How to File Quarterly Taxes in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Self-Employed

If you work for yourself, nobody withholds tax from your income, so the IRS expects you to pay it in four installments during the year. That's what people mean by "filing quarterly taxes." This guide is for freelancers, sole proprietors, single-member LLC owners, partners and side-hustlers who want to get it right without paying a preparer for every installment. You'll learn who has to pay, the 2026 due dates, how much is enough to avoid a penalty, how to pay online in a few minutes, what your state expects, and what a missed payment actually costs.

Quick answer

You don't file a quarterly return. You estimate your year's income tax plus self-employment tax with the Form 1040-ES worksheet and send a payment four times a year, most easily through IRS Direct Pay or your IRS Online Account. You must pay if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and credits.

• 2026 due dates: April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027

• Safe harbor: pay 100% of last year's tax (110% if last year's AGI topped $150,000) or 90% of this year's

• Penalty = interest on the shortfall, at 7% a year for Q4 2026

• Most states with an income tax want their own estimates on similar dates

• New individual EFTPS enrollments have stopped; use Direct Pay instead

What "filing quarterly taxes" really means

The US tax system is pay-as-you-go. Employees meet that rule through paycheck withholding. When you're self-employed, you meet it through estimated tax payments. The word "filing" is misleading: there's no quarterly Form 1040 for individuals. You calculate an amount, pay it, and keep the worksheet. At the end of the year you file one Form 1040 with Schedule C and Schedule SE, list the total of your four payments, and either get a refund or pay the difference.

Estimated payments cover two taxes at once. The first is ordinary federal income tax on your profit. The second is self-employment tax, which is how you pay Social Security and Medicare when there's no employer to split it with. Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of your net earnings, with the Social Security part capped at the $184,500 wage base for 2026. Many first-year freelancers budget only for income tax and get caught out by this second bill, which often adds up to more than the income tax for people with moderate profits.

The same mechanism covers other income with no withholding: rent, interest, dividends, capital gains, alimony from older divorce agreements, and the taxable part of unemployment and Social Security if you didn't elect withholding. If you have a mix, add it all into one estimate. You don't make separate payments for separate income types.

Who must pay estimated taxes

The general federal rule has two parts. You must make estimated payments for 2026 if you expect to owe at least $1,000 when you file, 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 or 100% of your 2025 tax. The IRS applies this to sole proprietors, partners and S corporation shareholders in the same way, because business profit flows through to their personal returns.

Do you need to pay estimated tax?

Step 1

Expect to owe $1,000+ after withholding?

Step 2

Withholding below 90% of this year's or 100% of last year's tax?

Step 3

Had a tax liability last year?

Step 4

Pay quarterly

Form 1040-ES

A single-member LLC is ignored for income tax unless it elects corporate treatment, so its owner pays estimates personally, exactly like a sole proprietor. A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership doesn't pay estimates itself; each member pays on their share of profit, whether or not the money was distributed. If you've elected S corporation status, the business runs payroll for your salary and withholds on that, but you may still need estimates for the distributions and other income on your Schedule K-1. Our LLC vs S corp guide explains how that election changes the picture.

C corporations have their own regime. A corporation must pay estimated tax if it expects to owe at least $500, using the Form 1120-W worksheet. For a calendar-year corporation the installments fall on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months, which means December 15 rather than January 15 for the last payment.

There's one big exception that helps new businesses. You owe no underpayment penalty if you had no tax liability for the prior year, were a US citizen or resident for the whole year, and that prior year was a full 12 months. Someone who was a full-time student or not working in 2025 and started freelancing in 2026 can therefore pay the whole 2026 bill with the return in April 2027 without a penalty. That doesn't make the bill smaller, so the cash still needs to be in a savings account by then.

If you also have a W-2 job

Side-hustlers with a regular job have an easier option. Instead of sending estimated payments, you can file a new Form W-4 with your employer and ask for an extra flat amount to be withheld from each paycheck. Withholding has a useful quirk: the IRS treats it as paid evenly through the year regardless of when it actually came out of your pay. If you realize in October that you're behind, raising withholding for the last few pay periods can fix the shortfall for the earlier quarters too. Estimated payments don't get that treatment; each one is credited on the date you make it.

