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Locum & moonlighting rate calculator

A $200/hour 1099 rate is not a $200/hour job. Once you pay both halves of FICA, buy your own benefits, and cover malpractice and licensing, the honest comparison is against a lower W-2 salary. This works out which.

Hourly rate (1099)Hours per weekWeeks per year workedBenefits you'll self-fundHealth insurance, retirement match you lose, disability, PTO you won't be paid forBusiness expensesMalpractice/tail, licensing, DEA, CME, travel, accounting

What this rate is really worth

Equivalent W-2 salary

$324,277

A salaried job paying this would leave you about the same in hand.

Effective hourly

$163

19% below the $200 headline rate.

Gross revenue1,840 hours: $368,000
Business expensesdeductible: −$12,000
Self-employment taxboth halves of FICA: −$32,530
Self-funded benefitswhat an employer would cover: −$24,000
In hand, before income tax: $299,470

Now adjust for where you'd live Browse locum roles

Everything is calculated in your browser and never sent to us. Self-employment tax uses 2025 rates: 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings, Social Security capped at the $176,100 wage base, plus the 0.9% additional Medicare tax over $200,000 (single filer). The W-2 equivalent adds back the ~7.65% employer-side FICA a salaried job would pay. This excludes federal and state income tax (which you owe either way) and any QBI deduction. An estimate for comparison — not tax advice.