Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator

How Form 1040-ES quarterly estimated tax and safe harbors work

Federal tax is pay-as-you-go. As the IRS Estimated Taxes guide states, "Taxes must be paid as you earn or receive income during the year, either through withholding or estimated tax payments." When you earn Schedule C profit, rent, interest, or dividends without withholding, you send 4 payments on Form 1040-ES. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6654(d)(1)(A), each payment is 25% of your required annual total. Compare your full return in the federal income tax calculator.

You do not need to prepay 100% of this year's tax during the year to avoid a penalty. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6654(d)(1)(B) and Form 1040-ES, your required annual payment is the smaller of two numbers. It is 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's 12-month tax. For high earners, Form 1040-ES states: "If your adjusted gross income (AGI) for 2025 was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if your filing status for 2026 is married filing separately), substitute 110% for 100% in (2b) under General Rule, earlier." When profit jumps, paying 100% or 110% of last year's smaller tax stops penalties until April 15.

Two rules let you skip quarterly payments. First, under 26 U.S.C. § 6654(e)(1), you pay nothing if you owe under $1,000 after withholding. Form 1040-ES line 14b starts from line 11c, which is already net of refundable credits, and this page does not model them. Second, under 26 U.S.C. § 6654(e)(2), Form 1040-ES notes that "You don’t have to pay estimated tax for 2026 if you were a U.S. citizen or resident alien for all of 2025 and you had no tax liability for the full 12-month 2025 tax year." You also owe $0.00 per quarter when W-2 withholding covers your safe harbor on line 14a. Check your W-4 in the federal paycheck withholding calculator.

Form 1040-ES and Schedule SE calculation formula

Net SE earnings = Net profit × 92.35% (26 U.S.C. § 1402(a)(12); $0 SE tax if net earnings < $400 under § 1402(b)(2))
SE tax = min(Net SE earnings, max(0, SS wage base − your W-2 wages)) × 12.4% + Net SE earnings × 2.9% (26 U.S.C. § 1401; a spouse's wages do not enter)
Deductible SE tax = 50% × SE tax (26 U.S.C. § 164(f); Schedule 1 line 15)
Additional Medicare Tax = max(0, your W-2 wages + spouse's W-2 wages (joint only) + Net SE earnings − threshold) × 0.9% (Form 8959)
AGI = max(0, Net profit + your W-2 wages + spouse's W-2 wages (joint only) + Other income − Deductible SE tax)
Taxable income = max(0, AGI − Standard or Itemized deduction − QBI deduction)
Expected total tax = max(0, Bracket tax − Credits) + SE tax + Additional Medicare Tax
Required annual payment = min(90% × Expected total tax, 100% or 110% × Prior-year tax) (26 U.S.C. § 6654(d)(1))
Quarterly installment = max(0, Safe-harbor annual payment − Withholding) ÷ 4 (26 U.S.C. § 6654(d)(1)(A),(g)(1))

Worked 2026 Form 1040-ES quarterly payment examples

Default 2026 Single freelancer ($80,000.00 SE profit, standard deduction, $15,000.00 prior tax on $70,000.00 prior AGI). Under the [Schedule SE steps](#se-and-brackets), net SE earnings are $73,880.00. That gives $9,161.12 of Social Security tax and $2,142.52 of Medicare tax ($11,303.64 total SE tax and a $5,651.82 deduction). AGI is $74,348.18 and taxable income is $58,248.18. Regular 2026 tax is $1,240.00 on the first $12,400.00, $4,560.00 up to $50,400.00, and $1,726.60 above $50,400.00, for $7,526.60. Total expected tax is $18,830.24 and the current-year floor is $16,947.22. Because prior AGI ($70,000.00) is within the [standard prior-year tier](#how-it-works), the $15,000.00 prior-year floor wins. You pay 4 installments of $3,750.00 and owe $3,830.24 at filing.

