If you earn income that no employer withholds tax from, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) still expects you to pay tax as you earn it, in four instalments during the year. Those instalments are called estimated tax payments, and their due dates are fixed: April 15, June 15, and September 15, with the final instalment due on January 15 of the following year. Missing a date, or paying too little, can mean an underpayment penalty, even if you pay the full amount when you file your return. This guide explains who has to pay, the exact dates for 2026, how much each payment should be, and how to pay.
This article is general educational information only, not personal tax advice. The dates and rules below follow the IRS Form 1040-ES instructions and IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax (IRS, 2026; IRS, 2025). Confirm the figures that apply to your tax year on IRS.gov before you rely on them, because dates shift when they fall on a weekend or a legal holiday.
What Are Estimated Taxes and Who Has to Pay Them?
Estimated tax is the method used to pay income tax on income that is not subject to withholding, including earnings from self-employment, interest, dividends, rent, and capital gains. If you are self-employed, a freelancer, a sole proprietor, or a partner, nobody withholds tax from your income for you, so you pay it yourself in instalments using Form 1040-ES. Employees can also owe estimated tax if the tax withheld from their pay is not enough to cover tax on other income, for example a large capital gain or rental income.
You generally have to make estimated payments if you expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for the year after subtracting your withholding and refundable credits, and you expect your withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of 90% of the tax shown on your current-year return or 100% of the tax shown on your prior-year return, under the rules in Form 1040-ES (IRS, 2026). If you expect to owe less than $1,000, you generally do not have to make estimated payments. You also do not have to pay estimated tax for the current year if you were a US citizen or resident alien for all of the prior tax year, had no tax liability for that full 12-month year, and your prior tax year was 12 months long.
The $1,000 threshold is a test, not a payment amount: it decides whether the estimated tax system applies to you at all. If it does, the amount you must pay is worked out from your expected total tax for the year, not from the $1,000 figure. For the related question of when ordinary filing deadlines fall, see our guide to when taxes are due, and for the filing deadline itself, see our guide to the tax filing deadline.
What Are the Estimated Tax Due Dates for 2026?
For calendar-year filers, the four due dates for 2026 estimated tax are April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027 (IRS, 2026). The periods the payments cover are not four equal quarters, which catches many people out. The first payment covers income from January 1 to March 31 and is due April 15, 2026. The second covers April 1 to May 31 and is due June 15, 2026, only two months after the first. The third covers June 1 to August 31 and is due September 15, 2026. The fourth covers September 1 to December 31 and is due January 15, 2027.
For the 2025 tax year, the corresponding dates were April 15, 2025, June 16, 2025, September 15, 2025, and January 15, 2026. The second 2025 date fell on June 16 rather than June 15 because June 15, 2025 was a Sunday, and the IRS rule is that a due date falling on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday moves to the next business day. All four 2026 dates fall on weekdays, so no shift applies for 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday in a future year, confirm the shifted date on IRS.gov rather than assuming the 15th.
You can also pay the full estimated amount for the year by the April 15 deadline instead of using four instalments, and you can make a payment at any time before its due date. Paying early is not penalised, and paying the whole year in April removes the risk of forgetting a later date, although it means parting with the money sooner. If you file your return for the year by February 1, 2027 and pay the full balance due with the return, you can skip the January 15, 2027 payment altogether (IRS, 2026). That shortcut is useful when your income is known by the end of January and you would rather settle in one step.
How Much Should Each Payment Be?
The simplest approach is to divide your required annual payment by four and pay that amount on each due date. The required annual payment is generally the smaller of 90% of the tax you expect to owe for the current year, or 100% of the tax shown on your prior-year return (IRS, 2026). If your prior-year adjusted gross income was more than $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately, the prior-year figure is 110% of that year’s tax instead of 100%. This is the safe harbour rule: paying the required annual payment in four equal, on-time instalments generally protects you from the underpayment penalty, even if your actual tax turns out to be higher.
A clearly labelled hypothetical example shows the arithmetic. Suppose you expect to owe $12,000 in total tax for 2026, and you expect $4,000 to be withheld from a part-time job during the year. Your required annual payment is $8,000, so each quarterly instalment is $2,000. If instead your 2025 tax was $7,000 and your 2025 adjusted gross income was under $150,000, the safe harbour would let you pay $7,000 for the year, or $1,750 per quarter, and generally avoid the penalty even if your 2026 tax turns out higher than $7,000, because the safe harbour is based on the smaller of the two figures.
Self-employed readers need to remember that estimated tax covers both income tax and self-employment tax. Self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings from self-employment, on top of income tax, and it is included in the total you estimate (IRS, 2026). Forgetting the self-employment tax component is the commonest reason a freelancer’s estimate comes out too low. The Form 1040-ES worksheet walks through the calculation, including the deduction for one-half of self-employment tax and the standard deduction or itemised deductions you expect to claim. For the deductions that reduce taxable income, see our guide to tax deductions, and for the rates that apply to that income, see our guide to the federal tax brackets.
What Happens If You Miss a Date or Pay Too Little?
If you pay too little, or pay late, you may owe an underpayment penalty, even if you pay the full amount when you file your return. The penalty is figured on Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, and it is essentially interest on the shortfall for the period it was unpaid, at the IRS underpayment rate, which the IRS updates quarterly (IRS, 2025). The penalty is calculated separately for each instalment period, so a shortfall in the first quarter costs more than the same shortfall in the fourth quarter, because it was unpaid for longer.