2026 quarterly tax due dates

The quarters aren't equal. The first covers three months, the second only two, the third three and the fourth four. That's why the June payment comes just two months after April's. The dates below apply to calendar-year individuals for the 2026 tax year.

Federal estimated tax dates for the 2026 tax year

April 15, 2026

1st payment — income earned January 1 to March 31

June 15, 2026

2nd payment — income earned April 1 to May 31

September 15, 2026

3rd payment — income earned June 1 to August 31

January 15, 2027

4th payment — income earned September 1 to December 31

February 1, 2027

File your 2026 return and pay in full by this date and you can skip the January payment

April 15, 2027

2026 Form 1040 due; pay any remaining balance

When a due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. You can also pay the entire year's estimate with the first installment if you prefer one payment. Fiscal-year individuals pay on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th and 9th months of their fiscal year and the 1st month of the next.

Farmers and commercial fishermen get a simpler schedule. If at least two-thirds of your gross income for 2025 or 2026 comes from farming or fishing, you can make a single estimated payment by January 15, 2027, or skip estimates entirely by filing your 2026 return and paying all the tax by March 1, 2027. The 110% rule for higher earners doesn't apply to you, and your current-year safe harbor is two-thirds of the tax rather than 90%.

How much to pay: the safe harbor rules

You don't need to predict your income perfectly. The law sets "safe harbor" amounts: pay at least that much on time and the IRS can't charge a penalty, even if you owe a lot more when you file. For 2026 you're protected if your on-time payments plus withholding equal the smaller of these two figures:

Safe harbor options for 2026

Method	What you pay	Best for
Prior-year tax	100% of your 2025 total tax, split into four	Growing businesses — the amount is fixed and known in January
Prior-year tax, higher income	110% of your 2025 tax if 2025 AGI was over $150,000 ($75,000 married filing separately)	Higher earners who want certainty
Current-year tax	90% of your expected 2026 tax	Income that's falling or volatile
Annualized income	Each installment based on income earned so far (Form 2210, Schedule AI)	Seasonal or back-loaded income

Prior-year tax

What you pay

100% of your 2025 total tax, split into four

Best for

Growing businesses — the amount is fixed and known in January

Prior-year tax, higher income

What you pay

110% of your 2025 tax if 2025 AGI was over $150,000 ($75,000 married filing separately)

Best for

Higher earners who want certainty

Current-year tax

What you pay

90% of your expected 2026 tax

Best for

Income that's falling or volatile

Annualized income

What you pay

Each installment based on income earned so far (Form 2210, Schedule AI)

Best for

Seasonal or back-loaded income

For most freelancers whose income is rising, the prior-year method is the one to use. Look up "total tax" on last year's Form 1040, multiply by 100% or 110%, subtract any expected withholding, and divide by four. Because the number is known before the year starts, you can schedule all four payments in January and stop worrying. The trade-off is a potentially large balance due in April, so keep saving the difference in a separate account.

The current-year method suits people whose income is dropping. If you earned $150,000 last year but expect $60,000 this year, paying 90% of a much smaller current-year bill keeps more cash in the business. The risk is that you underestimate; if a big contract lands in November, you could fall short of 90% and owe a penalty on the earlier quarters.

The annualized income installment method

The standard rules assume you earn evenly through the year. If most of your income arrives late, such as a landscaper who invoices most work in summer, a holiday retailer, or a consultant who lands a big project in the fall, equal installments would make you overpay early. The annualized income installment method fixes that. On Form 2210 Schedule AI, you measure actual income in four cumulative periods (January–March, January–May, January–August and the full year), annualize each one using factors of 4, 2.4, 1.5 and 1, and owe 22.5%, 45%, 67.5% and 90% of the resulting tax by each due date.

The method is worth the paperwork when your income is genuinely lumpy. If you use it, you must attach Form 2210 with Schedule AI to your 2026 return even if you end up owing no penalty. Tax software handles the arithmetic, but you need good monthly bookkeeping, because the calculation runs on profit actually earned in each period, not on invoices sent.

