How Much to Pay in Quarterly Estimated Taxes: 2026 Examples

Pay the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax, minus expected withholding, in four installments to avoid the underpayment penalty. A missed or short payment costs a penalty that grows with the days it stays unpaid.

How Much Should You Pay Each Quarter?

Take the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax, subtract the tax you expect to have withheld, then divide the rest by four. Meeting either amount by each due date avoids the underpayment penalty.

• 90% of your 2026 tax works well when your income is shrinking or hard to predict.
• 100% of your 2025 tax works well when your income is growing, because the figure is already on your 2025 return.
• 110% of your 2025 tax replaces the 100% figure when your 2025 adjusted gross income was over $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately).

You need estimated payments only when you expect to owe $1,000 or more after subtracting withholding and credits. Withholding from a W-2 job counts toward the required amount.

The 2026 due dates are April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027. The 2026 quarterly tax schedule has every date and the 2027 schedule.

Worked Example 1: Current-Year Estimate

Sarah, a single freelance designer with $80,000 of net profit, owes $18,830.24 for 2026, or $4,707.56 per quarter at 100%. She has $100,000 of gross income, $20,000 of expenses and no withholding.

Step	Amount
Gross business income	$100,000.00
Business expenses	$20,000.00
Net self-employment income	$80,000.00
Self-employment tax base (92.35% of net)	$73,880.00
Self-employment tax (15.3%)	$11,303.64
Half of self-employment tax (deduction)	$5,651.82
Adjusted gross income	$74,348.18
Standard deduction (single)	$16,100.00
Taxable income	$58,248.18
Income tax	$7,526.60
Total tax	$18,830.24

The income tax uses the 2026 single brackets: 10% on the first $12,400 ($1,240), 12% on income up to $50,400 ($4,560) and 22% on the remaining $7,848.18 ($1,726.60). All of her earnings fall under the Social Security wage base of $184,500. The full 15.3% applies. The example leaves out the qualified business income deduction and any credits. Both would lower her tax.

Paying 100% of the total means $4,707.56 per quarter ($18,830.24 / 4). The 90% minimum is $16,947.22, or $4,236.81 per quarter rounded up. Paying the smaller amount is enough to avoid the penalty. Sarah would still owe the remaining balance when she files.

The quarterly estimated tax calculator runs these steps with your own numbers.

Worked Example 2: Prior-Year Safe Harbor

The prior-year rule needs one number from your 2025 return and no forecast. Marcus files as single. He owed $16,000 in total tax for 2025 with adjusted gross income under $150,000.

• 100% of 2025 tax: $16,000 / 4 = $4,000 per quarter. This is Marcus’s figure.
• 110% of 2025 tax, for 2025 adjusted gross income over $150,000: $16,000 x 1.10 = $17,600, or $4,400 per quarter.

Marcus avoids the penalty by paying $4,000 per quarter, even when he earns far more in 2026. He pays the rest of his 2026 tax when he files. Your 2025 return must cover all 12 months for this rule to apply.

You can pay through IRS Direct Pay, your IRS Online Account or a check with a Form 1040-ES voucher. How to pay estimated taxes walks through each method.

What Percentage of Business Income to Set Aside

The share to set aside is your total tax divided by your net profit. It came to about 23.5% in Sarah’s case. Her $18,830.24 of total tax on $80,000 of net profit breaks down as follows.

• Self-employment tax: $11,303.64, or about 14.1% of net profit.
• Federal income tax: $7,526.60, or about 9.4% of net profit.
• Total: $18,830.24, or about 23.5% of net profit.

Your own share moves with three things. A higher profit pushes more income into the 22% bracket and above. Higher deductions lower the income tax part. Earnings above the $184,500 Social Security wage base stop adding the Social Security portion of self-employment tax.

Compute the share on your own profit. Move that percentage of each month’s profit, not of gross receipts, into a separate savings account. Tracking deductions through the year keeps the profit figure honest. State income tax comes on top of this federal amount.

Starting a Business Mid-Year or Missing a Quarter

You pay for the period your income falls in. The first payment is due for the period in which your income starts, assuming no earlier income needed estimates. A business that starts on April 20 has income in the April 1 to May 31 period. Its first payment is due June 15, 2026. A business that earned its first income in March pays for the January to March period by April 15.

A missed quarter cannot be erased by paying the full year’s amount in Q4. The penalty runs separately for each installment. The earlier shortfall keeps adding penalty until it is paid. Payments are applied to the earliest unpaid installment first. A late payment reduces the oldest shortfall before anything else.

