Quarterly Estimated Tax Dates for 2026 and 2027
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In short: IRS estimated tax payments for the 2026 tax year are due April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. For the 2027 tax year, the dates set by law are April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2027, and January 18, 2028, though the IRS has not yet published the 2027 Form 1040-ES.
If you're self-employed, the IRS doesn't wait until April to collect what you owe. Freelancers, 1099 contractors, and small business owners are expected to pay taxes in four installments across the year, and missing or underpaying those installments means an underpayment penalty, even if you pay everything owed by the filing deadline. Here are the payment dates for the 2026 and 2027 tax years, the rules that protect you from penalties, and the simplest way to figure out what to send.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Consult a tax professional, such as a CPA or enrolled agent, about your circumstances.
The 2026 Tax Year Payment Dates
These are the four estimated payment deadlines for income earned during the 2026 tax year, made using Form 1040-ES:
| Payment | Covers income earned | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2026 | April 15, 2026 |
| Q2 | Apr 1 to May 31, 2026 | June 15, 2026 |
| Q3 | Jun 1 to Aug 31, 2026 | September 15, 2026 |
| Q4 | Sep 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | January 15, 2027 |
Notice the quarters aren't even. The IRS groups them unevenly, so Q2 only covers two months and Q3 covers three. That's normal; it's the same pattern every year.
The January 15, 2027 waiver: if you file your complete 2026 tax return and pay the full balance due by February 1, 2027, you can skip the January 15 payment entirely. This is a genuine escape hatch for people who'd rather just file early than juggle a fourth quarterly payment, but it only works if the return is both filed and paid in full by that date. Filing alone doesn't satisfy it.
The 2027 tax year dates: the IRS hasn't published the 2027 Form 1040-ES yet, but the due dates are set by law: April 15, June 15 and September 15 of the tax year, then January 15 of the next year, moved to the next business day when a date falls on a weekend or a legal holiday. For income earned in 2027, that gives April 15, 2027, June 15, 2027, September 15, 2027 and January 18, 2028, because January 15, 2028 is a Saturday and Monday, January 17 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The January waiver works the same way: file your 2027 return and pay the full balance by January 31, 2028, and you can skip the fourth payment. Check these dates against the 2027 Form 1040-ES when the IRS releases it.
The Safe Harbor Rules
You're required to make estimated payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year after subtracting withholding and credits. But the IRS doesn't expect you to predict your income perfectly. The safe harbor rules protect you from a penalty as long as you pay enough along the way:
- Pay at least 90% of your current year's tax liability, or
- Pay at least 100% of your prior year's total tax liability, rising to 110% if your prior-year adjusted gross income was over $150,000 ($75,000 if you're married filing separately).
Whichever of those two thresholds is smaller is the one you need to hit. If your income is unpredictable, the prior-year safe harbor is usually the easier target: take last year's total tax bill, apply the 100%/110% rule, and split it into four payments. You're protected from an underpayment penalty even if this year turns out to be a much bigger earning year than last year.
How to Actually Estimate What to Pay
The simplest approach, and the one most freelancers actually use: take your total tax liability from last year and divide by four. That's your baseline quarterly payment, and if your income this year is roughly similar to last year, it satisfies the prior-year safe harbor automatically.
If this is your first year with significant 1099 income, or your income jumped meaningfully, work from your projected current-year numbers instead:
- Estimate your total expected net self-employment income for the year.
- Subtract your expected deductions (home office, mileage, retirement contributions, the standard deduction if you're not itemizing).
- Calculate income tax on the result at your expected bracket, and add self-employment tax on top. Our self-employment tax breakdown shows exactly how that 15.3% is calculated.
- Divide the total by four.
If the math feels like a lot to redo every quarter, our free 1099 tax calculator works out the self-employment tax for you, with a per-quarter amount, so you only need to add your income tax estimate instead of building a spreadsheet.
What Happens If You Skip a Payment
If you don't pay enough by each due date, the IRS charges an underpayment penalty, calculated (on Form 2210) as interest on the shortfall for the period it went unpaid. It's not a flat fine, and it's generally not severe compared to a full year's tax bill, but it adds up if you skip payments entirely and just settle everything at filing time. The penalty also doesn't disappear just because you eventually pay in full by April 15. It's assessed quarter by quarter based on when the money should have arrived.
If your income came in very unevenly across the year (a big Q4 after a slow start, for example), the annualized income installment method on Form 2210 can reduce or eliminate the penalty for the quarters when you genuinely hadn't earned much yet. It's more paperwork, but worth it if one quarter is wildly out of line with the others.
Building the Habit
The freelancers who handle quarterly taxes with the least stress aren't the ones with the highest incomes. They're the ones who treat every incoming payment as partially spoken for. A common rule of thumb is setting aside a fixed percentage of each payment the moment it lands, into an account you don't touch until the next due date. Pair that with a running record of your deductible expenses throughout the quarter (not one reconstructed from memory in the days before the deadline), and the quarterly payment becomes a five-minute task instead of a stressful one. Our 1099 expense tracking guide covers what that record-keeping habit should look like day to day.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are quarterly estimated taxes due for 2026?
April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027. You can skip the January payment if you file your full 2026 return and pay everything owed by February 1, 2027.
How much do I have to pay to avoid an underpayment penalty?
Through the year, pay the smaller of 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's total tax (110% if last year's AGI was over $150,000). This is the safe-harbor rule.
Do I need to make estimated payments at all?
Generally yes if you expect to owe $1,000 or more after withholding and credits. Freelancers with a W-2 job can often cover it by increasing their job withholding instead. Our guide to taxes with a W-2 job plus a side gig explains both options.
Stay Ahead of Every Deadline
Quarterly taxes are one of the few parts of self-employment where being early costs you nothing and being late costs you real money. Mark the remaining 2026 dates now, decide which safe harbor you're targeting, and keep your expense records current so the number you calculate each quarter is accurate rather than a guess.
Taxr won't calculate or file your quarterly payments, but it keeps the expense side of your return (the deductions that shrink your tax bill in the first place) organized and ready to export the moment you need them for your tax software or your accountant. Download Taxr and keep your records current all year, not just in the week before a deadline.