Worked example: a freelancer earning $80,000

Here's how the numbers work for a single designer with no other income, using the 2026 tax rate schedule printed in Form 1040-ES. The figures are rounded and simplified (no retirement contributions, health insurance or credits), but the method is the one the worksheet uses.

Estimated 2026 tax on $80,000 of Schedule C profit (single filer)

$11,304

Self-employment tax

$80,000 × 92.35% × 15.3%

$46,599

Taxable income

after half of SE tax, $16,100 standard deduction and QBI deduction

$5,344

Federal income tax

10% and 12% brackets

≈ $16,650

Total 2026 tax

≈ $4,162 per quarter

Step by step: self-employment tax is $80,000 × 0.9235 × 0.153, about $11,304. Half of that, about $5,652, is deductible, which brings adjusted gross income to roughly $74,348. Subtracting the 2026 standard deduction for a single filer, $16,100, leaves $58,248. The qualified business income deduction is 20% of the smaller of qualified business income or that taxable income figure, here about $11,650, leaving taxable income of about $46,599. Tax on that is $1,240 on the first $12,400 plus 12% of the rest, about $5,344. Add the self-employment tax and the total is around $16,650.

Now the safe harbor. Suppose the designer's 2025 total tax was $12,000 and 2025 AGI was under $150,000. The required annual payment is the smaller of 90% of 2026 tax (about $14,985) or 100% of 2025 tax ($12,000). Four payments of $3,000 each therefore avoid any penalty, and about $4,650 is due with the return in April 2027. A more cautious approach is to pay the full $4,162 each quarter so April brings no surprise. Both are legitimate; the first keeps more cash in the business during the year.

If you'd rather not run these numbers by hand, the federal tax calculator gives a quick estimate you can divide by four.

How to pay quarterly taxes online

Paying is the easy part. The IRS offers several free electronic options, and the right one depends on whether you want an account.

Make an estimated payment in about five minutes

1. 1

   Work out the amount

   Use the Form 1040-ES worksheet, last year's return or a tax calculator. Write the figure and the method you used in your records.

2. 2

   Open IRS Direct Pay or your Online Account

   Direct Pay is free and needs no sign-in. Your IRS Online Account also shows every payment you've made, which is handy at filing time.

   Open IRS Direct Pay
3. 3

   Choose the right payment type

   Select Estimated Tax, form 1040-ES and the correct tax year. Picking the wrong year is the most common error.

   Tip: A January 15 payment belongs to the previous tax year, not the new one.

4. 4

   Verify your identity and enter bank details

   Use the name, SSN and address from your last filed return. Payments come straight from your checking or savings account.

5. 5

   Schedule and save the confirmation

   You can schedule ahead and change or cancel up to two days before the payment date. Keep the confirmation number with your tax records.

IRS Direct Pay moves money directly from your bank account at no cost. It accepts personal estimated tax payments and, more recently, many business payments as well. Your IRS Online Account at irs.gov/account lets you pay, see your payment history and view balances. Debit or credit cards work through IRS-approved processors, which charge a fee, so a card only makes sense for rewards that outweigh it.

EFTPS is the option many older guides still recommend, but the IRS now says individual taxpayers can no longer create new EFTPS accounts. If you already use it, it still works for now. If you're starting fresh in 2026, use Direct Pay or your Online Account instead.

Paper checks are still accepted. Under Executive Order 14247 the Treasury is moving payments to and from the government to electronic methods, but the IRS fact sheet issued in January 2026 says mailed checks and money orders will be accepted for now. If you do mail one, make it payable to "United States Treasury," include the 1040-ES voucher for that quarter, and write your SSN and "2026 Form 1040-ES" on the check. Mailing addresses vary by state and are listed in the form's instructions.

State estimated taxes: examples

If your state has a personal income tax, it almost certainly expects estimated payments too, usually on the same four dates and with similar safe harbors. You pay the state separately through its own portal. States without a broad personal income tax, such as Texas and Florida, have no individual estimates, although they may have business taxes of their own.

