The third estimated tax payment for 2026 is due September 15, 2026. If you work for yourself and expect to owe at least $1,000 when you file, the IRS wants that tax paid in four pieces during the year, not in one lump next spring. The rest of this page covers the dates, what you are paying for, how much is enough, and how to have the money ready.
The 2026 due dates
These are the dates on the 2026 Form 1040-ES, with the payment periods from IRS Publication 505, for the 2026 tax year.
| Payment | Covers income earned | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | January 1 to March 31, 2026 | April 15, 2026 |
| 2nd | April 1 to May 31, 2026 | June 15, 2026 |
| 3rd | June 1 to August 31, 2026 | September 15, 2026 |
| 4th | September 1 to December 31, 2026 | January 15, 2027 |
The periods are not equal quarters, even though everyone calls them quarterly payments. The second period is two months long and the last one is four.
When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, a payment made on the next business day counts as on time. All four dates above fall on weekdays, so nothing shifts for 2026.
You can skip the January 15, 2027 payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the whole balance with it. That only works if your books are done that early. If they are not, make the payment.
Who has to pay
The general rule from the IRS: in most cases, you 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 withholding and refundable credits.
- Your withholding and refundable credits will be less than the smaller of 90 percent of your 2026 tax or 100 percent of the tax on your 2025 return.
If you had no tax liability at all for 2025 and were a US citizen or resident all year, you do not have to pay estimated tax for 2026.
This applies to sole proprietors, partners and S corporation shareholders. If you run the business as an S corporation and pay yourself wages with tax withheld, that withholding counts toward these rules. How much to withhold and how much to send as estimated tax is a question for your accountant.
What you are paying for
Two taxes go into an estimated payment for most self-employed people.
Income tax. The same federal income tax an employee pays, figured on your business profit plus any other income.
Self-employment tax. This is Social Security and Medicare for people who work for themselves. An employer and an employee each pay half of it through payroll. When you are your own employer, you pay both halves. The rate is 15.3 percent: 12.4 percent for Social Security and 2.9 percent for Medicare.
A few details change the math.
- The tax applies to 92.35 percent of your net profit, not the full profit.
- For 2026, the Social Security part stops once your wages and net self-employment earnings together pass $184,500. The Medicare part has no cap.
- You deduct half of your self-employment tax when you figure your adjusted gross income.
- You file Schedule SE and pay the tax once your net earnings from self-employment reach $400 for the year.
Example: self-employment tax on $80,000 of profit
These are example numbers.
- Net profit from your Schedule C: $80,000
- Times 92.35 percent: $73,880
- Times 15.3 percent: $11,303.64 of self-employment tax
- Half of that, deducted from income: $5,651.82
That $11,303.64 is owed before a dollar of income tax. It is easy to forget, because when you worked for someone else half of it came out of your paycheck and the employer paid the other half without you seeing it.
How much is enough: the safe harbor
You do not need to predict this year’s tax to the dollar. You avoid the underpayment penalty if what you pay on time, through withholding and estimated payments, adds up to at least the smaller of:
- 90 percent of the tax on your 2026 return, or
- 100 percent of the tax on your 2025 return.
There is one change for higher incomes. If your adjusted gross income for 2025 was more than $150,000, or more than $75,000 if you file married filing separately for 2026, the 100 percent becomes 110 percent.
Last year’s return is the easy target, because the number is already known.
Example: two owners
These are example numbers.
- Owner A. Total tax on the 2025 return: $15,000. AGI for 2025: $95,000. Four payments of $3,750 meet the prior year rule, even if 2026 turns out busier and the final bill is higher. The rest is paid with the return.
- Owner B. Total tax on the 2025 return: $30,000. AGI for 2025: $160,000. That is over $150,000, so the target is 110 percent: $33,000, or $8,250 a payment.
If you know this year will be much slower than last year, the 90 percent rule on this year’s tax can be the smaller number. That calls for a real estimate, and the worksheet in Form 1040-ES walks through it.
Setting money aside from every payment
The habit that keeps April calm is simple. Every time a client pays, a fixed share goes into a separate savings account that is only for tax, before any of it gets spent.
Base the share on profit, not on the full payment. Part of every invoice is materials and costs you already paid out.
Example: a month of payments
These are example numbers.
- Last year, total tax was $15,000 on $75,000 of profit. $15,000 divided by $75,000 is 20 percent. That is your set aside rate.
- In October, clients pay you $14,000.
- Materials, fuel, insurance and other business costs that month come to $4,000.
- $14,000 minus $4,000 is $10,000.
- 20 percent of $10,000 is $2,000 into the tax account.
Do that every month and the quarterly payment is sitting there when the date comes. If the account holds more than the payment, leave the extra in. It is next April’s balance.
Your rate should also be in your prices. A rate that ignores self-employment tax and income tax is too low from the start. The hourly rate calculator works out what an hour has to cost once your pay, overhead and profit are counted, and your pay is the figure before tax.
The underpayment penalty, in plain words
If you pay too little by a due date, the IRS charges a penalty on the short amount for each day it stays short. It works like interest. It is figured on each payment separately, so a big fourth payment does not erase a missed first one.
The rate is the IRS underpayment rate, which for individuals is the federal short term rate plus 3 percentage points. For the quarter starting October 1, 2026, that rate is 7 percent a year.
As a rough example: being $3,000 short for 90 days at 7 percent a year is about $52. Being $3,000 short for a whole year is about $210. Not ruinous, but it is money for nothing, and it grows with the amount.
How to pay
Every option below takes the payment straight from a checking or savings account.
- IRS Direct Pay. Free, and no sign in. Pick estimated tax as the reason for the payment.
- Your IRS online account. You can make estimated payments there and see your payment history, which helps when your accountant asks what you sent.
- EFTPS. Free, but you have to enroll first, and new enrollment can take up to five business days. You can schedule payments up to 365 days ahead, so you can set all four at once.
You can also pay by debit or credit card through a processor, which charges a fee, or mail a check with the voucher from Form 1040-ES.
State estimated taxes
Many states that tax income expect estimated payments too, with their own thresholds, dates and payment sites. They do not always line up with the federal dates. Check your state’s department of revenue for its rules. The same set aside habit covers both, as long as your percentage includes the state tax.
