Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator 2026
How much to pay in each 2026 estimated tax installment to avoid an underpayment penalty, using the IRS safe harbor rules and the 2026 due dates.
Result
Pay each quarter: $5,000Estimate
Meeting the safe harbor avoids the underpayment penalty; you may still owe more when you file.
- Total estimated payments for 2026
- $20,000Estimate
- Required annual payment
- $20,000Estimate
- Safe harbor used
- 100% of your 2025 tax
- Note
- Pay the same amount by each due date to stay inside the safe harbor.
- First payment due
- April 15, 2026
- Second payment due
- June 15, 2026
- Third payment due
- September 15, 2026
- Fourth payment due
- January 15, 2027
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An estimate from the published rates for the tax year shown, for the situation described on this page. It is not a tax return or tax advice. Rules change with each budget, and your own circumstances can change the answer. Check it against your payslip and the tax authority’s own calculator, and confirm anything that matters with a qualified tax adviser. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator 2026
- Pick your filing status. Only married filing separately changes the rules.
- Enter the total tax you expect for 2026, including self-employment tax, and what you expect to have withheld from pay or pensions.
- Enter the total tax and the adjusted gross income from your 2025 return.
- Read the amount to pay each quarter and the four due dates.
The required annual payment
The 2026 Form 1040-ES includes a worksheet, and this page follows it line by line. The required annual payment is the smaller of two figures. One is a share of the tax you expect for 2026. The other is your 2025 tax, or 110% of it if your income was high. Withholding is taken off, and what is left is split into four equal payments.
required = smaller of (90% × 2026 tax, 100% or 110% × 2025 tax)to pay = required − withholdingeach = to pay ÷ 4none due if to pay ≤ 0, or 2026 tax − withholding < $1,000If you had no tax liability for 2025 and were a US citizen or resident all year, you don’t need to make estimated payments for 2026. If you didn’t file for all of 2025, leave last year’s tax at zero and the page uses 90% of this year.
Uneven income
People whose income comes mostly late in the year can pay less in the early quarters by using the annualized income method on Form 2210, Schedule AI. This page uses equal payments, which is the simpler and more common way to stay inside the safe harbor.
With your numbers
- Required annual payment = 100% of your 2025 tax = $20,000
- Less withholding = $20,000, paid in four installments of $5,000
Quick reference
Meeting the safe harbor avoids the underpayment penalty; you may still owe more when you file.
| Example | Pay each quarter |
|---|---|
| Last year $20,000, AGI $120,000 | $5,000 |
| Last year $20,000, AGI $180,000 | $5,500 |
| Separate, AGI $80,000 | $2,750 |
| Withholding covers it | $0 |
| Farmer | $5,000 |
| First year, no 2025 return | $6,750 |
Where the numbers come from
The fixed figures this calculator relies on, and the published source each one was checked against. How the calculators are built and checked
7 sources
2026 Form 1040-ES, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf, p. 1: "You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for 2026"
Used for
- Estimated tax payments are generally required when tax owed after withholding is at least this.
2026 Form 1040-ES, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf, p. 1: "90% of the tax to be shown on your 2026 tax return"
Used for
- Safe harbor: share of the current year's tax.
2026 Form 1040-ES, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf, p. 1: "100% of the tax shown on your 2025 tax return"
Used for
- Safe harbor: share of the prior year's tax.
2026 Form 1040-ES, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf, p. 1: "substitute 110% for 100%"
Used for
- Safe harbor: share of the prior year's tax when prior-year AGI was above the threshold.
2026 Form 1040-ES, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf, p. 1: "more than $150,000 ($75,000 if your filing status for 2026 is married filing separately)"
Used for
- Prior-year AGI above which the 110% safe harbor applies.
2026 Form 1040-ES, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf, p. 1
Used for
- Prior-year AGI above which the 110% safe harbor applies, married filing separately.
2026 Form 1040-ES, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf, p. 1: "substitute 66 2/3% for 90%"
Used for
- Safe harbor share of the current year's tax for farmers and fishers.
Common questions about the Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator 2026
- Who has to pay estimated tax?
- Anyone who expects to owe at least $1,000 for 2026 after withholding and refundable credits, and whose withholding will not reach the safe harbor. That is usually the self-employed, landlords, investors and retirees whose pensions do not have enough withheld.
- What is the safe harbor?
- You avoid the underpayment penalty if your withholding and estimated payments, paid on time, reach the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax. If your 2025 adjusted gross income was over $150,000, or $75,000 married filing separately, the second figure is 110% of your 2025 tax. Paying the prior-year figure is the safest choice when income is rising, because it is known in advance.
- When are the 2026 payments due?
- 15 April 2026, 15 June 2026, 15 September 2026 and 15 January 2027. You can skip the January payment if you file your 2026 return by 1 February 2027 and pay everything still owed with it.
- How does withholding count?
- Withholding is treated as paid evenly through the year, whenever it actually happened, so raising your withholding late in the year can still cover earlier quarters. Estimated payments count on the day you make them.
- Are the rules different for farmers and fishers?
- Yes. If at least two-thirds of your gross income comes from farming or fishing, the current-year figure is 66⅔% instead of 90%, the 110% rule does not apply, and you can make a single payment by 15 January 2027.