California differs from the federal schedule more than any other state. The Franchise Tax Board requires estimates if you expect to owe at least $500 ($250 if married or RDP filing separately), and the payments aren't equal: 30% / 40% / 0% / 30% of the year's estimate, due on the April, June, September and January dates. In other words, 70% is due by mid-June and nothing in September. California applies the same 110% prior-year rule above $150,000 of California AGI, and if your current-year California AGI reaches $1,000,000 ($500,000 married/RDP filing separately), you can't use the prior-year safe harbor at all and must pay based on 90% of the current year's tax. Use Form 540-ES or Web Pay.

New York follows the federal dates for 2026. You don't need to pay if you expect to owe less than $300 of New York State tax, and the same $300 test applies separately to New York City and Yonkers tax. Self-employed people with earnings allocated to the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District may also owe estimated MCTMT. Pay through an Online Services account or with Form IT-2105.

For other states, search your revenue department's site for "estimated tax" and the form number, which usually mirrors the federal one (for example, a "-ES" suffix). Note the threshold, which is often far lower than the federal $1,000, and whether the state has its own penalty rate. If you moved during the year or earn income in more than one state, you may owe estimates to each.

The underpayment penalty, in dollars

The penalty for paying too little or too late is calculated like interest. The IRS looks at how much you underpaid for each installment, how many days it stayed unpaid, and the underpayment interest rate in force for those days. For individuals that rate is the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points, reset every quarter. For October through December 2026 it's 7% a year, unchanged from the previous quarter, under Revenue Ruling 2026-15.

In practice the cost is modest for short delays. If our designer skipped the $3,000 June 15 payment and caught up on September 15, 92 days later, the penalty at a 7% annual rate would be roughly $3,000 × 7% × 92 ÷ 365, about $53. Skip all four quarters on a $16,650 bill and the cost climbs into the hundreds. The penalty isn't the real danger, though. The real danger is reaching April without the cash, which can lead to an installment agreement, failure-to-pay penalties and interest on top.

You generally don't owe the penalty if your return shows less than $1,000 due, if you met a safe harbor, or if you had no tax liability the year before. The IRS can also waive it if the underpayment was caused by a casualty, a disaster or other unusual circumstance where charging it would be unfair, or if you retired after age 62 or became disabled during the year or the year before and had reasonable cause. Waivers are requested on Form 2210 with an explanation.

Usually you don't need to calculate the penalty yourself. If you leave Form 2210 off, the IRS works it out and sends a bill. File the form when you want to use the annualized method, request a waiver, or show that you paid enough in the earlier quarters.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Before each payment, check that you haven't…

0/6

• Picked the wrong tax year in Direct Pay (January payments belong to the prior year)
• Left self-employment tax out of your estimate
• Forgotten the 110% rule after a year with AGI over $150,000
• Paid the state but not the IRS, or the other way round
• Ignored a big one-off gain such as a property or stock sale
• Lost the confirmation number or the record of how you calculated the amount

Share Print

Applying a payment to the wrong year is the error that causes the most notices. If you notice it quickly, call the IRS and ask for the payment to be moved to the correct period; otherwise it will sit as a credit on the wrong year and you'll receive a penalty notice for the right one. Your Online Account shows the year each payment was credited to, so check it after each installment.

Underestimating after a good quarter is the next most common. If business picks up mid-year, recalculate and raise the remaining installments. Because estimated payments are credited on the day they're made, a bigger September payment doesn't erase a penalty for a short June payment, but it does stop the shortfall growing. If you also have W-2 wages, extra withholding is the cleaner fix.

Counting on credits that may not arrive catches out people who expect large credits. The $1,000 test subtracts withholding and refundable credits, so if a credit you're relying on turns out smaller or you don't qualify, your estimates were too low. If you're unsure, the prior-year method is the conservative choice because it doesn't depend on this year's credits at all.

