Mississippi Self-Employment Tax Guide (2026)

Mississippi taxes the first $10,000 of taxable income at 0% and everything above it at a flat rate that is falling every year under a 2025 law. For 2026 that rate is 4%, which keeps the state bill modest for most freelancers. Here is what a Mississippi freelancer owes.

How Mississippi compares: in our 50-state take-home pay ranking, a single freelancer with $75,000 of profit keeps $57,449 in Mississippi after federal and state income tax, 18th of 51 (state income tax: $2,056).

Estimate for information only — not tax, legal or financial advice. Federal figures for tax year 2026; state and local taxes are not included unless you enter them. Check your situation with a CPA or enrolled agent.

What you pay on freelance profit

The 2026 rate: 4% above ,000

Mississippi has one real rate. The first $10,000 of taxable income is taxed at 0%, and everything above it is taxed at 4% for tax year 2026, down from 4.4% for 2025. The Department of Revenue’s 2026 withholding tables use the same schedule.

Mississippi builds its own return rather than starting from your federal adjusted gross income, but for most freelancers the result is close. Your Schedule C profit goes on the Mississippi return, and you deduct 50% of your federal self-employment tax, just as you do federally. The federal standard deduction and QBI deduction do not carry over. Instead, Mississippi uses its own, much smaller amounts:

• Standard deduction: $2,300 single, $3,400 head of family, $4,600 married filing jointly
• Personal exemption: $6,000 single, $8,000 head of family, $12,000 married filing jointly, plus $1,500 per dependent and $1,500 each for age 65 or older or blindness

Scheduled cuts under current law

House Bill 1, passed in 2025, sets the rate on income above $10,000 for each coming year:

• 3.75% for 2027
• 3.5% for 2028
• 3.25% for 2029
• 3% for 2030 and later

From 2031, the rate can drop further, by 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points in a year, but only if the state’s Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund is fully funded and general fund revenue beats the next year’s appropriations by a set margin. Those later cuts are not guaranteed, so don’t plan around them. The 2026 legislative session did not change the rates, the standard deduction or the exemptions.

Estimated payments

You must make estimated payments with Form 80-106 if your Mississippi tax for the year will be more than $200 and less than 80% of it is covered by withholding. Most full-time freelancers clear that bar quickly. Payments for 2026 are due April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. You can pay online through the Department of Revenue’s Taxpayer Access Point (TAP).

The Department’s instructions measure underpayment against 80% of the year’s tax. Falling short costs interest of 1/2% per month on the underpaid amount, from each due date until paid. Size the federal part with the quarterly estimated tax calculator and add a quarter of your expected Mississippi tax to each date.

Sales tax and LLCs

• Sales tax on some services: Mississippi’s general sales tax rate is 7%. Beyond goods, the Department of Revenue lists taxable services that include repairs, installation tied to goods, computer software services and web page design. If you design websites or sell software work, check whether you need a sales tax permit before your first invoice.
• LLC annual report: Mississippi LLCs file an annual report with the Secretary of State between January 1 and April 15 each year. For a domestic LLC the filing fee is $0, so ignore mailers asking you to pay for it. Skipping the report can lead to administrative dissolution.
• Weighing an S corp election? It changes your federal self-employment tax, not Mississippi’s 4% rate.

How much to set aside

Enter 4 in the state field of the tax set-aside calculator. Because the first $10,000 is taxed at 0% and the deduction and exemption shave off another $8,300 for single filers, your real Mississippi cost at $85,000 of profit is closer to 3% of profit, so 4% builds in a cushion. Lower the number as the rate steps down to 3.75% in 2027.