FREELANCE RATE WORKSHEET — SideLedger Edition (2026)
=====================================================

Your MINIMUM rate covers taxes, expenses, vacation, and profit — not just
what you want to take home. Match this worksheet to the free SideLedger
calculator or use gig-rate-guide.txt for market benchmarks.

── STEP 1: INCOME GOALS ─────────────────────────────────────────
Target annual take-home (after tax)          $__________
Business expenses (software, gear, insurance) $__________
Estimated tax rate (25–35% typical US)         _________%
Desired profit buffer (10–20% recommended)     _________%

── STEP 2: TIME ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
Billable hours per week (not admin/sales)      _________
Weeks off per year (vacation + holidays)       _________

Working weeks  = 52 − weeks off                = _______
Annual billable hours = hrs/week × working wks = _______

── STEP 3: CALCULATION ──────────────────────────────────────────
Gross needed = (Take-home + Expenses) ÷ (1 − tax rate)

   Gross needed                             = $__________

With profit  = Gross × (1 + profit %)

   Rate base                                = $__________

MINIMUM HOURLY RATE = Rate base ÷ annual billable hours

   YOUR MINIMUM                             = $__________/hr

── STEP 4: MARKET CHECK ─────────────────────────────────────────
Your gig type (from gig-rate-guide.txt): _______________________
Market rate for your area:               $__________/hr
Your current rate (if any):              $__________/hr

Undercharging?  Minimum − Current = $__________/hr gap

SideLedger shows "Rate confidence" % when you use the calculator with
a gig template selected.

── STEP 5: PROJECT PRICING ───────────────────────────────────────
10-hour project at minimum rate:  $__________
8-hour day rate:                  $__________
Monthly income target (÷ 12):     $__________

── 2026 US BENCHMARKS (hourly, national) ────────────────────────
Junior / generalist:     $35–$75/hr
Mid-level specialist:  $75–$150/hr
Senior / niche expert: $150–$300+/hr

Trades & local services: see gig-rate-guide.txt ($25–$140/hr range)
Per-word content:        $0.12–$0.45/word

── QUICK PRESETS (SideLedger calculator chips) ──────────────────
Designer:    $70k target · 28 hrs/wk · 28% tax · $4k expenses
Developer:   $95k · 32 hrs/wk · 30% tax · $6k expenses
Writer:      $55k · 25 hrs/wk · 25% tax · $2k expenses
Consultant:  $120k · 30 hrs/wk · 32% tax · $8k expenses

Free calculator: [your-site]/calculator.html
Quote tool:      [your-site]/quote.html