Three rules reduce the cost of a late start:

• Annualized income installment method. This bases each payment on income earned to date instead of an even quarter of the year. You file Form 2210 with Schedule AI.
• Prior-year rule from your personal return. Estimated tax is figured per person, not per business. An owner who had a W-2 job in 2025 can still pay 100% (or 110%) of the total tax on that 2025 return.
• No 2026 estimates after a zero-tax year. You owe no 2026 estimated tax when you were a U.S. citizen or resident for all of 2025 and had no tax liability for the full 12-month 2025 tax year, per the Form 1040-ES instructions.

Owners who are still sorting out whether they are an employee or a contractor can check 1099 vs W-2 differences first. The answer decides whether payroll withholding applies.

How the Underpayment Penalty Is Calculated

Form 2210 figures the penalty separately for each installment, using the number of days the shortfall stays unpaid. The rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and is reset every quarter.

The 2026 rates are 6% for April through June, 7% for July through September and 7% for October through December. The IRS confirmed the October rate in IR-2026-98. The rate for January through March 2027 is not announced yet.

Each shortfall accrues penalty until it is paid or until April 15, 2027, whichever is earlier. The Form 2210 worksheet multiplies the underpayment by the days unpaid, divides by 365 and applies the rate for each rate period.

Example: a $5,000 shortfall on the Q1 2026 payment that is never caught up.

Period	Days	Rate	Penalty
April 15 to June 30, 2026	76	6%	$62.47
July 1 to September 30, 2026	92	7%	$88.22
October 1 to December 31, 2026	92	7%	$88.22
January 1 to April 15, 2027 (two quarters)	105	7% (assumed)	$100.68
Total			$339.59

The last row assumes 7% for both January to March and April 1 to 15, 2027. Neither rate has been announced. The same $5,000 shortfall on only the Q4 payment (January 15 to April 15, 2027, 90 days at an assumed 7%) costs $86.30. The earlier the shortfall, the longer it accrues.

Ways to Lower or Avoid the Penalty

The most reliable way to avoid the penalty is to pay by each due date under one of the safe harbor rules. Several other options reduce it.

• Use the prior-year rule. Paying 100% of your 2025 tax (110% above the income limit) protects you even when this year’s tax turns out higher.
• Raise W-2 withholding. A new Form W-4 can increase withholding if you have a day job. The IRS treats withholding as paid evenly across the four due dates unless you choose otherwise.
• Send partial payments. The penalty is based on each quarter’s shortfall. Paying part of it reduces the charge.
• Use the annualized method. Seasonal or uneven income can cut or remove the penalty for the quarters when you earned less. Current year-to-date books make this easier.
• Adjust when revenue drops. Recalculate the 90% figure on your lower expected income and reduce the remaining payments. Payments already made still count.
• Ask for a waiver. Form 2210 lets you request relief after a casualty, disaster or other unusual event, or if you retired after reaching age 62 or became disabled in 2025 or 2026 and the underpayment had a reasonable cause.

Estimated Taxes by Business Structure

The penalty rules above apply to whoever owes the tax. Your business structure decides who makes the payments and which tax they cover.

Sole Proprietors and Single-Member LLCs

A sole proprietor reports business profit on Schedule C of the personal return. A single-member LLC is treated the same way unless it files Form 8832 to be taxed as a corporation.

Your payments cover income tax and self-employment tax: 12.4% Social Security up to the wage base plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap.

Partnerships and Multi-Member LLCs Taxed as Partnerships

The business itself does not pay income tax. Each partner receives a K-1 showing a share of income and makes their own estimated payments.

S Corporations

An owner who takes a reasonable salary has income and payroll taxes withheld through payroll. Shareholders report their share of S corporation income on their personal returns. Estimated payments usually cover the tax on that share that payroll withholding does not.

C Corporations

A C corporation must pay estimated tax when it expects its tax for the year, less credits, to be $500 or more. Installments are due on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of the tax year. For a calendar-year corporation that is April 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. Corporations do not use Form 1040-ES. Form 1120-W is a worksheet last revised in 2022. Use the Estimated Tax Worksheet in IRS Publication 542 instead.

Quick Checklist: How Much to Pay

• Check whether you expect to owe $1,000 or more after withholding and credits
• Work out 90% of your expected 2026 tax and 100% (or 110%) of your 2025 tax
• Subtract expected withholding and divide the rest by four
• Set aside your computed share of profit as income arrives
• Recalculate before each payment using income to date
• Check your state’s estimated tax rules

Related Resources

• 2026 quarterly tax schedule: every date, the 2027 schedule and the worksheet
• Self-employment tax guide: how the 15.3% is figured
• 1099 vs W-2 differences: which payments are yours to estimate
• Small business tax deductions: deductions that lower the estimate
• Small business bookkeeping guide: keeping the profit figure current