Your numbers (per year)
Minimum hourly rate
Charge at least this per billable hour to hit your take-home goal.
Billable hours / yr
Revenue needed
Taxes set aside
Day rate (8 h)
- Working weeks = 52 − weeks off (vacation, holidays, sick, weather).
- Billable hours = working weeks × hours worked per week × billable %. Driving, quoting, buying materials and paperwork aren't billable; 60–70% is realistic for a solo handyman.
- Pre-tax profit needed = take-home income ÷ (1 − tax rate). Use your combined federal + state + self-employment rate (25–35% is common in the US; SE tax alone is 15.3%).
- Revenue needed = pre-tax profit + business expenses (insurance, truck, fuel, tools, phone, software, licenses).
- Minimum rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours. Materials are billed separately. The suggested rate adds a 15% cushion for slow weeks.