Be careful with this advice since it does not apply generally or all the time for most people. Being self-employed can have a significant financial upside, but

Be careful with this advice since it does not apply generally or all the time for most people. Being self-employed can have a significant financial upside, but it also has significant costs and risks. I switched to 1099 work several years ago and in comparison to what I could be bringing home in total compensation with a big tech company, I make anywhere from 0.75 to 1.5 times as much. The situation is similar for friends who made the same switch - some years it's substantially better, some years it's worse, on average you trade different kinds of stress for a little bit more money. It's important to keep in mind that running a business, even one where you're the only employee, is a pain in the ass in America (and especially in California). In addition to all the compensation things you don't get through an employer (health insurance, 401k matching, subsidized meals, paid vacation days, etc.) you also have added overhead in self employment tax, professional insurance, compliance/service fees, etc. And then you have the added headache of a small mountain of paperwork, both to get started and at tax time every year, in addition to having to keep your accounting straight and sometimes having to chase down payments. Also keep in mind that the line items you listed have caveats. QBI phases out at certain income levels and for certain professions (I get $0 from it), PPP is a one-time deal, IRAs are not equivalent to getting free matching money from an employer 401k, etc. As others in here have mentioned, you also have to maintain your client pipeline and even then there's no guarantee things will work out. For example, last year when the pandemic started my primary client paid the early termination fee, cut my contract 4 months short, and left me to twiddle my thumbs while my W2 friends happily plugged away at their normal jobs with no income interruption. That's the kind of risk you take and over time it absolutely will impact your total earnings. In general, self-employment is most definitely not for everyone - I usually only recommend it for a limited subset of people.