Not once a year. Four times. When you had an employer, they took tax out of every check and sent it to the IRS for you. On your own, that job is yours, and the IRS wants the money as you earn it, not in one lump next April. You pay it in four installments using Form 1040-ES. For 2026 the due dates are:
- April 15, 2026
- June 15, 2026
- September 15, 2026
- January 15, 2027
If a date lands on a weekend or holiday it rolls to the next business day. That last one in January you can skip entirely if you file your complete 2026 return and pay everything you owe by February 1, 2027.
Pay too little along the way and you can be charged an underpayment penalty even if you settle up in full at filing, because the IRS works it out quarter by quarter. So the point of this page is not just the dates. It is how to pay in enough that you never get hit.
How much to send each time
Take what you would set aside for taxes anyway (about 25 to 30% of your profit, see How much to set aside) and pay in roughly a quarter of it on each due date. If your income is steady, that is close enough. If it swings hard from job to job, pay based on what you actually earned in that quarter.
The safe harbor: how to never get penalized
Here is the rule the IRS gives you that most people never hear about. You are penalty-proof for the whole year if you pay in either:
- 90% of what you actually owe for this year, or
- a set share of last year's tax: 100% of it if your adjusted gross income last year was $150,000 or less, or 110% if it was above that. Filing separately from a spouse, that line is $75,000, not $150,000.
Hit either one and no penalty applies, full stop, even if you end up owing more when you file.
And there is a third door that almost nobody is told about. Under section 6654(e)(2) there is no estimated tax penalty at all, whatever you earn this year, if three things are true: last year was a full twelve month tax year, you were a US citizen or resident for the whole of it, and you had no tax liability for it. Not a small one, none. Somebody who was at college, out of work, or below the filing threshold last year and started on the tools this year is covered by that, and it is worth checking before you panic about a first year with no prior-year figure to work from. The second option is the easy one, because you already know last year's number. Take last year's total tax, pay a quarter of it each due date (110% of it rather than 100% if your prior-year adjusted gross income was over the $150,000 line), and you can stop worrying about penalties no matter what this year does.
What the penalty actually is
It is not a flat fine. It is interest on the shortfall, charged for each quarter you came up short, compounded daily. The rate is not arbitrary and it is not fixed: it is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points, and the IRS resets it every calendar quarter. So do not memorize a percentage, and be wary of any page that quotes you one without a date on it. Look up the rate for the quarter you missed. Because it is worked out per quarter, you can be penalized for a slow spring even if you are owed a refund by April. The IRS can waive it in specific cases, like retiring after 62, becoming disabled, or a casualty during the year.
How to actually pay
Easiest is online: IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS, straight from your bank account, no fee, with a confirmation to keep. Or mail the paper 1040-ES voucher with a check. Either way, note the payment in your records so it lines up at filing.
Common questions
Do I have to pay quarterly taxes in my first year self-employed?
Yes, if you expect to owe about $1,000 or more in tax for the year. The first year is the tricky one because you have no prior-year tax to safe-harbor against, so estimate from your actual profit as you go and pay in each quarter. Verify the current threshold at irs.gov.
Can I just pay it all in April instead of quarterly?
No, not without risking a penalty. The IRS wants the money as you earn it and works the penalty out quarter by quarter, so a single April payment can still be penalized for the earlier quarters even if you pay in full. Paying in four times is what keeps you clear.
What happens if I miss a quarterly payment?
Pay it as soon as you can, because the penalty is charged per quarter on the shortfall, so late still beats never. You cannot un-miss a quarter, but catching up limits how much the penalty builds. Then get back on schedule for the remaining due dates.
What if my income is different every quarter?
Pay based on what you actually earned that quarter rather than an even split. A slow winter and a flat-out summer can be paid unevenly using the annualized income installment method, which lines your payments up with your real cash flow instead of overpaying early. It is not automatic and you do not claim it during the year: you work it on Schedule AI of Form 2210 when you file, and it recalculates the penalty quarter by quarter against what you actually earned in each. Keep quarterly figures through the year or you will not be able to fill it in.
Do quarterly payments cover my self-employment tax too?
Yes. Your estimated payments cover both your income tax and your self-employment tax in one payment. There is no separate bill for each. That is why the set-aside is a quarter to a third of profit, not just your income-tax bracket.
The honest bit
- These are the 2026 federal dates and rules. The dates shift a little year to year around weekends, and the penalty rate moves. Check the current position at irs.gov.
- Your state almost certainly wants its own estimated payments too, on its own schedule. See Working in Your State.
- This is general guidance, not tax advice for your situation. The first year self-employed is the trickiest, because you have no prior-year figure to safe-harbor against, so a quick word with a CPA early can save you a penalty.
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Keep reading
Templates you might need
Sources
- IRS - Estimated Taxes · Who must pay estimated tax, the quarterly due dates and the underpayment penalty
- IRS - Estimated tax, frequently asked questions · The prior-year safe harbor, verbatim: 100% of the tax shown on the prior year's return, or 110% of it where the adjusted gross income for that year was greater than $150,000, and $75,000 if married filing separately. Read 2026-09-02.
- IRS Topic no. 306 - Penalty for underpayment of estimated tax · The $1,000 de minimis, the 90% and 100% safe harbors, and the annualized income installment method for income received unevenly during the year, worked on Form 2210. Read 2026-09-02.
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