The 2026 due dates
Publication 505 divides the year into four payment periods, each with its own due date. They are not equal quarters.
| Payment | Income earned | Due |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 1 to March 31, 2026 | April 15, 2026 |
| 2 | April 1 to May 31, 2026 | June 15, 2026 |
| 3 | June 1 to August 31, 2026 | September 15, 2026 |
| 4 | September 1 to December 31, 2026 | January 15, 2027 |
A due date that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next day that is not one. The fourth payment is due in the following January, and the Form 1040-ES vouchers for 2026 carry exactly these four dates. Payments go through an IRS Online Account, Direct Pay or the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, or by mail with a voucher.
Who has to pay
The general rule in Publication 505 has two parts, and both must apply. You must pay estimated tax for 2026 if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after subtracting your withholding and tax credits, and you expect your withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of 90 percent of the tax to be shown on your 2026 return or 100 percent of the tax shown on your 2025 return, which must cover all 12 months. Self-employed people, contractors, landlords and anyone with investment income and no withholding usually meet both tests. An employee whose paycheck withholding covers the year's tax usually meets neither.
The safe harbors
The second part of that rule is also the way out of the penalty. If your withholding and estimated payments together reach either of two marks, there is no underpayment penalty regardless of what the final return shows:
Publication 505 states the higher-income rule precisely: if your AGI for 2025 was more than $150,000, or $75,000 if your filing status for 2026 is married filing separately, substitute 110 percent for 100 percent. Form 1040-ES also gives farmers and fishermen 66⅔ percent in place of 90 percent. Last year's tax is the number most people anchor on because it is known; 90 percent of this year's tax requires a forecast. The table turns last year's tax into this year's instalments under the prior-year harbor.
| Tax shown on the 2025 return | 100% harbor: per quarter | 110% harbor (prior AGI over $150,000): per quarter |
|---|---|---|
| $4,000 | $1,000 | $1,100 |
| $8,000 | $2,000 | $2,200 |
| $12,000 | $3,000 | $3,300 |
| $20,000 | $5,000 | $5,500 |
| $40,000 | $10,000 | $11,000 |
Paying the prior-year harbor protects you from the penalty, not from the bill: if 2026 income is higher, the difference is due with the return in April 2027. If 2026 income is lower, the 90 percent of current-year tax figure is the smaller one and the harbor to use, which is where the worksheet comes in.
One freelancer, worked through
A single filer expects $90,000 of net profit from self-employment in 2026, takes the standard deduction and has no other income, credits or withholding. The Form 1040-ES worksheet runs, in outline:
| Step | Figure | How |
|---|---|---|
| Net profit | $90,000 | income minus business expenses |
| Self-employment tax | $12,717 | $90,000 × 92.35% × 15.3% (Topic 554) |
| Deduction for half of it | $6,358 | an adjustment to income |
| Standard deduction | $16,100 | single, 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) |
| Taxable income | $67,542 | $90,000 − $6,358 − $16,100 |
| Income tax | $9,571 | 2026 single brackets, 10% to 22% |
| Total 2026 tax | $22,288 | income tax + self-employment tax |
| 90% of it | $20,059 | line 12a |
| Per quarter | $5,015 | if 90% is the smaller harbor |
This leaves out the qualified business income deduction, which can reduce the income tax for many self-employed people, and any credits, so it errs on the high side; the worksheet has lines for both. The useful ratio to carry around is the last line against the first: for this profile, roughly 25 percent of profit goes to federal tax, which is the share to set aside from every payment. The day rate calculator and the hourly rate calculator both have a tax reserve setting for exactly that percentage, and the freelance project price calculator prices a job with the reserve built in.
Uneven income, and the withholding shortcut
Equal instalments assume income arrives evenly. When it does not, Publication 505 describes an annualized income installment method that sizes each payment to the income actually earned in that period, documented on Schedule AI of Form 2210 so the IRS can see why the payments differ. The simpler route for anyone who also has a paycheck is withholding: tax withheld by an employer is treated as paid through the year, so a higher withholding rate on the job can cover the side income without any estimated payments at all. The paycheck calculator shows what a change in withholding does to take-home pay.
A routine that works
- Pick a harbor on January 1. Last year's tax, at 100 or 110 percent, if income is flat or rising; 90 percent of a fresh estimate if it is falling.
- Divide by four and put the dates in the calendar: April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15.
- Set the reserve aside as money comes in, at the percentage the worksheet produces, in a separate account.
- Re-run the worksheet in June and September with the real year-to-date figures and adjust the remaining payments.
- Keep the confirmations. Estimated payments are credited on the return, and the record of what was paid when is yours to keep.
This guide describes the federal rules and 2026 figures as the IRS publishes them. States with an income tax have their own estimated payment rules and dates, and the right numbers for a particular return are a question for a tax professional.
Frequently asked questions
When are estimated taxes due in 2026?
April 15, 2026 for income from January through March; June 15, 2026 for April and May; September 15, 2026 for June through August; and January 15, 2027 for September through December. Publication 505 adds that a payment due on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday is on time if made on the next day that is not one. The periods are not equal quarters, so the second payment covers only two months.
Who has to pay estimated taxes?
Publication 505's general rule for 2026: you must pay if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after subtracting withholding and credits, and you expect your withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of 90 percent of the tax on your 2026 return or 100 percent of the tax on your 2025 return, which must cover all 12 months. Freelancers, contractors, landlords and investors with no withholding are the usual cases.
What is the safe harbor for estimated taxes?
Pay in at least the smaller of 90 percent of this year's tax or 100 percent of last year's, through withholding and estimated payments together, and there is no underpayment penalty even if you owe more in April. If your 2025 adjusted gross income was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately for 2026), the prior-year figure is 110 percent instead of 100. Last year's tax is the one number you know for certain, which is why most people anchor on it.
How do I calculate what to pay each quarter?
Form 1040-ES has the worksheet: estimate adjusted gross income, subtract deductions, figure the income tax, add self-employment tax and other taxes, subtract credits and withholding, then take 90 percent of the result, or last year's tax if smaller, and divide by four. A freelancer with $90,000 of net profit and the standard deduction in 2026 arrives at about $22,300 of total tax and quarterly payments of about $5,000 under the 90 percent rule.
What if my income is uneven through the year?
The default is four equal payments. If most of your income arrives late in the year, Publication 505 describes the annualized income installment method, which lets you pay in proportion to income actually earned in each period, with Schedule AI of Form 2210 showing the IRS why the payments were unequal. The other practical fix is withholding: if you also have a job, raising the withholding there counts as paid evenly through the year.
Sources
- IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, chapter 2 (the general rule for 2026: at least $1,000 owed and withholding below the smaller of 90 percent of current-year or 100 percent of prior-year tax; 110 percent above $150,000 of prior-year AGI; the four payment periods and due dates; the next-business-day rule)
- IRS Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals (PDF; the estimated tax worksheet, 90 percent on line 12a and 66⅔ percent for farming and fishing, the $1,000 test, payment vouchers dated April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027)
- IRS: Estimated taxes (who must pay, the $1,000 threshold, Form 1040-ES, paying through an IRS Online Account, Direct Pay or EFTPS, the underpayment penalty)
- IRS: Pay as you go, so you won't owe (the four due dates and the income periods they cover)
- IRS Topic no. 554: self-employment tax (15.3 percent on 92.35 percent of net earnings; one half deductible)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (PDF): the 2026 tax rate tables (section 4.01) and standard deduction (section 4.14) used in the example