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What a Filipino freelancer actually keeps

Put in what you earn a month. This works out your income tax on every route the BIR allows you, picks the cheapest one you are eligible for, adds SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG, and shows the number that lands in your pocket. It also runs backwards: tell it what you want to keep and it tells you what to charge.

Nothing you type leaves your device. There is no account, no upload and no tracking of your figures.

What you keep

Everything below is worked out in your browser as you type. The default is PHP 50,000 a month, which is where most of the worked examples on this page start.

What you earn a month PHP Before any expenses. Use your average month. Business expenses a year PHP Only counts for the itemized route, and only with receipts.

Tax a month

PHP 2,333

Contributions a month

PHP 8,150

You keep

PHP 39,517

On PHP 50,000 a month the cheapest route open to you is 8% flat tax. That is PHP 28,000 of tax for the year, and 20.97% of your billing never reaches you.

What to charge

The same arithmetic, backwards. Tell it what you want in your pocket and it solves for the smallest amount you have to bill to get there.

What you want to keep a month PHP After tax and contributions. Billable hours a week hrs Hours you actually invoice, not hours worked.

Bill a month

PHP 62,050

Hourly rate

Same, in US dollars

Pesos per US dollar PHP Set this to today's rate. It is only used for the dollar figure and nothing else on the page.

Earning more can leave you with less

The 8% route closes once your gross receipts pass PHP 3,000,000 a year, or PHP 250,000 a month, because past that you have to register for VAT. There is no easing in. You fall onto a dearer route from one peso to the next.

Billing PHP 250,000 a month leaves you PHP 221,017. Billing PHP 251,000 leaves you PHP 203,295. That is PHP 17,722 less take-home for PHP 1,000 more work. You do not earn your way back to PHP 221,017 until you are billing about PHP 272,612 a month, so there is a band roughly PHP 22,612 wide where taking on more work costs you money.

This is worth planning around near year end. It is gross receipts for the year that count, not any single month.

The three routes, priced

A non-VAT self-employed freelancer picks one of three ways to be taxed. These are worked at PHP 50,000 a month with no expenses, so the numbers move once you use the calculator.

8% flat tax

8% of gross receipts above PHP 250,000. Replaces income tax and percentage tax.

PHP 600,000 gross - PHP 250,000 allowed deduction = PHP 350,000
PHP 350,000 x 8% = PHP 28,000
No separate percentage tax on this option.

Graduated + 40% OSD

Deduct a flat 40% of gross, then use the graduated table. You keep no receipts for this.

PHP 600,000 gross - 40% standard deduction = PHP 360,000 taxable
Graduated tax on PHP 360,000 = PHP 16,500
Percentage tax PHP 600,000 x 3% = PHP 18,000

Graduated + itemized

Deduct your real business expenses, then use the graduated table. You must keep every receipt.

PHP 600,000 gross - PHP 0 expenses = PHP 600,000 taxable
Graduated tax on PHP 600,000 = PHP 62,500
Percentage tax PHP 600,000 x 3% = PHP 18,000

The 8% figure replaces both income tax and the 3% percentage tax. The two graduated routes pay the percentage tax on top, which is why they trail unless your receipted expenses are large.

What you keep at each income

Every row is computed, not rounded off a rule of thumb. Pesos per month, except where noted.

You bill	Tax	Contributions	You keep	Cheapest route
15,000	0	3,400	11,600	8% flat tax
25,000	333	5,400	19,267	8% flat tax
40,000	1,533	7,650	30,817	8% flat tax
60,000	3,133	8,650	48,217	8% flat tax
80,000	4,733	9,650	65,617	8% flat tax
120,000	7,933	10,650	101,417	8% flat tax
200,000	14,333	10,650	175,017	8% flat tax
250,000	18,333	10,650	221,017	8% flat tax
300,000	46,542	10,650	242,808	Graduated + 40% OSD

The graduated income tax table

These are the TRAIN law brackets in force from 2023 onward, printed on BIR Form 1701A itself. They apply to your taxable income after whichever deduction you chose, not to your gross.

Taxable income for the year	Tax owed
Up to PHP 250,000	None
PHP 250,000 to PHP 400,000	15% of the excess over PHP 250,000
PHP 400,000 to PHP 800,000	PHP 22,500 + 20% of the excess over PHP 400,000
PHP 800,000 to PHP 2,000,000	PHP 102,500 + 25% of the excess over PHP 800,000
PHP 2,000,000 to PHP 8,000,000	PHP 402,500 + 30% of the excess over PHP 2,000,000
Over PHP 8,000,000	PHP 2,202,500 + 35% of the excess over PHP 8,000,000

Contributions

You pay these whether or not you owe income tax, and as a freelancer you pay the whole thing rather than splitting it with an employer.

Fund	Rate	Applied to
SSS	15%	Your monthly salary credit, PHP 5,000 to PHP 35,000
PhilHealth	5%	Monthly income, floored at PHP 10,000 and capped at PHP 100,000
Pag-IBIG	4%	Monthly income up to PHP 10,000, or 2% at PHP 1,500 and under

Because SSS has a minimum salary credit and PhilHealth an income floor, a registered self-employed member still owes contributions in a month they bill nothing.

Questions people actually ask

Is the 8% flat tax always cheaper than the graduated rates?

For a freelancer with few receipted expenses, almost always. At PHP 50,000 a month the 8% route costs PHP 28,000 a year against PHP 34,500 on the graduated table with the 40% standard deduction. Itemized deductions only overtake it once your real business expenses are large, because the 8% route also replaces the 3% percentage tax. The calculator prices all three and marks the cheapest.

Can I earn more and take home less?

Yes, and this is the one trap worth knowing. The 8% route is closed to you once gross receipts pass PHP 3,000,000 a year, which is PHP 250,000 a month. Billing PHP 250,000 leaves you PHP 221,017; billing PHP 251,000 leaves you PHP 203,295, which is PHP 17,722 less for PHP 1,000 more work. You do not get back to PHP 221,017 until you bill about PHP 272,612 a month.

Do I really pay both the employee and the employer share?

Yes. A self-employed member pays the whole SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contribution themselves. This is the part that surprises people who have just left a job, where the employer was quietly paying half of SSS and PhilHealth and matching Pag-IBIG.

What do I charge to take home a specific amount?

Use the second calculator. To keep PHP 100,000 a month you need to bill about PHP 118,460; to keep PHP 50,000 you need about PHP 62,050. It solves for the cheapest gross that clears your target, which matters near the VAT threshold where a higher figure can give you the same take-home.

Does this file anything for me?

No. It is a rough guide for planning what to charge and what to set aside. It assumes you are a non-VAT self-employed individual for a full year, and it ignores tax already withheld by clients on your Form 2307s, which you can credit against what you owe. Your accountant or the BIR is the authority.

Is my income sent anywhere?

No. Every figure is computed in your browser. There is no account, nothing is uploaded, and closing the tab leaves nothing behind.

Where these figures come from

Rates were researched in July 2026. Government rates move, so check the source before you file anything. This page is a planning guide, not tax advice.

Some of these rates are not confirmed

The Pag-IBIG rate for a self-employed member earning PHP 1,500 or less a month. Sources agree on 4% above that figure but disagree below it.
Whether SSS changed the salary credit range again for 2026. The 15% rate and the PHP 5,000 to PHP 35,000 range are what current tables show, but this was not read off an SSS circular.