Deadlines
Quarterly estimated tax dates for 2026 and 2027
The four IRS estimated tax due dates for 2026 (April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15, 2027), the 2027 dates, who must pay, the safe harbor rules, the weekend rule and every way to pay.
Prepared by Aldro Accounting · Updated · Sources checked
The quick answer
IRS Form 1040-ES lists four 2026 estimated tax due dates for calendar-year individuals: April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027. The January payment isn't required if the 2026 return is filed by February 1, 2027 with the full balance paid. Individuals, including sole proprietors, partners and S corporation shareholders, generally must pay if they expect to owe $1,000 or more, and corporations if they expect to owe $500 or more.
2026 estimated tax due dates
Form 1040-ES says you can pay all of your 2026 estimated tax by April 15, 2026, or in four equal amounts by the dates in the table below.
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| Payment | Due date |
|---|---|
| 1st payment | April 15, 2026 |
| 2nd payment | June 15, 2026 |
| 3rd payment | September 15, 2026 |
| 4th payment | January 15, 2027 (not required if the 2026 return is filed by February 1, 2027 and fully paid) |
You don't have to make the payment due January 15, 2027 if you file your 2026 tax return by February 1, 2027 and pay the entire balance due with the return.
If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the IRS treats the payment as on time if it is made on the next day that isn't a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. Publication 509 says a legal holiday means any legal holiday in the District of Columbia.
Fiscal-year taxpayers pay on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th and 9th months of their fiscal year and the 1st month of the following fiscal year, moved to the next business day when a date lands on a weekend or legal holiday.
Farmers, fishermen, nonresidents and corporations
If at least two-thirds of your gross income for 2025 or 2026 is from farming or fishing, Form 1040-ES gives two choices: pay all of your estimated tax by January 15, 2027, or file your 2026 Form 1040 or 1040-SR by March 1, 2027 and pay the total tax due.
Nonresident aliens who don't have wages subject to U.S. income tax withholding use Form 1040-ES (NR). They can pay all of their 2026 estimated tax by June 15, 2026, or pay it in three installments: 1/2 by June 15, 2026, 1/4 by September 15, 2026 and 1/4 by January 15, 2027.
Corporations make installment payments by the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of the tax year. If a date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal federal holiday, the installment is due on the next regular business day. For a calendar-year corporation, that's April 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15.
2027 estimated tax due dates
The IRS draft 2027 tax calendar (Publication 509) lists April 15, 2027 as the first installment of 2027 estimated tax for individuals, June 15, 2027 as the second and September 15, 2027 as the third. It lists the same dates for corporations, with the fourth corporate installment on December 15, 2027.
The fourth individual installment for 2027 falls in January 2028, which is outside the 2027 calendar. The weekend and legal holiday rule above applies to it. Publication 509 is still a draft, so check the final version before relying on these dates.
Who must pay estimated tax
Taxes must be paid as you earn or receive income during the year, through withholding or estimated tax payments. The IRS says people in business for themselves generally need to make estimated tax payments. Estimated tax covers income tax and other taxes such as self-employment tax and alternative minimum tax.
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| Situation | What the IRS says |
|---|---|
| No tax liability in 2025 | No 2026 estimated tax is required if you were a U.S. citizen or resident alien for all of 2025 and had no tax liability for the full 12-month 2025 tax year |
| You have a paycheck | You can avoid estimated tax by filing a new Form W-4 asking your employer to withhold more |
| Corporation | Generally must pay if it expects to owe $500 or more |
Under the general rule in Form 1040-ES, you must pay 2026 estimated tax if both of these apply:
- You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for 2026 after subtracting your withholding and refundable credits
- 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 shown on your 2025 return
The safe harbor rules and the underpayment penalty
The IRS says most taxpayers avoid the underpayment penalty if they owe less than $1,000 after withholding and credits, or if they paid at least 90% of the current year's tax or 100% of the tax on the prior year's return, whichever is smaller.
Higher-income taxpayers use 110% instead of 100%. That applies if your 2025 adjusted gross income was more than $150,000, or $75,000 if your filing status for 2026 is married filing separately. It doesn't apply if at least two-thirds of your gross income for 2025 or 2026 is from farming or fishing. Those farmers and fishermen use 66 2/3% instead of 90%.
Form 1040-ES says the tax shown on your 2025 Form 1040 or 1040-SR is the amount on line 24, reduced by certain items listed in the instructions.
Each of the four payment periods has its own due date. If you don't pay enough by the due date of each period, you may be charged a penalty even if you are due a refund when you file. You can pay weekly, every two weeks or monthly if that's easier, as long as enough is paid by the end of the quarter.
If your income comes in unevenly, annualizing your income and making unequal payments may avoid or lower the penalty. Form 2210 (Form 2220 for corporations) shows whether a penalty applies. The IRS may waive the penalty for a casualty, disaster or other unusual circumstance, or if you retired after reaching age 62 or became disabled and the underpayment was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.
For corporations, the IRS figures the penalty from the amount of the underpayment, the period it was underpaid and the underpayment interest rate it publishes each quarter. That rate was 7% for the first quarter of 2026, 6% for the second, and 7% for the third and fourth.
Numbers you need to figure 2026 estimated tax
Form 1040-ES has a worksheet that starts from your expected adjusted gross income, deductions and credits. The IRS suggests using your prior year's return as a starting point and refiguring for the next quarter if your estimate was too high or too low.