High-income prior-year safe harbor ($200,000.00 SE profit, 2026 Single, $15,000.00 prior tax on $160,000.00 prior AGI). Net SE earnings are $184,700.00. Social Security tax caps at $22,878.00 and Medicare tax is $5,356.30, for $28,234.30 of SE tax. Subtracting the $14,117.15 SE deduction and the Single standard deduction leaves $169,782.85 of taxable income and $33,345.88 of income tax. Expected total tax is $61,580.18 (current-year floor = $55,422.16). Because prior AGI ($160,000.00) beat the [high-income threshold](#how-it-works), the prior-year floor is $16,500.00. You pay $4,125.00 per quarter and $45,080.18 at filing.

W-2 wage cap and current-year floor ($50,000.00 SE profit + $160,000.00 W-2 wages, 2026 Single, $30,000.00 withheld, no prior return). Net SE earnings are $46,175.00. W-2 wages leave $24,500.00 under the Social Security cap, so Social Security SE tax is $3,038.00 and Medicare SE tax is $1,339.08 ($4,377.08 SE tax; $2,188.54 deduction). Combined Medicare pay ($206,175.00) adds $55.58 of Additional Medicare Tax. With $191,711.46 of taxable income and $38,608.75 of income tax, total tax is $43,041.41 and the safe-harbor floor is $38,737.27. Subtracting $30,000.00 withheld leaves $8,737.27, or 4 payments of $2,184.32.

De minimis balance exception ($66,500.00 W-2 wages, $0.00 SE profit, 2026 Single, $5,000.00 withheld). Subtracting the standard deduction leaves $50,400.00 of taxable income and $5,800.00 of expected tax. Subtracting $5,000.00 of withholding leaves $800.00 due at filing. Because the balance after withholding is below the [de minimis threshold](#how-it-works), your quarterly payment is $0.00.

Joint filer with a spouse's pay ($80,000.00 SE profit, $150,000.00 spouse wages, 2026 Married Filing Jointly, no prior return). The SE tax is the same as in the first example, because a spouse's wages use none of your Social Security wage base. AGI is $224,348.18 and taxable income is $192,148.18, for $31,696.60 of income tax. Your wages and your spouse's wages plus your net earnings stay under the $250,000.00 joint threshold, so Additional Medicare Tax is $0.00. Total tax is $43,000.24 and the 90% floor is $38,700.22, so you pay 4 installments of $9,675.06.

Scope, limits, and assumptions

• Covers Form 1040-ES for 2026 (Revenue Procedure 2025-32) and 2025 (Revenue Procedure 2024-40) across all 5 filing statuses in whole cents. Standard Deduction uses the basic amount for your status. The extra amount for age 65 or older or blindness is not added. A qualified business income deduction is the figure you enter. This page does not figure it.
• Treats profit as earned evenly in 4 equal shares across the year. A farmer or fisherman with at least two-thirds of gross income from farming or fishing has only one installment, due January 15 (26 U.S.C. § 6654(i)). This page does not model that. It always shows four payments.
• Nonrefundable credits on line 7 cut regular income tax to $0.00 but cannot cut Schedule SE tax or Additional Medicare Tax. Refundable credits (the earned income credit, additional child tax credit, and refundable American opportunity credit) are not modeled. Form 1040-ES subtracts them before the 90% test, so your required payments could be lower.
• All income is taxed at ordinary rates. Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends at their lower rates, the 2026 deductions for tips, overtime, seniors, and car loan interest, and the charitable deduction for non-itemizers are not modeled. A joint filer's spouse has wages only, with no self-employment income.
• State tax, the 3.8% investment surtax, and the minimum tax are outside this form.

These figures are estimates for learning and planning, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Terms of use.

What to do with your quarterly estimate

Compare the current-year and prior-year floors in the cards above before paying. When your profit rises, locking in last year's tax floor blocks any estimated tax underpayment penalty. You can keep the extra cash in savings until April 15.

Use W-2 or pension withholding to fix a late-year gap. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6654(g)(1), tax withheld from paychecks counts as paid in 4 equal shares across the year. Raising Form W-4 Step 4(c) withholding late in the year can erase an earlier shortfall. Test your check in the take-home pay calculator.

Pay online with IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS by each due date in the schedule table. You can skip the fourth voucher on January 15, 2027 by filing and paying in full by February 1, 2027. If you also sell stock or real estate, check your gain in the capital gains tax calculator.

Quarterly estimated tax questions