Freelance Runway Calculator
How long can you actually hold out?
Your bank balance isn’t your runway. Take off the tax you already owe and the floor you won’t cross, and the honest number is usually months shorter.
Free · No signup · Nothing leaves your browser · Every number explained below
What’s actually yours
The number in your banking app includes money that has to leave. Here’s the split.
Your balance, honestly
Worth knowing
Not sure what you owe in tax?
Work out the set-aside from your actual income, then bring the number back here.
How this works
No black box. The numbers below are your numbers and update as you change the inputs.
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Step 1
Start with what’s really yours
— in the bank, minus — of tax owed and a — floor, leaves — to actually live on.
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Step 2
Work out the monthly burn
— goes out; after tax set-aside, — comes in. Net burn: — a month.
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Step 3
Divide
— ÷ — = — of runway.
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Step 4
Then stress it
Lose the remaining income entirely and it drops to —. That gap is the reason to keep a retainer alive.
Assumptions worth knowing: costs are treated as flat month to month, savings earn nothing, and income arrives evenly rather than in lumps — real freelance income doesn’t, so treat the result as a floor rather than a forecast. Tax owed is a figure you supply; it isn’t computed from your income here. A planning tool, not financial advice.
Questions freelancers actually ask
How do I calculate my freelance runway?
Take what you have, subtract the tax you already owe and any floor you refuse to dip below, then divide by your monthly burn — what you spend minus what you still earn after setting tax aside. The result is months. Most calculators divide the whole bank balance by expenses, which flatters the answer by months.
Why should I subtract tax I owe from my savings?
Because it isn’t your money. Tax on income you’ve already earned is due whether or not work continues, so counting it as runway means budgeting with money that has to leave. It’s the single most common way freelancers overestimate how long they can hold out.
How many months of runway should a freelancer have?
Three to six months of essential costs is the usual guidance, and six or more is sensible if your income is lumpy or you work on long project cycles. Judge it against your real burn with tax already excluded, not the number on your banking app.
When can I quit my job for my side hustle?
A common rule is when the side income reliably covers your essential monthly costs, with several months of runway behind it in case it dips. This page projects your current side profit forward at your own growth rate and shows the month it crosses your target — plus how sensitive that date is to the growth rate you assumed.
What counts as monthly burn?
Everything that leaves each month: rent or mortgage, food, bills, insurance, debt payments, plus business costs like software, accounting, and subscriptions — minus whatever you still expect to earn, after setting aside tax on it. If income covers the outgoings you aren’t burning at all, and runway stops being the right question.
More money tools
Same approach — real numbers, shown working, nothing gated.