Quarterly Estimated Tax Due Dates 2026

The 2026 due dates and periods

Estimated tax is how you pay tax on income that has no withholding: self-employment and gig work, interest, dividends, rents and similar income. Form 1040-ES splits the year into four payment periods, and each payment is due a few weeks after its period ends:

The periods aren't equal quarters: the second covers only April and May, and the fourth covers four months. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the payment is due the next business day. A fiscal-year taxpayer pays on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th and 9th months of the fiscal year and of the 1st month of the next one.

The January payment exception

You don't have to make the payment due January 15, 2027 if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the entire balance due with it. That suits people who have their paperwork together early in the year. Farmers and fishermen have their own rule: if at least two-thirds of their gross income for 2025 or 2026 is from farming or fishing, they can pay all of their estimated tax by January 15, 2027, or file and pay in full by March 1, 2027.

How much to pay each quarter

In general you must pay estimated tax if you expect to owe at least $1,000 for 2026 after withholding and refundable credits, and your withholding and credits will be less than the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax and 100% of your 2025 tax (110% if your 2025 adjusted gross income was over $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately). Paying a quarter of that required annual payment by each due date avoids the underpayment penalty even if you owe more when you file.

For example, a single freelancer in Texas with $80,000 of profit owes about $16,647.46 of federal self-employment and income tax for 2026, or $4,161.87 a quarter. If last year's tax was $9,000, the safe harbor is $9,000.00: $2,250.00 on each due date, with the rest paid when filing. The 1099 tax calculator works out both amounts for your income and state.

How to pay, and when a payment counts

You can pay online, including through your IRS online account, or by mailing a check with a Form 1040-ES voucher. A mailed payment counts as paid on the date of the U.S. postmark. Form 1040-ES now cautions that the postmark is the date the mail is processed at a postal facility, which may not be the day you drop it off, so mailing a few days early, or paying online, avoids the question.

You can make more than four payments. If you do, make sure the total paid during each payment period reaches the amount required by that period's due date.

If you miss a date or pay too little

The underpayment penalty is figured separately for each installment, from its due date until it is paid, so a late first-quarter payment can cost something even if you catch up by the fourth. Paying the shortfall as soon as you notice it stops the clock on that installment.

If your income arrives unevenly, for example a large payment late in the year, equal installments may overstate what you owed early on. The annualized income installment method, explained in chapter 2 of Publication 505, lets you base each installment on the income you actually had by then; you file Form 2210 with Schedule AI with your return to use it.

State estimated tax

Most states with an income tax have their own estimated payment requirement, often on the same dates, but not always: New Hampshire's business taxes, for example, are due on the 15th of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months. Check your state's revenue department, or the state page of the 1099 tax calculator, which lists each state's schedule where it differs. For how much to keep aside from each payment you receive, see how much to set aside for 1099 taxes.

Who has to pay by these dates

Under the general rule in Form 1040-ES, you must pay estimated tax for 2026 if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after subtracting withholding and refundable credits, and you expect your withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax and 100% of your 2025 tax. You don't have to pay if you were a U.S. citizen or resident for all of 2025 and had no tax liability for that full year.

For the Texas freelancer in the example, the four equal payments would look like this, alongside the smaller safe harbor installments:

If your income changes a lot during the year, for example after March 31, recompute the remaining payments. Form 1040-ES suggests the annualized income installment method in that case, so the payments follow the income you actually earn.

What a late or short payment costs

The penalty for underpaying estimated tax works like interest. Section 6654 applies the IRS underpayment rate under section 6621 to the amount by which each required installment was short, for the period from its due date until it is paid or until the April due date of the return, whichever comes first. A payment made a few weeks late costs a few weeks of interest on that amount, not a flat charge.

The penalty, or the showing that none is owed because a safe harbor was met or the annualized method was used, is worked out on Form 2210. The simplest protection is to pay at least the safe harbor installment by each date above.