This post covers the due date, who generally has to pay, how the underpayment penalty works and the one way the IRS says you can skip the January payment. It is general information, not advice for your situation.
Try it: Tax deadline countdownA live countdown to the next federal deadline and the key dates for 2026–2027.The 2026 estimated tax due dates
The IRS splits the year into four payment periods. Each period has its own due date. If a date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the payment is due the next business day.
| Payment | Income earned | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | January 1 – March 31 | April 15, 2026 |
| 2nd | April 1 – May 31 | June 15, 2026 |
| 3rd | June 1 – August 31 | September 15, 2026 |
| 4th | September 1 – December 31 | January 15, 2027 |
The fourth payment is the only one that lands in the next calendar year. That catches people off guard, because it is easy to think of the year as "done" on December 31. The IRS ties the payment to income earned through the end of December, but the money is not due until mid-January.
Mark January 15, 2027 on your calendar now. If you made payments earlier this year, the fourth payment is your last chance to catch up before the return is due.
Who generally has to make estimated payments
Estimated tax is the way the IRS collects tax on income that has no withholding, such as self-employment earnings, interest, dividends, rental income or capital gains. Income tax and self-employment tax both count toward these payments.
According to the 2026 Form 1040-ES instructions, you generally must make estimated payments for 2026 if both of these are true:
- 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 on your 2025 return. Your 2025 return must cover all 12 months.
There is a stricter rule for higher earners. If your adjusted gross income for 2025 was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if your 2026 filing status is married filing separately), the IRS says to use 110% instead of 100% of last year's tax. Farmers and fishers, and certain household employers, have their own rules.
You may not need to pay at all if you had no tax liability last year, were a U.S. citizen or resident for the whole year, and your prior tax year covered 12 months.
The one way to skip the January payment
The Form 1040-ES instructions include a footnote that is easy to miss: you do not have to make the January 15, 2027 payment if you file your 2026 tax return by February 1, 2027 and pay the entire balance due with the return.
That works well for some people and poorly for others. You need your tax documents early enough to file by that date, and you need the money to pay everything you owe at that point, not just a portion. If either part is shaky, making the January payment is the simpler path.
The footnote says "entire balance due." Filing early but paying only part of what you owe does not remove the requirement to make the January payment.
How the underpayment penalty works
The IRS can charge a penalty if you did not pay enough tax during the year, or if you paid on time but not in the required amount. According to IRS Topic 306, most taxpayers avoid the penalty if they owe less than $1,000 after subtracting withholding and refundable credits, or if they paid at least 90% of the current year's tax or 100% of the prior year's tax, whichever is smaller.
A few details from the IRS pages are worth knowing:
- The penalty is figured on each underpayment for the number of days it stays unpaid, so a payment that is late or too small can cost something even if you end up with a refund.
- Payments are normally treated as four equal amounts. If your income comes in unevenly, you may be able to lower the penalty with the annualized income installment method, which uses Form 2210 with Schedule AI.
- The IRS can waive the penalty if you missed a payment because of a casualty, disaster or other unusual circumstance, or if you retired after age 62 or became disabled and the underpayment was due to reasonable cause.
- For the quarter that began October 1, 2026, the IRS interest rate on underpayments is 7% per year, compounded daily. The IRS sets that rate every quarter.
Say a freelancer paid nothing in the first three quarters because income was slow, then had a big fourth quarter. A single January payment may not erase a penalty for the earlier periods. This is where the annualized method on Form 2210 can matter. It is a good question for a qualified tax professional, since the answer depends on exact figures.
Ways to pay
The IRS says paying electronically is the safest way to make sure the payment arrives on time. According to Form 1040-ES, you can pay through:
- Your IRS online account, which also shows your payment history.
- IRS Direct Pay, a free transfer from a checking or savings account.
- A debit card, credit card or digital wallet. The payment processor charges a fee.
- EFTPS, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, which requires enrollment.
- A check or money order mailed with the payment voucher from Form 1040-ES.
If you mail a payment, note the IRS caution in the 2026 instructions: the postmark date counts as the payment date, but a recent clarification says the postmark is the date your envelope is processed at a USPS facility. That may not be the day you dropped it in the mailbox. Mailing well before the deadline, or paying online, avoids the question.
A different route: adjust your withholding
If you also have a job, you may be able to avoid making estimated payments by asking your employer to withhold more tax. The IRS says to do that with a new Form W-4, which has a line for extra withholding. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator can help you see whether your withholding is on track. The IRS also notes that if you change your withholding during the year, you may need to update it again in late December so the right amount is withheld next year.
Our Form W-4 walkthrough explains the form line by line, and the refund and withholding estimator gives a rough picture. For the bigger picture on self-employed taxes, see our self-employed taxes guide and how self-employment tax works.
What to do this week
- Look at what you have paid so far in 2026, including any withholding.
- Compare it with the smaller of 90% of your expected 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax (110% if the higher-income rule applies).
- Decide whether to make the January 15 payment or to file early and pay in full by February 1.
- Put the date in your calendar and keep confirmation numbers for every payment.
For a refresher on all the dates, see when taxes are due and our step-by-step guide to estimated taxes. The official numbers always win, so open the IRS pages listed below to confirm before you pay.
Sources
Figures, dates and rules in this post were checked against these official pages on October 15, 2026. Open them to confirm the current numbers before you act.
- IRS: Estimated taxes
- IRS: Estimated tax (due dates by payment period)
- IRS: 2026 Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals
- IRS: Topic no. 306, Penalty for underpayment of estimated tax
- IRS: Pay as you go, so you won't owe
- IRS: Interest rates remain the same for the fourth quarter of 2026
- IRS: Tax Withholding Estimator
General information only — not tax, legal or financial advice. Tax figures change every year; verify the current numbers at IRS.gov or with a qualified professional. Read the full disclaimer.