How Much to Set Aside for Taxes as a Personal Trainer

Set aside a percentage of every client payment built from four layers: 15.3 percent self-employment tax on your net earnings, federal income tax, Indiana income tax, and, if you live in Hamilton County, the county’s local income tax. There is no single right percentage, because it depends on your profit after costs and your household’s other income. Start your business with the free first hour and use the method below to build your own number.

What the rule says

The Internal Revenue Service sets the self-employment tax rate at 15.3 percent, made up of 12.4 percent for Social Security and 2.9 percent for Medicare, and allows you to deduct the employer-equivalent half when figuring adjusted gross income (checked October 2026 on the IRS self-employment tax page at irs.gov). That tax applies to net self-employment earnings, not gross revenue. Hamilton County levies a local income tax on residents, and we do not state its rate here, since the county tax answer covers how it is paid. For federal income tax brackets and the current Indiana rate, check with the IRS and the Indiana Department of Revenue. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and rules change.

Build your percentage in five steps

1. Estimate annual revenue from sessions per week, your rate and weeks worked.
2. Subtract business costs such as room hours, insurance and software to find net profit.
3. Apply self-employment tax of 15.3 percent to that net figure.
4. Add income tax layers: federal, Indiana and county. Use a CPA’s estimate or the agencies’ calculators, since the amounts depend on household income and deductions.
5. Divide the total by revenue to get a percentage of each payment.

A worked example with invented placeholders

The percentages for income tax in this table are placeholders to show the arithmetic, not the actual rates you will pay. For every $100 a client pays, assume $25 goes to business costs.

Line	Calculation	Amount
Client payment		$100.00
Business costs	25 percent of $100	$25.00
Net profit	$100 minus $25	$75.00
Self-employment tax	15.3 percent of $75	$11.48
Federal income tax placeholder	10 percent of $75	$7.50
State and county placeholder	4 percent of $75	$3.00
Total to set aside		$21.98

In this example the set-aside is about 22 percent of each payment. A trainer with lower costs, higher income or a working spouse would land elsewhere. The half of self-employment tax that is deductible would lower the income tax somewhat, and a CPA will account for it.

Move the money on the day it arrives

Open a separate savings account used only for taxes, and transfer the percentage the same day a payment lands. Pay your estimated taxes from that account on the due dates, and leave any extra in place. Quarterly taxes for independent trainers covers the payment schedule and the first-year mistakes. If your income swings month to month, pair the tax account with a holding account for your paycheck.

Adjust it as you go

Revisit the percentage every quarter. Increase it if your profit rises, if you stop having another job, or if your costs fall, since lower costs raise profit. Lower it if you take on large new deductible costs. Room costs are a major deduction line, and at FlexWerk in Carmel they scale with hours booked, so profit and tax rise and fall with your calendar. Keep records of every cost, as bookkeeping for personal trainers explains.

When to ask for help

Ask a CPA to check your percentage after your first quarter and again after any change in entity, income or household. When to hire a CPA lists the triggers that justify the fee. Write down your revenue, costs and a placeholder rate for each layer today, then ask a CPA to replace the placeholders with real figures.