Free calculator · 2026 tax year
W-2 vs 1099 Job Offer Calculator for Nurses, NPs and CRNAs
Put a W-2 job and a 1099 contract side by side after taxes, the benefits you’d replace and retirement saving, and find the 1099 rate that breaks even.
A 1099 rate always looks bigger than a W-2 rate for the same work. Some of the difference is real money. The rest pays for things the employer covered: its half of Social Security and Medicare, health insurance, paid time off, a retirement match and often malpractice coverage. This calculator puts both offers on the same footing, then tells you the 1099 hourly rate that would match the W-2 job.
Start from the example closest to your situation, then open each offer’s details and put in what you’ve actually been quoted. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
| A year | W-2 | 1099 |
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How to read the result
Spendable cash is what’s left after the extra tax each job causes, your own retirement saving, health care, insurance and work costs. Cash plus retirement adds back your retirement saving and any employer money, at face value. It’s the fairer comparison if you’d save the same either way, which is why it’s the default.
The break-even rate holds the 1099 hours, weeks and costs you entered and finds the hourly rate that matches the W-2 offer. If the 1099 offer pays more than that, it wins on money; if it pays less, the W-2 job does. With the guide’s assumptions, a $65-an-hour W-2 job breaks even at about $80 to $84 on a 1099, depending on the QBI deduction.
My take: treat a 1099 offer 15% to 30% above your W-2 rate as break-even, not a raise. Then weigh what the money can’t show: steady hours, who covers you if a contract ends, and whether the work counts toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness. As of October 2026, 1099 work generally doesn’t.
What the calculator assumes
- Taxes, 2026: federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), the $184,500 Social Security wage base, Social Security and Medicare on W-2 pay, self-employment tax on 1099 profit (15.3% of 92.35%, the Social Security part only up to the wage base), the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, and a flat state rate on taxable income. Each offer carries the extra household tax it causes on top of your other income.
- QBI deduction, when checked: 20% of 1099 profit after half of self-employment tax, retirement contributions and the health deduction, capped at 20% of taxable income. Health work is a specified service business, so it shrinks above $201,750 of taxable income ($403,500 joint), and past $276,750 ($553,500) only the new 2026 minimum of $400 is left.
- Health deduction, when checked: the health insurance cost you enter for the 1099 offer is deducted from income, as the self-employed health insurance deduction allows, up to your profit. It isn’t allowed for months you could join an employer-subsidized plan, yours or a spouse’s, and out-of-pocket costs don’t count, so uncheck it or lower the amount if that applies.
- Retirement: 1099 retirement saving is capped at what a solo 401(k) allows on that profit: the $24,500 employee deferral plus 20% of profit after half of self-employment tax, up to $72,000 (2026, under 50). It doesn’t check whether you’ve already used your deferral at another job. W-2 limits aren’t checked.
- Left out: credits, itemized deductions, S corporations, the value of paid time off beyond the weeks you enter, PSLF eligibility, and whether the job is classified correctly.
FAQ
What 1099 rate equals a W-2 job?
Usually 15% to 30% more per hour. With four weeks of paid time off, employer health coverage and a 4% match, a $65-an-hour W-2 job takes about $80 to $84 an hour on a 1099 to match, single filer, 2026 federal tax, no state income tax. The calculator works out your own number from your offers.
Do 1099 nurses pay more tax?
On Social Security and Medicare, yes. A 1099 worker pays both halves, 15.3% on 92.35% of profit, instead of the 7.65% taken from a W-2 paycheck. Income tax can be lower, though, because half of that tax, business costs, health premiums, solo 401(k) contributions and the 20% QBI deduction come off your income first.
How do I count paid time off in a W-2 offer?
Keep it in the yearly pay, since you’re paid for those weeks, and leave it out of the weeks worked. A W-2 job paying for 52 weeks with four weeks off has 48 weeks worked. A 1099 contract has no paid time off, so its weeks worked are the weeks you’d bill.
Can I deduct health insurance on 1099 income?
Often, yes. The self-employed health insurance deduction lets you deduct premiums you pay, up to your 1099 profit, for months when neither you nor your spouse could join an employer-subsidized plan. It lowers income tax, not self-employment tax. These are the rules as of October 2026.
Does a 1099 contract count toward PSLF?
Generally no. Public Service Loan Forgiveness needs full-time employment by a government or 501(c)(3) nonprofit employer, and a 1099 contractor isn’t an employee. That’s the rule as of October 2026; check the PSLF Help Tool on studentaid.gov for your employer.
Keep going
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Brackets, standard deductions and section 199A amounts: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Wage base: Social Security Administration, 2026. Self-employment tax: IRS Schedule SE. Additional Medicare Tax: Form 8959.
- Self-employed health insurance deduction: IRS Form 7206 and instructions. QBI: Form 8995 instructions; Treasury Regulation 1.199A-5; IRC 199A(i) for the $400 minimum (Public Law 119-21).
- Retirement limits: IRS Notice 2025-67. Loan forgiveness: 34 CFR 685.219 and studentaid.gov.
I’m an emergency physician, not a CPA, financial advisor or attorney. This calculator is an educational estimate, not tax or legal advice, and it can’t see your whole return. Check the numbers with a tax professional before you sign a contract.