There are exceptions. No penalty applies if the total tax shown on your return, minus withholding and refundable credits, is less than $1,000. No penalty applies if you paid the required annual payment through withholding or timely estimated instalments under the safe harbour rule. And the IRS may waive the penalty in specific circumstances, including casualty, disaster, or other unusual circumstances, or if you retired after age 62 or became disabled during the tax year, provided the underpayment was due to reasonable cause and not wilful neglect. If you think an exception applies, Form 2210 is where you claim it, and the IRS instructions for the form explain the conditions.
The practical lesson is to treat the June date with particular care. Because the second payment is due only two months after the first, and because it covers only two months of income, people who set a calendar reminder for “every three months” miss it. A payment that is a week late still counts as late for that instalment period, and the penalty, while usually modest for a small shortfall, is entirely avoidable. Set reminders for all four dates at the start of the year, and check the amount again in September, when most of the year’s income is known and the final instalment can be adjusted.
How Do You Actually Pay Estimated Tax?
The IRS offers several ways to pay, and the method does not change the due date: what matters is when the IRS receives the payment, or when it is scheduled. IRS Direct Pay, on IRS.gov, lets you pay directly from a bank account with no fee, and it gives an immediate confirmation number. The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, or EFTPS, is the system designed for regular business and estimated payments, and it lets you schedule payments in advance, which is useful for all four dates at once. You can also pay by debit or credit card through an IRS-approved payment processor, although the processor charges a fee, or by cheque or money order mailed with the Form 1040-ES payment voucher for that quarter.
Whichever method you use, keep the confirmation number, the date, and the amount for each payment, and keep it with your tax records for the year. When you file your return, the estimated payments you made are entered on the return and credited against the total tax due, so the return shows whether you overpaid, in which case the excess is refunded or applied to next year, or underpaid, in which case the balance is due with the return. If you are expecting a refund of overpaid tax, see our guide to state tax refunds for how refunds are handled at the state level, and note that federal and state estimated tax systems are separate, with their own dates and forms.
One more administrative point: use the correct voucher and tax year for each payment. The Form 1040-ES vouchers are labelled by quarter and by year, and a payment sent with the wrong year’s voucher, or without a voucher when paying by mail, can be misapplied. If you pay electronically through Direct Pay or EFTPS, select “Estimated Tax” as the reason and the correct tax year, and check the confirmation shows the year you intended before you close the page.
What About State Estimated Taxes and Uneven Income?
Most states that levy an income tax have their own estimated tax system, with their own dates, thresholds, and forms, and paying your federal estimated tax does not cover your state liability. Some states follow the federal dates, others do not, and a few states have no income tax at all. Check your state tax agency’s guidance for its own quarterly schedule, and budget for both the federal and the state payment on the same dates where they coincide.
If your income is uneven during the year, for example a large payment arrives in December, paying in four equal instalments can overpay early in the year and still leave a penalty for the early quarters. The IRS provides an alternative for that situation: the annualised income instalment method, worked out on Schedule AI of Form 2210, which lets each instalment reflect the income actually earned up to that point in the year (IRS, 2025). Seasonal businesses and people with a single large payment late in the year are the usual users of this method. It requires more arithmetic, because each quarter’s instalment is recalculated on the year-to-date income, but it can remove a penalty that equal instalments would not.
Finally, remember that estimated tax is a payment system, not a separate tax. The amount you pay in instalments is credited against the tax on your return, and the return is where the final figure is settled. The dates and the safe harbour exist to keep the payment spread through the year, in the same way withholding spreads an employee’s tax through the year. The goal is not to pay exactly the right amount in advance, which is impossible to know, but to pay enough, on time, that no penalty applies, and to settle the difference when you file.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are estimated taxes due in 2026?
For calendar-year filers, the four due dates are April 15, June 15, and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027 (IRS, 2026). The periods are uneven: the second payment covers only April 1 to May 31, so it is due just two months after the first.
Do I have to pay estimated taxes if I have a job?
Usually not, if your employer withholds enough tax. You generally have to make estimated payments if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and refundable credits, and your withholding will not meet the safe harbour. Extra income from freelancing, rent, or capital gains on top of a salary is the commonest reason an employee owes estimated tax.
What is the safe harbour rule for estimated tax?
Paying the smaller of 90% of your current-year tax or 100% of your prior-year tax, in four equal on-time instalments, generally avoids the underpayment penalty. If your prior-year adjusted gross income was over $150,000, the prior-year figure is 110% instead of 100% (IRS, 2026).
Can I skip the January estimated tax payment?
Yes, if you file your return for the year by February 1, 2027 and pay the full balance due with the return (IRS, 2026). You can also pay the full estimated amount for the year by April 15 instead of using four instalments.
What if my income is uneven during the year?
Use the annualised income instalment method on Schedule AI of Form 2210, which lets each instalment reflect the income actually earned up to that point (IRS, 2025). It involves more calculation, but it can avoid a penalty when a large payment arrives late in the year.
The Bottom Line
Estimated taxes for 2026 are due on April 15, June 15, and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027, for calendar-year filers, and they apply when you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and refundable credits. Work out the required annual payment with the Form 1040-ES worksheet, remembering that self-employment tax is included, pay a quarter of it on each date, and use the safe harbour, the smaller of 90% of the current year’s tax or 100% of the prior year’s tax, 110% if your prior-year adjusted gross income was over $150,000, to protect yourself from the underpayment penalty. Set reminders for all four dates now, watch the June date in particular, and settle the difference when you file your return.
This article is general educational information only, not personal tax advice. Estimated tax rules, thresholds, and dates are set by the IRS and change annually, so confirm the figures that apply to your tax year on IRS.gov before paying.