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Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator 2026 (Self-Employed and 1099)

How much should I pay in quarterly estimated taxes for 2026?

Pay at least the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax (110% if your 2025 AGI was over $150,000), split into four payments due 15 April, 15 June, 15 September 2026 and 15 January 2027. Payments are generally expected if you will owe $1,000 or more after withholding. Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of profit.

A $60,000 freelance profit carries about $8,478 of self-employment tax before any income tax, and none of it is withheld. The penalty for paying late is worked out quarter by quarter, so paying it all in April does not avoid it.

Enter your 2026 profit, any wages and last year's tax to see the 2026 estimate, the safe-harbor target and what to pay by each date.

Use the calculator All free tools

Built by Muhammad Shahzeb Anwar, MSc Industrial and Organizational Psychology. US federal rules for tax year 2026 only; state estimated tax is not included.

The calculator

Work out your 2026 quarterly payments

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.

Your 2026 income

Freelance, 1099 or gig income minus business expenses, for the whole year.
From a job with a paycheck. Leave 0 if none.

Your 2025 return

The total tax line, not the amount you owed or got back.
Over $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately) means the 110% rule.

The safe-harbor rule in plain words

Form 1040-ES (2026) says you generally must pay estimated tax for 2026 if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and refundable credits, and your withholding will be less than the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of the tax on your 2025 return (a 12-month return). If your 2025 adjusted gross income was more than $150,000 ($75,000 married filing separately), the 100% becomes 110%. Paying a quarter of that "required annual payment" by each due date meets the rule even if 2026 turns out to be a bigger year. Withholding from a paycheck counts as paid evenly across the year, whenever it was taken.

Worked example: a $60,000 freelancer

Single, $60,000 net profit, $500 of interest, no wages. Net earnings from self-employment are $60,000 x 92.35% = $55,410. Social security part 12.4% = $6,870.84; Medicare 2.9% = $1,606.89; SE tax $8,477.73. Half of it ($4,238.87) is deducted, so AGI is $56,261.14. After the $16,100 standard deduction and an $8,032.23 QBI deduction (capped at 20% of taxable income), taxable income is $32,128.91 and income tax is $3,607.47. Total 2026 tax: about $12,085. If the 2025 return showed $9,000 of tax, the target is the smaller of 90% x $12,085 = $10,877 or 100% x $9,000 = $9,000: four payments of $2,250. The other $3,085 is due with the return by 15 April 2027, with no underpayment penalty.

The 2026 due dates

Q1 covers 1 January to 31 March and is due 15 April 2026. Q2 covers April and May and is due 15 June 2026. Q3 covers June to August and is due 15 September 2026. Q4 covers September to December and is due 15 January 2027. You can skip the January payment if you file your 2026 return by 1 February 2027 and pay everything due with it. The periods are not equal, which matters if your income is uneven: the annualized income method (Form 2210, Schedule AI) can lower the early payments when most of the income came late in the year.

Mistakes that cost people a penalty

Waiting until April and paying it all at once. Forgetting self-employment tax and planning only for income tax. Missing the 110% rule after a year with AGI over $150,000. Treating Q4 as a December payment. Assuming a W-2 job's withholding covers side income: it covers only what the W-4 asked for. If you have a job, raising withholding is the other route, because withholding counts as paid evenly across all four quarters.

What the full planner adds

This free calculator answers the main question for one self-employed person with the standard deduction. The Quarterly Estimated Tax Planner 2026 (Excel, Google Sheets and an offline web version) adds both spouses' self-employment and wages, itemized and senior deductions, credits, a payments log that marks each quarter "on track" or "short by $X", the annualized uneven-income what-if, a W-4 what-if, and one Rates sheet for the 2027 update.

Before you rely on this

What this will not tell you

An estimate for planning, not tax advice and not a filled-in form. It assumes one self-employed person, the standard deduction and ordinary income only, estimates the QBI deduction for a business with no employees or property, and ignores credits, capital gains rates, AMT, net investment income tax, farming and fishing rules and state tax. Wages here use box 1 for the social security cap. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Questions

Questions people actually ask

When are 2026 estimated tax payments due?

15 April 2026, 15 June 2026, 15 September 2026 and 15 January 2027. If a date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the next business day counts.

What is the safe harbor for estimated taxes in 2026?

Paying, through withholding and on-time estimated payments, the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax. It is 110% of the 2025 tax if your 2025 AGI was over $150,000 ($75,000 married filing separately).

Do I have to pay quarterly taxes if I owe less than $1,000?

No. Form 1040-ES says estimated payments are generally needed only if you expect to owe at least $1,000 for 2026 after withholding and refundable credits.

Is there a penalty if I pay everything by April 15?

It can still apply. The underpayment penalty is figured for each installment period, so a quarter that was short is charged from its due date until it is paid.

How much is self-employment tax in 2026?

15.3% of 92.35% of net profit: 12.4% social security on combined wages and self-employment earnings up to $184,500, plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap, and 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above $200,000 ($250,000 joint).

Can I skip the January estimated payment?

Yes, if you file your 2026 return by 1 February 2027 and pay the whole balance with it.

Does a W-2 job's withholding count toward estimated tax?

Yes. Withholding counts as paid evenly across the four due dates, so raising it with a new Form W-4 can cover tax on side income instead of quarterly payments.

Where every rule comes from

Sources

Checked against the IRS forms and publications on 2 November 2026. Figures change every year; if a source below has moved on, the source wins over this page.

  1. Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf
  2. Publication 505 (2026), Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p505.pdf
  3. Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 inflation adjustments: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
  4. IRS Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc554
  5. IRS Topic no. 751, Social security and Medicare withholding rates: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc751
  6. IRS Topic no. 560, Additional Medicare Tax: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc560
Citation

Cite this tool

Free to use and free to quote. If a figure here is useful in something you are writing, a link back is all that is asked.

Muhammad Shahzeb Anwar, MSc Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator 2026. Shahzeb Speaks. https://www.shahzebspeaks.com/quarterly-estimated-tax-calculator/

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Track every quarter, not just the first number

The Quarterly Estimated Tax Planner 2026 is an Excel and Google Sheets workbook plus an offline web version: both spouses, a payments log that flags short quarters, the uneven-income method and a W-4 what-if. An estimate and planner, not tax advice.

Get the full planner, $19