You have a day job but want to freelance evenings and weekends for extra income. What should you charge?
Your Situation
Goal: £18,000 extra per year
Available time: 10 hours/week (5 hours weeknights, 5 hours weekend)
Holiday weeks: 8 weeks (you'll take more time off since this is a side hustle)
Working weeks: 52 - 8 = 44 weeks
Total billable hours: 10 × 44 = 440 hours/year
Your Overhead (Lower for Side Hustle)
Software subscriptions: £50/month
Website and portfolio: £30/month
Business insurance: £60/month
Misc (coffee meetings, transport): £60/month
Total: £200/month
Annual overhead: £200 × 12 = £2,400
Running the Calculation
Pre-tax requirement:
£18,000 + £2,400 = £20,400
With 25% tax buffer:
£20,400 × 1.25 = £25,500
(Lower buffer because you're already paying tax on main job income)
Hourly rate needed:
£25,500 ÷ 440 hours = £57.95/hour
Round to £60/hour or £450/day.
Reality Check
Can you charge £60/hour part-time?
It depends:
Easier to charge £60/hour:
- Specialized skills (web dev, copywriting, design)
- B2B services (businesses pay more)
- You have a strong portfolio
- Work is project-based (fixed deliverables)
Harder to charge £60/hour:
- Generic skills (admin, data entry)
- B2C services (consumers price-sensitive)
- You're brand new
- Work is hourly/task-based
The Billable Hours Reality
If only 60% of your 10 hours are billable:
(More realistic for side hustles with higher admin overhead per client)
Actual billable: 6 hours/week × 44 weeks = 264 hours/year
New rate needed:
£25,500 ÷ 264 = £96.59/hour
Round to £100/hour or £750/day.
That's much harder to achieve part-time.
Options to Make It Work
Option 1: Work More Hours
- Increase to 15 hours/week available
- 15 × 0.6 = 9 billable hours/week
- 9 × 44 = 396 hours/year
- Rate needed: £64.39/hour (£65/hour)
More achievable!
Option 2: Package Services
- Don't charge hourly
- Offer fixed-price packages
- "Website redesign: £2,500" (20-25 hours)
- Perceived as £100-125/hour
Option 3: Lower Income Goal
- Target £12,000/year instead
- At 264 billable hours: £56/hour
- More realistic for part-time rates
Option 4: Reduce Overhead
- Use free tools: -£30/month
- Skip business insurance temporarily: -£60/month
- New overhead: £1,320/year
- Rate needed at 264 hours: £73/hour
Tax Considerations
Important: Side hustle income is taxed on top of your main job income.
If your day job pays £40,000:
- Your side hustle income pushes you into 40% tax bracket
- Need 40-45% tax buffer, not 25%
Recalculating with 40% buffer:
£20,400 × 1.40 = £28,560
£28,560 ÷ 264 hours = £108/hour
This is why side hustles need surprisingly high rates!
The Lesson
Part-time freelancing requires higher rates than full-time freelancing because:
- Lower billable hours per week
- Higher admin overhead per client
- Higher tax bracket (added to main income)
- Less time to find efficient processes
Use the calculator to find your realistic side-hustle rate.
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