When estimating 2026 net earnings from self-employment, Form 1040-ES says to use only 92.35% of total net profit. The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. For 2026, the Social Security part applies to the first $184,500 of combined wages, tips and net earnings.
Publication 505 lists the 2026 standard deduction as $16,100 for single or married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse, and $24,150 for head of household. It also notes a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on self-employment income over $200,000 for single filers ($250,000 married filing jointly, $125,000 married filing separately) and the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax.
How to pay estimated tax
You can pay through your IRS online account, by IRS Direct Pay from a checking or savings account at no cost, or through EFTPS, which is free but requires enrollment. You can also pay from a mobile device with the IRS2Go app. Businesses can make most estimated tax payments through their business tax account or Direct Pay for businesses, though some business payments must still go through EFTPS.
By mail, send a Form 1040-ES voucher with a check or money order. The IRS says the date of the U.S. postmark is the date of payment. Form 1040-ES adds that under clarified USPS rules the postmark date is the date the payment is processed at a facility, which may not be the day you drop it in a mailbox.
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| Processor | Debit card | Credit card | Commercial card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay1040 | $2.15 | 1.75% ($2.50 minimum) | 2.89% ($2.50 minimum) |
| ACI Payments | $2.10 | 1.85% ($2.50 minimum) | 2.95% ($2.50 minimum) |
Card and digital wallet payments go through IRS-approved processors that charge a fee. No part of the fee goes to the IRS, and card processing fees are tax deductible for businesses.
Help with the yearly return
Aldro's flat yearly price covers everything tax for the year, including quarterly estimate reminders. Our team prepares and files the business return.
Worked example
Say a sole proprietor's 2025 Form 1040 shows $12,000 on line 24 and 2025 adjusted gross income was $90,000. Under the 100% prior-year rule, 2026 payments of at least $12,000 meet the safe harbor: four payments of $3,000 on April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027. If 2025 adjusted gross income had been $160,000 with $30,000 of 2025 tax, the 110% rule applies: 110% of $30,000 is $33,000, or $8,250 per payment. For the self-employment tax part of a 2026 estimate, $80,000 of expected net profit times 92.35% is $73,880 of net earnings, and 15.3% of $73,880 is $11,303.64.
Common questions
When are quarterly estimated taxes due in 2026?
April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027 for calendar-year individuals, according to Form 1040-ES.
Can I skip the January 15, 2027 payment?
Yes, if you file your 2026 tax return by February 1, 2027 and pay the entire balance due with it.
When are estimated taxes due in 2027?
The IRS draft 2027 calendar lists April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2027 for the first three individual installments. The fourth falls in January 2028.
Do self-employed people have to pay quarterly taxes?
The IRS says people in business for themselves generally need to make estimated tax payments. Sole proprietors, partners and S corporation shareholders generally must pay if they expect to owe $1,000 or more when they file.
Does paying more in a later quarter cancel an earlier penalty?
Each payment period has its own due date, and the IRS says you may be charged a penalty if you don't pay enough by each one, even if you are due a refund when you file. Annualizing income on Form 2210 can lower the penalty when income is uneven.
What happens if a due date falls on a weekend?
The payment is on time if it is made on the next day that isn't a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.
Aldro
The cheapest way to get your business taxes done: $399 flat.
Business tax filing is $399 USD a year, and it covers everything tax for that year.
How it works
- Tell us about your business. A two-minute form. No payment is collected through it.
- Get your next steps by email. We’ll email you the next steps within one business day. After you sign up we’ll send you a secure upload link for your documents.
- We file it. Our team prepares and files your return. Add bookkeeping for $20 a month if you want it.
What's included
$399 a year covers everything tax for that tax year.
- Every business return for the year. All the federal and state or provincial business returns you need for the tax year: Schedule C, 1065, 1120-S, 1120 and their state returns in the US; T2, or T1 with T2125, in Canada.
- More than one state. Multi-state returns are included at the same price.
- Your personal return. The owner’s personal return (1040 or T1) is included when it’s needed for the business income.
- Quebec. Quebec returns (CO-17, TP-1 and TP-80) are included. Our Quebec pages are in French, and our team works with you in English.
- Extensions and reminders. Extensions (Form 7004 or 4868) and quarterly estimate reminders are included.
- Information returns. 1099-NEC, T4/T4A and T5018 slips are included in the tax price.
- City and excise returns. City and local business tax returns, and state excise returns such as Washington B&O, are included in the yearly price.
- Franchise tax reports. State franchise tax reports, such as the Texas franchise tax report, are included.
- Estimated tax and instalment amounts. We work out your quarterly estimated tax payments in the US, or your CRA instalments in Canada, and tell you what to pay and when.
- Unfiled past years. Each unfiled prior-year return is $399 per tax year, the same flat price.
- Bookkeeping at $20 a month. Unlimited bank and card accounts, monthly reconciliation and monthly statements.
Basic inventory tracking for online stores, such as Shopify, is included. Full cost-of-goods reconciliation is quoted separately. Payroll processing and sales-tax filing aren’t included in bookkeeping. Prices are in USD. Our team prepares and files your return.
Sources
- IRS: 2026 Form 1040-ES · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: 2026 Form 1040-ES (NR) · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Estimated taxes · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Publication 509 (2027 draft) · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Underpayment of estimated tax by corporations penalty · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Quarterly interest rates · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes) · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Publication 505 (2026) · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Pay taxes by card or digital wallet · checked October 31, 2026
This guide explains general rules from the sources listed. It isn’t tax advice for your situation.