Simple Money Sheets

Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator

For freelancers, 1099 contractors, and anyone with a side business. Enter what you expect to earn this year and get your federal self-employment tax, income tax, and how much to pay by each quarterly due date. It follows the IRS Form 1040-ES worksheet, uses the official 2026 and 2027 numbers, and runs entirely in your browser.

Profit means income minus business expenses (Schedule C line 31), not what clients paid you. Filing jointly and you both have self-employment income? Add your profits together; that's exact unless one of you earns more than the Social Security wage base. Withholding is the total for both of you.

Last year's tax (for the safe harbor)

"Total tax" is Form 1040 line 24 minus refundable credits. AGI is line 11. If you paid at least this much (110% if your AGI was over $150,000), you won't owe an underpayment penalty, even if this year's tax turns out higher.

Deductions, credits, and other income

The service-business box only matters at high incomes, where it shrinks the qualified business income deduction faster.

Your estimate

Payment schedule

How it adds up (Form 1040-ES worksheet)

How quarterly estimated taxes work

Nobody withholds tax from self-employment income, so the IRS expects you to pay it during the year in four installments. You generally have to make estimated payments if you expect to owe at least $1,000 for the year after withholding and credits. The tax has two parts:

  • Self-employment tax (see the self-employment tax calculator for a line-by-line breakdown) is Social Security and Medicare for the self-employed: 15.3% of 92.35% of your profit (12.4% Social Security up to the yearly wage base, plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap). The wage base is $184,500 for 2026 and $192,300 for 2027, and W-2 wages count toward it first. You deduct half of this tax from your income.
  • Income tax on your total income, after the standard or itemized deduction and the 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction, using the regular tax brackets.

For example, a single freelancer with $60,000 of profit in 2026 and no other income owes $8,478 of self-employment tax. After the half-SE-tax adjustment, the $16,100 standard deduction, and a $7,932 QBI deduction, taxable income is $31,729, so income tax is $3,559. The total is $12,037, about 20% of profit. To avoid a penalty, they need to pay 90% of that, $10,833, which works out to $2,708 per quarter.

How much do you have to pay? The safe harbor rules

You won't owe an underpayment penalty if your withholding plus estimated payments, made on time, add up to the smaller of:

  • 90% of this year's tax, or
  • 100% of last year's total tax (110% if last year's adjusted gross income was over $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately). Last year's return must cover a full 12 months.

If your income is rising, paying based on last year's tax is the easy, predictable choice: you'll owe the rest when you file, but no penalty. If your income is falling, 90% of this year's estimate is lower. And if you had no tax liability at all last year (and were a U.S. citizen or resident all year), you don't have to make estimated payments this year.

Due dates

For tax year 2026: April 15, 2026; June 15, 2026; September 15, 2026; and January 15, 2027. You can skip the January payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027, and pay the whole balance then.
For tax year 2027: April 15, 2027; June 15, 2027; September 15, 2027; and January 18, 2028 (January 15 is a Saturday and January 17 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so the deadline moves to the next business day). Check the 2027 Form 1040-ES when it comes out to confirm.

You can pay online with IRS Direct Pay or through your IRS online account, at no cost. Starting late? Pay enough by the next due date to catch up. Penalties are figured separately for each quarter, so a catch-up payment stops a missed quarter's penalty from growing. The estimated tax penalty calculator shows what a missed payment costs and what catching up saves.

What this calculator doesn't cover

  • State income tax. Most states also expect quarterly payments; check your state's tax agency.
  • Capital gains, qualified dividends, the 3.8% net investment income tax, and the alternative minimum tax. If you have these, the IRS worksheet in Publication 505 handles them.
  • Uneven income. If most of your income comes late in the year, the annualized income installment method (Form 2210, Schedule AI) may let you pay less in the early quarters.
  • The QBI deduction at high incomes is figured for a sole proprietor with no employees and no significant business property. If you pay W-2 wages to employees, your deduction above the income threshold may be larger than shown, so this estimate errs high.
  • Farmers and fishermen, who have their own 66⅔% rule and a single January 15 deadline.

FAQ

What percentage of my self-employment income should I set aside?

It depends on your income and filing status, which is why this calculator shows your own number ("Set aside per $1 of profit"). Self-employment tax alone is about 14% of profit (15.3% of 92.35%). Income tax at your bracket comes on top, reduced by the half-SE-tax and QBI deductions. Set aside state tax separately.

I also have a W-2 job. Do I still need to pay quarterly?

Maybe not. Your paycheck withholding counts toward the safe harbor. Enter your wages and withholding above. If withholding already covers the required amount, the calculator tells you so. You can also give your employer a new W-4 with extra withholding instead of making estimated payments; withholding counts as if it were paid evenly through the year.

What if my income changes during the year?

Re-run the numbers before each due date and pay the rest of the year's amount over the remaining quarters. Using last year's tax as your safe harbor avoids this: that amount doesn't change no matter what you earn.

Does a loss in my business reduce my other tax?

Yes. Enter a negative profit. There's no self-employment tax on a loss, and the loss reduces your other income.

Does this calculator store my data?

No. Everything is calculated in your browser, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Sources

Last checked November 5, 2026. For education and planning only, not tax advice. This is an estimate of federal tax; your actual return may differ. A tax professional can help with your exact situation.

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