The Best Self-Employed Retirement Calculator for SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k) & SIMPLE IRA
Most retirement calculators ask you to pick an account type before showing you anything. This one computes all four — SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, and Traditional IRA — simultaneously for your actual 1099 income, shows the contribution, tax savings, projected balance, and monthly retirement income from each, and marks the winner. You compare, then decide.
📈Try Self-Employed Retirement Account Calculator →Self-Employed Retirement Account Calculator
Side-by-side comparison of SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, and Traditional IRA for 1099 workers. Enter your net SE income to see max contribution, immediate tax savings, projected balance at retirement, and monthly income at 4% withdrawal — for all four accounts simultaneously.
- ✗You're forced to choose an account before seeing the math — every other self-employed retirement calculator requires you to select an account type first, then shows one result. If you don't already know that a Solo 401(k) lets you contribute as both employee AND employer, you'll never know you were leaving money on the table.
- ✗The SE compensation formula is always oversimplified — the IRS requires a circular reference calculation to determine the correct contribution amount. Net SE income → subtract half SE tax → subtract employer contribution → result is the compensation base. Most calculators skip this and use a flat 20% of gross SE income, which is close but not the correct IRS formula (IRS Pub 560 worksheet).
- ✗No side-by-side projection — knowing that SEP-IRA caps at $69,000 is meaningless without knowing what $69,000/yr compounded for 25 years becomes in retirement income. None of the common calculators show projected balance AND monthly income at 4% withdrawal simultaneously.
- ✗Catch-up contributions are buried or missing — age 50+ catch-up rules are different for each account: Solo 401(k) gets +$7,500, SIMPLE IRA gets +$3,500, IRA gets +$1,000. Most calculators don't surface this clearly.
- ✗The Roth vs Traditional distinction for Solo 401(k) is never explained — Solo 401(k) uniquely allows the employee deferral portion to go into a Roth account. The employer profit-sharing portion is always traditional. This creates a hybrid tax strategy that no simple comparison table shows.
Enter your net SE income once. SEP-IRA (25% of net SE comp, max $69k), Solo 401(k) (employee deferral + 25% employer, max $69k/$76.5k age 50+), SIMPLE IRA ($16k employee + 2% employer), and Traditional IRA ($7k/$8k age 50+) all computed in parallel — with contribution, tax savings, projected balance, and monthly retirement income shown on each card.
ShowMath shows the circular-reference-resolved IRS Pub 560 formula: employer contribution = net SE income × (rate / (1 + rate)). At 25%, this is ~20% of net SE income — not 25% of gross, not a flat percentage. Half-SE-tax deduction shown explicitly before the contribution calculation.
Solo 401(k) is the only self-employed account that lets you elect Roth treatment for the employee deferral portion. Toggle it on and the immediate tax savings drop (no deduction now) — but the projected retirement income becomes tax-free. Employer profit-sharing always stays pre-tax.
Set your years to retirement and expected return rate. Each account shows the projected balance using the future value of ordinary annuity formula, then the estimated monthly retirement income at the 4% safe withdrawal rate (Bengen 1994). Not just a contribution number — a retirement income outcome.
| Feature | Typical Calculator | Reise Tools |
|---|---|---|
| SEP-IRA contribution calculated | ||
| Solo 401(k) calculated (employee + employer) | ||
| SIMPLE IRA calculated | ||
| Traditional IRA calculated | ||
| All four shown side by side simultaneously | ||
| Correct IRS Pub 560 SE compensation formula | ||
| Half-SE-tax deduction shown explicitly | ||
| Age 50+ catch-up contributions surfaced | ||
| Solo 401(k) Roth election toggle | ||
| Projected retirement balance + monthly income shown | ||
| ShowMath with IRS Pub 560 and IRC citations | ||
| Free with no account required |
Every Reise calculator has a ShowMath panel — expand it and you see the exact formula with your actual numbers substituted in. Not a result. Not a black box. The full derivation, step by step.
The Solo 401(k) is the most powerful retirement account most self-employed people have never heard of. It exists specifically for business owners with no full-time employees — you wear two hats (employee and employer) and contribute as both. At $80k net SE income, you can put away ~$39k/yr vs ~$16k in a SEP-IRA at the same income. The IRS math is genuinely non-obvious (circular reference, net SE comp formula) — this calculator does it correctly so you can focus on the decision.
Calculate your exact self-employment tax using the IRS formula. Shows SE tax (SS + Medicare), the half-SE deduction, 2024 federal income tax brackets, effective rate, take-home pay, and quarterly estimated payment.
Calculate the exact quarterly estimated tax payment to avoid the IRS underpayment penalty. Computes both safe harbor methods — 100%/110% of prior year tax vs 90% of current year — recommends the lower one, and shows your per-quarter payment schedule.
Calculate your FI number at three expense tiers: essential-only, full lifestyle, and dream life. See years to each tier at your savings rate, your Coast FI number, and the monthly savings needed to retire by your target age.
100+ free calculators. Every result shows the formula. No account required.
Open Self-Employed Retirement Account Calculator