Estimated tax due dates for 2026 and 2027

2026 estimated tax due dates

Federal estimated tax for 2026 is paid in four installments, each covering income earned in an uneven payment period^[f1040es]:

As of mid-November 2026, the January 15, 2027 payment is the only 2026 installment still ahead. You do not have to make it if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the whole balance with it^[f1040es]. A payment you mail counts as made on the date of the U.S. postmark; the IRS notes that the postmark date is the date the Postal Service processes the item, which may be later than the day you drop it in the mailbox^[f1040es].

2027 estimated tax due dates

For tax year 2027 the four dates are April 15, 2027, June 15, 2027, September 15, 2027 and January 18, 2028:

The fourth payment moves to January 18, 2028 because January 15, 2028 is a Saturday and Monday, January 17 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Kentucky's 2026 e-file handbook already lists January 18, 2028 for that installment^[ky]. The IRS publishes the 2027 Form 1040-ES around the turn of the year; we check these dates against it when it appears.

When are estimated taxes due if the date falls on a weekend?

When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the payment is on time on the next business day^[p505]. That is why the second payment was June 16 in 2025 but is June 15 in 2026 and 2027. Every state that taxes income applies the same next-business-day rule to its own dates.

• Starting late in the year. If you first owe estimated tax after March 31, for example when freelance work starts in the summer, pay from the next due date onward. The annualized income installment method (Form 2210, Schedule AI) can then lower the earlier payments^[f1040es].
• Farmers and fishermen. If at least two-thirds of your gross income is from farming or fishing, you can pay all of your estimated tax by January 15, 2027, or file and pay in full by March 1, 2027 instead^[f1040es].
• Fiscal-year filers. Payments are due on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th and 9th months of your fiscal year and of the 1st month of the next one^[f1040es].

State estimated tax due dates

Most states use the federal dates. California splits its payments 30%, 40%, 0% and 30%^[ftb] (see California estimated tax payments); Virginia's first payment is due May 1, Delaware's April 30, Hawaii uses the 20th of the month and Iowa the last day of the month; Utah and Idaho do not require quarterly payments from individuals. New York's dates match the federal ones and also cover New York City and Yonkers tax^[ny]. The table links each state's own form or page and shows the balance after withholding that triggers the requirement.

Alaska, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming have no income tax on wages or self-employment income, so there is no state estimated payment there.

What happens if you miss a due date

The underpayment penalty is figured separately for each installment, for the number of days it stays unpaid, so a payment made late still costs less than one never made^[f1040es]. The rate is the IRS underpayment interest rate: 7% a year, compounded daily, for October to December 2026^[int]. You can owe it even if you are due a refund when you file, because it measures how late each payment was, not the balance at the end of the year^[p505].

Put every federal and state due date in your calendar with the quarterly estimated tax planner