How much should a handyman charge per hour?
Work backward from what you need to earn. Add your take-home pay, the taxes on it, what the business costs to run and a profit margin. Then divide by the hours you can actually bill. Rates you see online don't know your costs, your area or how many hours you lose to driving and quoting.
Hourly rate = (take-home ÷ (1 − tax %) + business costs) ÷ (1 − profit %) ÷ (billable hours per week × weeks per year)
Say you want $60,000 a year in take-home pay and set aside 25% for taxes. That's $80,000 before tax. Add $15,100 of business costs and you need $95,100. With a 10% profit margin, revenue has to be $105,667. At 25 billable hours a week for 48 weeks, that's 1,200 hours, so you need $88.06 an hour. Round up to $90.
Billable hours change everything
Billable hours are the ones a customer pays for. Driving between jobs, picking up materials, quoting, invoicing and callbacks aren't billable unless you charge for them. Here's how the same $60,000 goal plays out at different billable hours, with the costs above:
| Billable hours per week | Hours per year (48 weeks) | Rate needed |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 720 | $146.76 |
| 20 | 960 | $110.07 |
| 25 | 1,200 | $88.06 |
| 30 | 1,440 | $73.38 |
| 35 | 1,680 | $62.90 |
Track your own hours for a few weeks before you settle on a number. Most people overestimate how much of their week is billable.
Taxes for a self-employed handyman
In the US, self-employment tax is 15.3% (Social Security and Medicare) on 92.35% of your net earnings, which works out to about 14.1% of net profit. Federal and state income tax come on top of that. The taxes field is one combined planning percentage; ask an accountant what to use for your situation.
Handyman pricing guide: hourly, half-day and flat rate
Your hourly rate is the base for every other way you price:
- Hourly works for open-ended repairs where you can't see the problem until you start.
- Half-day and full-day rates suit a list of small jobs at one house. They're 4 and 8 hours at your hourly rate. Some handymen discount the day rate slightly to win bigger bookings.
- Flat-rate pricing works for jobs you do often, like mounting a TV or replacing a faucet. Time yourself, multiply by your hourly rate, and add materials. If you get faster, you keep the difference.
Building your own handyman pricing list this way keeps every price tied to your actual costs, instead of to someone else's market.
Minimum charge and small repairs
A 15-minute fix still costs you the drive, the setup and the paperwork. That's why many handymen set a minimum charge, often one to two hours of their rate. At $90 an hour, a 2 hour minimum is $180 per visit. You can also add a trip charge for jobs far outside your normal area.
Materials and markup
Charge materials on top of labor. Many handymen add a markup to cover the time spent buying, picking up and returning materials, plus the risk of the wrong part. Show materials as their own lines on the quote so customers see what they're paying for.
Turn your rate into quotes
Once you have a rate, put it to work. Use it as the labor rate in any CanaryQuote calculator's contractor mode, then send the result as a handyman estimate. Every quote you send then reflects your real costs.
Questions
How do I figure out my handyman hourly rate?
Add the take-home pay you want, the taxes on it and your yearly business costs, add a profit margin, then divide by the hours you can bill in a year. The calculator does this for you.
How many billable hours does a handyman work?
Fewer than the hours they work. Driving, buying materials, quoting and invoicing all take time. Track your own week to find your number.
What is a good minimum charge for a handyman?
Many handymen charge a minimum of one to two hours of their rate, so small jobs cover the drive and setup.
Should a handyman charge by the hour or by the job?
Both work. Hourly suits open-ended repairs. Flat rates suit jobs you do often, priced from how long they take you at your hourly rate, plus materials.