- What you actually owe in federal tax based on your income, filing status, and deductions
- Whether your paycheck withholding is on track to cover it, or needs adjusting
- How much extra tax freelance or 1099 income adds through self-employment tax
- Whether you're headed for a refund or a balance due once it's all combined
What you'll figure out
Step preview
1
What do you actually owe in federal tax?
Start with your gross income and filing status
2
Is your paycheck withholding enough?
Compare what's being withheld against what you'll actually owe
3
Do you also have freelance or 1099 income?
Self-employment income carries its own Social Security and Medicare tax
4
Refund or amount owed — where do you land?
Bring it all together with credits and what's already been withheld
Start Journey →
Takes about 10 min · Save anytime
Most people only look at one number around tax season — either what they think they owe, or what shows up on their W-2. That leaves out whether paycheck withholding is actually on track, what happens if freelance income is added on top, and what the real refund or balance due looks like once everything is combined. This journey walks through all of it in one flow.
Who this is for
- W-2 employees who want to check their paycheck withholding is on track
- Freelancers and 1099 contractors adding self-employment income to a W-2 job
- Anyone who wants a clearer estimate of their refund or balance due before filing
Related journeys
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does this journey take?
About 10 minutes. You can pause and resume anytime within the same browser session, and each step is saved as you go.
Do I need self-employment income to use this journey?
No. Step 3 is only relevant if you have freelance, 1099, or other self-employment income — if you're W-2 only, you can skip straight from the withholding step to the refund step.
Why does the refund step use my withholding from step 2 instead of asking again?
Step 2 already calculates a projected annual withholding figure based on your salary and pay frequency, so the refund step reuses it rather than asking you to re-enter or re-derive the same number. It stays editable if your actual W-2 withholding turns out different.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. Everything stays in your browser's session storage and clears when you close the tab. Nothing is sent to thecalcu.com's servers.
Can I change my inputs after completing a later step?
Yes. Go back to any step, change a value, and steps that pulled data from it get flagged as needing a recalculation, both on that step and on the summary page.
Does the self-employment step account for the extra tax in my final refund estimate?
Not automatically — the refund step in this journey estimates federal income tax and withholding only. If you added self-employment income in step 3, add that tax amount separately when deciding how much to set aside before filing.
Why does filing status need to be entered again in later steps?
Some calculators in this journey support different filing status options than others, so the field stays editable at each step rather than assuming they always match exactly.
What should I do after completing the journey?
Check the summary page for all four results side by side. If step 2 shows you're under-withholding, consider submitting a new W-4 to your employer before adjusting anything else.
Free calculators used in this journey