A free income and sliding-scale planning tool for therapists building or growing their private practice.
See how your fees, caseload, cancellations, time off, and reduced-fee spots affect your monthly and annual income.
Duplicate your setup to compare a fee raise, fewer days, or more reduced-fee spots — without losing your current numbers.
Seeing 17 clients across 48 working weeks, you take home $5,196 a month after expenses and taxes.
Who you see, at what fee, and how often.
| Fee / session | 2×/week | Weekly | 2×/month | Every 3 wks | Monthly | Clients | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$Full | 10 | ||||||
$ | 4 | ||||||
$ | 3 |
Estimates use 2025 federal brackets, the standard deduction, and self-employment tax. The state rate is an editable effective rate — actual state tax is usually progressive. Not tax advice.
Of every $100 that comes in, $27 goes to tax and $11 keeps the practice running. You keep $62.
| Line | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Gross revenue | $8,416 |
| Expenses | −$925 |
| Self-employment tax | −$1,058 |
| Federal income tax | −$819 |
| State income tax | −$418 |
| Net income | $5,196 |
This estimate leaves out deductions most practices can take — QBI, retirement contributions (SEP-IRA / Solo 401k), and self-employed health-insurance premiums — so treat it as a ceiling. The arithmetic is under “Show the math”.
7 of your 17 clients pay a reduced fee. They account for 30% of what comes in.
Your 7 reduced-fee spots make approximately $19,464 in care more accessible each year compared to your standard fee — a deliberate allocation of your practice's capacity, not a loss.
14 of your 17 clients come weekly. They bring in $92,736 of your $100,991 a year.
Your $180 full rate brings in $70,928 of your $100,991 a year. The two reduced tiers together bring $30,063.
Every number above, derived line by line. No black box.
| $180 (full rate) | |
| 8 clients weekly × 48.0 sessions/yr × $180 | $69,120 |
| 2 clients 2×/month × 22.2 sessions/yr × $180 | $7,975 |
| Tier subtotal (before attendance) | $77,095 |
| $120 | |
| 4 clients weekly × 48.0 sessions/yr × $120 | $23,040 |
| Tier subtotal (before attendance) | $23,040 |
| $90 | |
| 2 clients weekly × 48.0 sessions/yr × $90 | $8,640 |
| 1 client monthly × 11.1 sessions/yr × $90 | $997 |
| Tier subtotal (before attendance) | $9,637 |
| × 92% attendance rate | $100,991 /yr |
| Gross revenue (annual ÷ 12 = monthly) | $100,991 · $8,416/mo |
| Practice profit (gross − expenses) | $89,891 |
| Self-employment earnings (92.35% of profit) | $83,014 |
| Social Security: 12.4% of $83,014 | $10,294 |
| Medicare: 2.9% of $83,014 | $2,407 |
| Self-employment tax | $12,701 |
| Profit − ½ SE tax ($6,351) | $83,540 |
| − Standard deduction (single, 2025) | −$15,750 |
| Federal taxable income | $67,790 |
| 10% on $11,925 ($0–$11,925) | $1,193 |
| 12% on $36,550 ($11,925–$48,475) | $4,386 |
| 22% on $19,315 ($48,475–$67,790) | $4,249 |
| Federal income tax | $9,828 |
| State: 6% effective rate × $83,540 | $5,012 |
| Total estimated tax (30.6% effective) | $27,541 |
Not modeled — and likely to lower your real bill: the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction, retirement contributions (SEP-IRA, Solo 401k), and self-employed health-insurance premiums. Treat this as a conservative ceiling and confirm with your accountant.
Therapy Calculator is a free income calculator built for psychotherapists, counselors, psychologists, and clinical social workers in solo private practice. Instead of a one-number salary estimate, it simulates your real practice: your full session fee, your sliding scale tiers, and how often each client comes.
Set your full rate, add sliding scale tiers, and enter how many clients sit at each fee and session frequency — from twice a week to monthly.
Working weeks per year, attendance rate, monthly expenses like rent and EHR software, plus your filing status and state for the tax estimate.
Projected monthly and annual gross and net income, where the money goes, and whether the schedule behind the numbers is actually sustainable.
Use it to plan a fee increase, decide how many sliding scale spots you can offer, compare caseload scenarios before leaving agency work, or set a realistic income goal for the year.
Questions therapists ask before they trust a number like this.
It varies widely with session fees, caseload, and location. A full-time solo therapist seeing 20–25 clients a week at $120–$200 per session typically grosses roughly $115,000–$250,000 a year. Take-home is usually 55–70% of gross after office expenses, self-employment tax, and federal and state income taxes. Rather than relying on averages, use the calculator above to model your own fees, caseload, and state.
Start from your full fee and your income goal, then decide how many reduced-rate spots your practice can afford. Most therapists do better with a few defined tiers (for example $90 and $120 below a $180 full rate) and a set number of spots per tier, instead of negotiating one-off discounts. The tier grid above shows exactly what each sliding scale spot costs you per month and per year, so you can offer access intentionally.
Many full-time private practice therapists consider 20–25 clinical hours per week a sustainable full caseload; consistently seeing more increases burnout risk. The workload card above shows the sessions per week your scenario implies and warns you when it crosses the threshold you set.
Self-employed therapists pay 15.3% self-employment tax on practice profit plus federal and state income tax, so a common rule of thumb is to set aside 25–35% of profit. This calculator estimates your actual burden using current federal brackets, the standard deduction, self-employment tax, and an editable effective rate for your state — a more useful starting point than a flat percentage.
Yes. Therapy Calculator is free, with no account or sign-up. Everything you enter stays in your own browser and is never uploaded to a server. See the privacy policy for details.