Most freelancers undercharge because they price by "gut". This does the honest math in 30 seconds.
Only billable hours count — not the hours you spend on admin, sales and email. That's why your rate is higher than a "salary ÷ 2080" guess.
Track your income, clients & taxes in Notion → Read: Best Notion Templates for Freelancers (2026) →Your hourly rate isn't your desired salary divided by 2080 hours. Real freelancing has three leaks most calculators ignore: you don't bill every hour (admin, sales, breaks), you carry business expenses, and you set aside your own taxes. We add those back so the rate actually leaves you with the take-home you wanted.
The formula: (take-home + yearly expenses) ÷ (1 − tax%) gives the gross you must collect. Divide that by your real billable hours (weeks × billable hours/week) and you get the honest hourly rate.