Forgetting the money is already owed. A practical habit is to move 25%–30% of every client payment into a separate tax savings account the day it arrives. That figure is a rule of thumb rather than an IRS rate; the right share depends on your bracket, state and deductions, but it keeps the quarterly payment from competing with rent or payroll.

Records to keep

Keep the worksheet or note showing how you calculated each installment, the confirmation number or bank record for each payment, and copies of any state vouchers. Store them with the rest of that year's tax records for at least three years after you file. When you prepare the return, compare the total of your four payments with your IRS Online Account; a payment you can't find usually means it was credited to the wrong year or the wrong spouse's SSN.

If you're married and file jointly, you can make joint estimated payments and split them however you like on the final return. If you file separately, each spouse gets credit only for their own payments, so decide before paying.

Official links

• IRS — Form 1040-ES (2026)Worksheet, due dates and payment vouchers
• IRS — Direct PayFree bank-account payments, no sign-in
• IRS — Online AccountPay and see payment history
• IRS — Underpayment penaltyExceptions and waivers
• IRS — Form 2210Penalty and Schedule AI annualized method
• California FTB — Estimated tax payments30/40/0/30 schedule
• New York DTF — Estimated taxIT-2105 and due dates

What to do next

Pull out last year's Form 1040, find your total tax, and decide which safe harbor you'll use. Then schedule the remaining 2026 installments in Direct Pay, add your state's payments, and set up a separate savings account for the balance due in April. For the rest of the annual cycle, including Schedule C deductions and the April deadline, see our small business tax filing guide, and if you hire help, the 1099 vs W-2 guide explains which workers you'll need to report.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file a form every quarter?

No. For federal income tax there is no quarterly return for individuals. You figure the amount with the Form 1040-ES worksheet, keep it with your records and simply send a payment by each due date. The 1040-ES voucher is only mailed if you pay by check or money order. You report all four payments once a year on your Form 1040, where they're credited against your total tax.

When are quarterly taxes due for 2026?

For the 2026 tax year the four installments are due April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027. If you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the full balance, you can skip the January payment. Corporations and fiscal-year taxpayers follow different dates.

What happens if I miss a quarterly tax payment?

The IRS charges an underpayment penalty that works like interest: the shortfall times the quarterly underpayment rate (7% a year for October–December 2026) for the days it was late. Pay the missed amount as soon as you can to stop the clock. A small, short shortfall usually costs tens of dollars, not hundreds.

How much should I pay in quarterly taxes?

The simplest safe amount is 100% of last year's total tax divided by four, or 110% if last year's AGI was over $150,000. That protects you from the penalty even if you earn more this year. If your income is falling, paying 90% of this year's expected tax can be lower. Include self-employment tax, not just income tax.

Do I need to pay quarterly taxes in my first year of self-employment?

Often not for the penalty. If you had no tax liability for the prior full year and were a US citizen or resident all year, the IRS won't charge an underpayment penalty. But if you had a W-2 job last year with tax due, the prior-year safe harbor applies and you should pay estimates. Either way, set money aside, because the full bill arrives in April.

Can I still pay estimated taxes through EFTPS?

Existing EFTPS users can keep using it for now, but the IRS says individual taxpayers can no longer create new EFTPS accounts. New payers should use IRS Direct Pay (free, no sign-in), their IRS Online Account, or a debit or credit card through an IRS-approved processor, which charges a fee.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 8 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 8 October 2026
2. 2.Estimated taxes — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 8 October 2026
3. 3.Underpayment of estimated tax by individuals penalty — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 8 October 2026
4. 4.Interest rates remain the same for the fourth quarter of 2026 (IR-2026-98) — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 8 October 2026
5. 5.Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates, and Trusts — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 8 October 2026
6. 6.EFTPS: The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 8 October 2026
7. 7.Direct Pay with bank account — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 8 October 2026
8. 8.FS-2026-02: Questions and answers about Executive Order 14247 — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 8 October 2026
9. 9.Estimated tax payments — California Franchise Tax Board · accessed 8 October 2026
10. 10.Who must make estimated tax payments? / Estimated tax payment due dates — New York State Department of Taxation and Finance · accessed 8 October 2026