Mark your calendar: All 2026 quarterly tax deadlines and what happens if you miss one

Many people know April 15 is tax day, but self-employed people, freelancers, and gig workers usually have four tax deadlines in a year. This is because they often must pay quarterly estimated taxes.

Estimated tax payments are payments made to the IRS during the year on income where taxes are not automatically taken out. The U.S. tax system works on a “pay-as-you-go” basis. This means you are expected to pay tax as you earn money, not wait until April 15, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

Why W-2 workers usually don’t worry about this

If you have a normal job with a W-2, your employer already takes tax from your salary. So, most of the time, you do not need to pay extra tax during the year. You may need to pay estimated tax if you earn money on your own, like from freelancing, business work, interest, dividends, selling investments, alimony, prizes, or awards.


If you also get a salary or pension and enough tax is already taken out, you may not need to pay estimated tax. You usually must pay estimated tax if you think you will owe $1,000 or more in tax, and if the tax already taken out is less than 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s tax, according to Yahoo Finance.

Higher earners have a stricter rule

If your adjusted gross income was over $150,000 (or $75,000 if married filing separately), you must withhold 110% of last year’s tax bill to avoid penalties. These payments don’t come exactly every three months. Some payment periods are shorter or longer, ranging from two to four months.

Estimated tax payments are due on the 15th of January, April, June, and September. If the date falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date moves to the next business day, as noted by Yahoo Finance. The IRS allows you to pay weekly or monthly if that helps you manage money better.

How to figure out how much to pay

IRS Form 1040-ES helps you calculate estimated taxes using your expected income and deductions for the year.

Method one: use last year’s taxes

If your income is steady, you can divide last year’s total tax bill into four equal payments.

Method two: use current income

If your income changes a lot, you can calculate taxes based on what you earned during each payment period, according to Yahoo Finance.

Self-employed people must pay both sides of Social Security and Medicare taxes, which usually totals 15.3%. If you paid too much during the year, you can get the extra money as a refund or use it for future estimated tax payments, as stated by Yahoo Finance. You can pay online, through EFTPS, by bank transfer, phone, mail, or even cash at IRS partners.

If you don’t pay on time, you may owe interest plus a penalty of about 0.5% per month, capped at 25% of what you owe. Penalties may be avoided if you faced a disaster, unusual hardship, retirement after age 62, or disability. Pay what you can to reduce penalties and interest. Always file your tax return on time and consider an IRS payment plan if needed.

FAQs

Q1. When are the 2026 quarterly tax deadlines?

Quarterly estimated tax payments in 2026 are due in January, April, June, and September.

Q2. Do W-2 workers have to pay quarterly taxes?

Most W-2 workers do not need to pay quarterly taxes because their employer already withholds taxes from their paycheck