What should a consultant in US charge?
Start from the income you want to take home. We add taxes, expenses, holidays and unpaid admin time, then tell you the hourly, daily and project rate that gets you there.
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| Billable share | Hourly |
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Quote a fixed project: add a 15% buffer for scope creep. For a 40-hour project that is –.
Consultant rates in other countries
Other professions in US
Guides to price with confidence
How to Calculate Your Freelance Hourly Rate, Step by Step
A five-step method to turn the income you want into an hourly and day rate, including tax, costs, time off and unpaid admin hours.
Read the guideHow to Quote a Fixed-Price Project Without Losing Money
Estimate hours by task, add a buffer, apply your hourly rate and protect the price with scope and change rules. Includes a worked example.
Read the guideHow Much Should a Freelancer Set Aside for Tax?
A simple system to reserve tax money from every invoice, with a worked example and what to check with your tax authority.
Read the guideFreelance Payment Terms: Deposits, Due Dates and Late Payments
How to set deposits, invoice due dates and a late-payment process so you get paid on time, with wording ideas for your proposals.
Read the guideConsultant rates in US: what to include
The starting figures are placeholders, not market data: a take-home goal of $70,000, business costs of $5,000 and 55% billable time. Change them to match your situation.
Typical business costs for a consultant include travel, insurance, software and time spent on proposals.
Worked example for a consultant in US
With the starting figures above ($70,000 take-home, $5,000 costs, 25% tax, 55% billable, 40 hours a week, 6 weeks off), you would need about $98,333 in revenue a year. Across roughly 1,012 billable hours, that is about $97 an hour or $428 a day. If your billable share fell to 40% the hourly figure rises to about $134; at 70% it falls to about $76. These are illustrations of the formula, not market rates: replace every input with your own.
How consultants usually price work
Consultants commonly use day rates, fixed-fee engagements or monthly retainers. Because selling and proposal writing take a lot of unpaid time, the billable share is often lower than for production work.
Where consultants lose money
- Unpaid discovery calls and proposals that never convert.
- Open-ended engagements without a defined outcome or end date.
- Travel time and expenses not written into the agreement.
Define the outcome, the deliverables, the client's responsibilities and what happens if the work grows.
Tax and admin in US
Freelancers in the US pay income tax plus self-employment tax (15.3% on net earnings, before deductions) and usually make quarterly estimated payments. A flat 25% is a rough blended estimate; check IRS guidance or an accountant.
Health insurance is not provided by an employer, so many freelancers add it to business costs.
- US clients usually ask for a W-9 before paying you, and report payments of $600 or more on a 1099-NEC (check current IRS thresholds).
- Sales tax on services depends on the state, so confirm whether your services are taxable where your client is.
- Quarterly estimated payments mean tax is due during the year, not only at filing time.
Tax year: calendar year. Authority: IRS. Rules and thresholds change: confirm on the official site.
Questions
Why is a consultant's billable share usually lower?
Business development, proposals and admin take time that no client pays for directly. A lower billable share raises the hourly rate you need, which is why the calculator lets you change it.
Do US freelancers need to pay self-employment tax?
Generally yes: self-employed people pay both the employee and employer parts of Social Security and Medicare tax on net earnings above a small floor. The IRS explains the current rules and rates on its self-employment tax page.
How the rate is calculated
Revenue needed = take-home income ÷ (1 − tax rate) + business costs. Billable hours = weekly hours × weeks worked × billable share. Hourly rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours.
Why not just divide a salary by 2,080 hours?
An employee is paid for holidays, admin and downtime. A freelancer is not. Those hours still need to be covered by the hours you do bill.
Is the tax rate accurate?
No. It is a single flat estimate, because rules differ by country and income. Check with an accountant before you set prices.