Quarterly Estimated Taxes for the Self-Employed: 2026 Deadlines, Safe Harbors and How Much to Pay

When you have a paycheck, tax comes out every two weeks without you thinking about it. When you work for yourself, nothing comes out. The IRS still wants its money during the year, not in one lump next April.

That is what estimated tax is: you acting as your own payroll department. Miss it, and an interest-like penalty starts running on each missed installment. Get it right, and April becomes boring. Boring is the goal.

Who has to pay estimated tax

The 2026 Form 1040-ES instructions put the general rule this way. In most cases, you must pay estimated tax for 2026 if both of these apply:

1. You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for 2026, after subtracting your withholding and refundable credits.
2. You expect your withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of 90% of the tax on your 2026 return or 100% of the tax on your 2025 return, which must cover all 12 months.

That tracks the statute. IRC Section 6654(e)(1) says there is no penalty if the tax shown on your return, reduced by withholding, is less than $1,000. And Section 6654(e)(2) says there is no penalty if you had no tax liability for the preceding 12-month year and were a U.S. citizen or resident for all of it.

One more thing: the "tax" being estimated includes self-employment tax. IRC 6654(f) defines it to include the tax imposed by Chapter 1, which is income tax, and Chapter 2, which is self-employment tax. People who only budget for income tax underpay every time. See how self-employment tax is calculated.

The 2026 due dates

IRC 6654(c)(2) sets four installment dates: April 15, June 15, and September 15 of the tax year, and January 15 of the following year. For 2026, the Form 1040-ES instructions list:

Installment	Covers income earned	2026 due date
1st	January 1 to March 31	April 15, 2026
2nd	April 1 to May 31	June 15, 2026
3rd	June 1 to August 31	September 15, 2026
4th	September 1 to December 31	January 15, 2027

Notice the "quarters" are not equal. The second period is only two months long, and the fourth is four. That trips up people who budget by calendar quarter.

The instructions add two useful details. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, use the next business day. And you do not have to make the January 15, 2027 payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027, and pay the entire balance with it. That tracks IRC 6654(h), which waives the penalty on the fourth installment when you file and pay in full by the end of January.

How much to pay: the safe harbors

Under IRC 6654(d)(1), each installment is 25% of the "required annual payment," which is the lesser of:

• 90% of this year's tax, or
• 100% of last year's tax, as shown on last year's return, if that return covered a full 12 months.

There is a catch for higher earners. Under Section 6654(d)(1)(C), if your adjusted gross income on last year's return was more than $150,000, or $75,000 if you file married separately this year, the prior-year number becomes 110% instead of 100%.

The prior-year safe harbor is the one most self-employed people should love. You know last year's tax. You do not know this year's income yet. Pay 100%, or 110%, of last year's total tax in four equal installments on time, and you generally will not owe an underpayment penalty even if this year turns out much bigger. You will owe the difference in April, but no penalty on it.

You cannot predict a gig economy year. You can predict last year's tax. Use the number you know.

When income is lumpy

Seasonal and project-based workers often earn most of their income late in the year. Paying equal installments based on a full-year estimate means overpaying early. The Code allows a fix: the annualized income installment method in IRC 6654(d)(2), which bases each installment on the income you actually earned through the end of that period. The 2026 Form 1040-ES instructions say that if you use it, you file Form 2210 with Schedule AI with your return, even if no penalty is owed. We walk through it in the estimated tax penalty for uneven gig income.

If you also have a W-2 job

You may not need estimated payments at all. Extra withholding from a job counts toward your required payments, and under IRC 6654(g), withholding is generally treated as paid in equal parts on each installment date, no matter when during the year it was actually withheld. That makes a December withholding increase much more powerful than a late estimated payment. See W-2 job plus side gig.

How to pay

The 2026 Form 1040-ES instructions list several options, including:

• Your IRS Online Account, where you can make payments and see what you have paid.
• IRS Direct Pay, for transfers directly from a checking or savings account.
• EFTPS, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, which requires enrollment.
• Mail, with a payment voucher from Form 1040-ES. If you mail a payment, the instructions say a U.S. postmark by the due date counts as the date of payment, but they also caution that the postmark is the date the mail is processed at a facility, which may not be the day you dropped it off.

Electronic payments leave a clean record. Mail leaves room for arguments you do not want to have. You can also make more than four payments if that fits your cash flow, as long as the total paid by each due date is at least what was required by then.

What happens if you miss one

The penalty under IRC 6654(a) is computed by applying the underpayment interest rate under IRC 6621 to the amount of each underpaid installment for the period it was underpaid. It runs from the installment due date until the earlier of the date you pay or April 15 of the following year. Each installment stands on its own, so paying the fourth one twice does not erase the penalty on the first.

The fix is simple: if you missed an installment, pay it as soon as you can. The penalty stops growing on that portion when it is paid. Under IRC 6654(b)(3), payments are applied to the earliest unpaid installment first.

A system that works

1. Look at last year's total tax. Multiply by 100%, or 110% if last year's AGI was over $150,000.
2. Divide by four. Put the four dates on your calendar.
3. Each time you are paid, move a percentage of it to a separate tax savings account.
4. Pay each installment electronically on or before the due date and save the confirmation.
5. If this year is running far ahead of last year, keep paying the safe harbor and set aside the extra for April.

If you are already behind for a past year, read our overview of common self-employed IRS problems and get the current year on track first. Old balances are easier to deal with when you are not creating new ones.