yourself, on the day the money arrives.
Why the reserve is the freelancer’s first habit
Ask any experienced freelancer what they wish they had done from day one, and the answer is almost always the same: separate the tax money immediately. The failure mode is predictable and common — a good first year, a €10,000+ tax bill in year two, and no cash to pay it because the money was spent as income. A reserve of 25–40% of every invoice, moved to a separate account the day payment lands, is the cheapest insurance a freelancer can buy. It costs nothing and it prevents the single most common freelance money crisis.
→ Germany freelancer tax calculator — German rates, worked in full
How to use it in 4 steps
- Enter your monthly gross income excluding VAT — what you invoice, not what you keep. Use a three-month average if your income jumps around.
- Enter your income-tax rate for your country and income level. If you do not know it, ask your accountant or check your country’s tax authority — do not use the 25% default as a real rate.
- Enter your social-contribution rate — pension, health and unemployment contributions where they apply to freelancers in your country.
- Move the reserve the day you are paid: open a second account, and transfer the reserve percentage from every invoice the moment it lands. Spend only the “safe to spend” figure.
→ Netherlands ZZP freelancer tax calculator — Dutch rates, worked in full
The formula, with every variable explained
Monthly reserve = monthly gross income × (income-tax rate + social-contribution rate). Safe to spend = income − reserve. Annual reserve = monthly reserve × months.
Monthly gross income is what you invoice in a month, excluding VAT. Income-tax rate is the percentage of your income your country charges as income tax at your level — it rises with income in most countries, so a single rate is always an approximation. Social-contribution rate covers pension, health and other compulsory contributions for the self-employed, where they apply. Months is the period you are planning for, usually 12. Safe to spend is the money left after the reserve — the only figure you should treat as income. Annual reserve is what you will owe over the year at those rates, before deductions and allowances.
→ France micro-entrepreneur net income calculator — French rates, worked in full
Comparison: the reserve at different income levels
| Monthly income | Reserve at 40% combined | Safe to spend | Annual reserve |
|---|
Reserve rows are arithmetic on the example combined rate of 40% (25% tax + 15% contributions) at your entered months — they show the method, not any country’s real rates. Enter your own rates above for your exact figures.
Sources, methodology and disclaimer
Sources & methodology
Sources: formula-only calculator — no country tax or contribution rates are hard-coded or quoted. The 25–40% combined range is a planning rule of thumb used across European freelance guidance, not a rate for any country. Method: monthly reserve = income × (tax rate + contribution rate); safe to spend = income − reserve; annual reserve = monthly reserve × months. Illustrative figures: default rates and profile rows are examples of the method. Disclaimer: estimate only — not tax advice. Your real liability depends on your country, income, deductible expenses, allowances and legal form; verify with your country’s tax authority or a qualified tax advisor.
→ Spain autónomo net income calculator — Spanish rates, worked in full
You may also need
- Freelance day rate calculator — price your work so the reserve gets fed every month
- Free expat emergency fund calculator — keep your safety net in its own pot too
- Germany freelancer tax calculator — German rates, worked in full
Affiliate disclosure: the button below may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you — see our affiliate disclosure.
Hold the reserve in a separate multi-currency account, apart from your spending money:
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