⚡ Free contractor profit calculator

Job Profit Calculator

A contractor profit calculator for the real job: labor, materials, overhead, drive time, and profit margin, with a self-employment tax estimate, so the number you quote is a number you can keep.

MitchellQuote — job quoting software for contractors

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Job Profit Calculator

Select your trade, fill in the job — results update instantly

Job Information

Labor

The $75 starting rate is a placeholder, not a billing rate. Pick a trade for an example loaded cost: BLS OEWS May 2025 median wage x BLS ECEC construction burden (June 2026), then replace it with your own.

Materials

Overhead & Travel

Profit

Margin must be under 95%. Above 60% shows a warning. Owner self-employment tax is estimated on profit in the breakdown and is not added to the price.

Business Info

Quote Options

Live Results
⚡ CALCULATING

Suggested Charge to Customer

$0.00

Enter your job details above

Net Profit
$0.00
Profit Margin
0.0%
Profit per labor hour
$0.00/hr
Labor $0.00
Drive labor $0.00
Fuel $0.00
Materials (at cost) $0.00
Overhead $0.00
Total cost (before profit) $0.00
Estimated owner tax set-aside $0.00

Not added to the price. Profit × 92.35% × 15.3%, from the IRS self-employment tax page. No income-tax rate is included.

Customer quote

Labor $0.00
Materials $0.00
Drive labor $0.00
Fuel $0.00
Quote total $0.00

Quote lines include each item's share of overhead and profit and add up to the suggested charge. Fuel is not in the overhead base.

For You

For Your Customer

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How It Works

What This Job Profit Calculator Shows You

A job profit calculator is not hours times rate. This tool prices labor, drive labor (drive hours times crew size), and materials at cost. Overhead ÷ direct job costs: labor + drive labor + materials at cost (fuel excluded). Fuel is its own line. The suggested charge is total cost divided by one minus your margin. Profit and margin are pre-tax. An estimated owner self-employment tax set-aside is shown and is not added to the price.

Pick a trade to load example defaults, then replace every field with the job in front of you. The hourly labor rate is your loaded cost, not what you charge. Results update as you type: suggested charge, net profit, profit margin, and profit per labor hour. Open the cost breakdown for the lines behind that price.

Need a walkthrough of each field, quote settings, and the customer PDF? Read how to use the job profit calculator. For the pricing method behind the math, see how to price a contractor job.

Why It Matters

Price the Job So the Profit Survives

Most underpriced jobs look fine until overhead or unpaid drive time shows up. This calculator puts those costs on the same screen as the bid.

Use Copy Internal Quote or Internal PDF for your file. Use Customer Quote or Customer PDF for the customer lines. Those lines — labor, materials, drive labor, and fuel — add up to the suggested charge.

Calculator Questions

Job Profit Calculator FAQ

A loaded labor cost, crew size, materials at cost, overhead, drive time multiplied by crew size, and fuel. The price is total cost divided by one minus your margin. Results show suggested charge, net profit, profit margin, and profit per labor hour. The owner tax set-aside is an estimate and is not in the price.

Yes. It runs in your browser with no account required. You can copy an internal breakdown or a customer-facing quote, and save either as a PDF.

Job numbers stay on your device. The math runs in JavaScript in this browser. Optional quote settings such as business name can be remembered locally; they are not sent to our servers. See the privacy policy for details.

Any trade. Choose plumber, electrician, HVAC, roofer, painter, landscaper, general contractor, carpenter, flooring, concrete, drywall, or handyman to load typical defaults, then edit every field for the actual job.

No. Price is total cost divided by one minus your margin. The breakdown estimates self-employment tax as profit × 92.35% × 15.3%, from the IRS page linked there. That amount is not added to the price, and no income-tax rate is included.

Yes. Drive labor is drive hours × number of workers × your loaded labor cost. A two-person crew doubles drive labor. Fuel is separate and is not in the overhead base. Overhead does apply to drive labor.

Profit divided by total labor hours (estimated hours × workers). Drive time is not included in those hours.

Price is total cost divided by one minus the margin. At 100% that divisor is zero. Margin at or above 95% is rejected with a message. Above 60% you get a warning and the price still updates.

Empty, negative, and non-numeric entries show a message under the field, and the price stays blank instead of showing a bad number. Workers must be at least 1. Overhead stops at 100%. Amounts above the stated maximum are rejected.

Keep Learning

Pricing Guides That Pair With the Calculator

Plumber job pricing calculatorSame tool with plumber selected, plus diagnostics, trip fees, and material-run notes. Electrician job pricing calculatorSame tool with electrician selected, plus permits, panels, and licensed-rate notes. HVAC job pricing calculatorSame tool with HVAC selected, plus the service-call and refrigerant guide. How to use the job profit calculatorField-by-field walkthrough, quote settings, and customer PDF. How to price a contractor jobThe six cost pieces that belong in every bid. Contractor profit margins by tradeBenchmark ranges so you know if your margin is in the danger zone. All pricing guidesLabor, materials, overhead, drive time, and profit margin, with a self-employment tax estimate.