Estimated tax payments: quarterly tax calculator for 2026

2026 estimated tax due dates

Each quarterly payment covers income earned in an uneven payment period, so the "quarters" are three, two, three and four months long^[p505]:

If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the payment is on time the next business day^[p505]; the estimated tax due dates page lists the 2027 dates and each state's deadlines. You can skip the January 15, 2027 payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the whole balance with it^[f1040es]. As of mid-November 2026, the January 15, 2027 payment is the only one still ahead for tax year 2026; an earlier missed payment can still be made now, because the penalty is charged on each underpayment for the number of days it stays unpaid^[f1040es].

How much you have to pay: the safe harbors

You must pay estimated tax for 2026 if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and refundable credits, and withholding and credits will cover less than the smaller of these amounts^[f1040es]:

• 90% of your 2026 tax (66⅔% if at least two-thirds of your gross income is from farming or fishing).
• 100% of the tax on your 2025 return, if that return covered all 12 months.
• 110% of your 2025 tax instead of 100% if your 2025 AGI was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately for 2026).

No 2026 estimated tax is required if you were a U.S. citizen or resident for all of 2025 and had no tax liability for that full year^[f1040es]. The calculator follows the Form 1040-ES worksheet: it figures your 2026 income tax with the 2026 brackets and standard deduction^[rp2532], adds self-employment tax and Additional Medicare Tax, takes the smaller safe-harbor amount, subtracts withholding and splits the rest into four equal payments. For the 2025 figure, use the tax on Form 1040 line 24 less the items the 1040-ES instructions list, such as refundable credits.

Worked example: a freelancer with $80,000 of profit

A single filer expects $80,000 of 2026 self-employment profit, has no other income or withholding, and paid $9,000 of total tax for 2025:

1. Self-employment tax = $11,303.64, and half ($5,651.82) is deductible. The self employment tax calculator shows each line.
2. Income tax: AGI $74,348 − $16,100 standard deduction = $58,248 taxable, which the tax bracket calculator puts at $7,526.60.
3. 2026 tax = $18,830.24; 90% of it is $16,947.22.
4. Required annual payment = the smaller of $16,947 or 100% of 2025 tax ($9,000) = $9,000, or $2,250.00 per quarter.

Paying $2,250 a quarter protects this filer from the penalty, but about $9,830 is still due in April 2027. Without a 2025 return to lean on, the requirement would be 90% of 2026 tax: $4,236.80 per quarter.

Sole proprietors may also qualify for the qualified business income (QBI) deduction: up to 20% of QBI (business profit less deductions such as the deductible half of SE tax), capped at 20% of taxable income^[qbi]. Further limits phase in once taxable income passes the 2026 threshold amount of $201,750 ($403,500 joint)^[rp2532]. Here the deduction would be about $11,650; entering it under other deductions lowers expected 2026 tax to $16,647.

Side income with a W-2 job

If you also have a paycheck, raising withholding can replace estimated payments. A married couple with $90,000 of wages, $7,000 withheld, $15,000 of side profit and $8,000 of 2025 tax has $10,232 of expected 2026 tax; the required annual payment is $8,000, leaving $250 per quarter to pay. To move the gap into payroll instead, add an extra amount per paycheck on Form W-4 and check the effect in the paycheck calculator.

Common mistakes with quarterly taxes

• Waiting for April. The penalty is figured separately for each payment period, so you can owe it even if you are due a refund when you file^[p505].
• Forgetting self-employment tax. Estimated tax covers SE tax as well as income tax; on $80,000 of profit SE tax alone is $11,304.
• Uneven income paid in even installments. If most of your income arrives late in the year, the annualized income installment method (Form 2210, Schedule AI) can lower the early payments^[f1040es].
• Ignoring one-time gains. A large stock sale raises your 2026 tax and can call for a larger payment; estimate the tax with the capital gains tax calculator.
• Using last year's tax after a big jump in income without the 110% rule when 2025 AGI was over $150,000.

How to pay estimated taxes

The fastest way to pay estimated taxes is online: IRS Direct Pay takes a transfer from a checking or savings account at no cost, and your IRS Online Account shows every estimated payment you have made^[f1040es]. Other options^[f1040es]:

• Debit card, credit card or digital wallet through the processors listed at IRS.gov/Payments; the processor charges a fee.
• EFTPS, the Treasury's free payment system, online or by phone after you enroll.
• Check or money order with a Form 1040-ES voucher; a mailed payment counts on the U.S. postmark date.
• Last year's refund applied to this year's first installment.

Choose the payment type "estimated tax" and form 1040-ES for the right tax year. You can pay more than four times; what counts is that the total paid by each due date reaches the amount required by then^[f1040es].

Estimated tax penalty

The estimated tax penalty is interest on each installment that is late or short, for the number of days it stays unpaid^[f1040es]. It is figured on Form 2210 when you file, at the IRS underpayment rate: 7% a year, compounded daily, for October to December 2026^[int]. A $2,250 installment paid three months late costs about $40. You owe no penalty if you meet a safe harbor above, owe less than $1,000 after withholding, or had no tax liability for a full prior year; the IRS can also waive it in some cases, explained in the Instructions for Form 2210^[f1040es].

Planning federal and state payments together? The quarterly estimated tax planner adds your state's dates and amounts