1040-ES safe harbor and due dates
Work out the Form 1040-ES required annual payment and four equal installments using the 90%, 100% and 110% safe harbors.
Your numbers
2026 Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individualsus-tax-2026-v1
Each quarterly payment
$2,000.00Four equal installments totalling $8,000.00| Installment | Due | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 15, 2026 | $2,000.00 |
| 2 | Jun 15, 2026 | $2,000.00 |
| 3 | Sep 15, 2026 | $2,000.00 |
| 4 | Jan 15, 2027 | $2,000.00 |
High confidenceSafe harbors and due dates transcribed from 2026 Form 1040-ES; Equal installments only — the annualized income method is not modelled; This is not a Form 2210 penalty calculation.
Method quarterly-estimated-tax-v1.0.0Data us-tax-2026-v1
Guide
Form 1040-ES asks whether withholding will cover the smaller of 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s (110% if last year’s AGI was high). If it will not, and you still expect to owe at least $1,000, the shortfall is split into four dated installments.
The required annual payment is the smaller of those two safe harbors. Paying that amount on time, together with withholding, is how most people avoid an underpayment penalty — not by matching the final tax to the dollar.
If last year’s AGI was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if you will file married separately), last year’s tax is multiplied by 110% instead of 100%.
This page splits whatever is still required into four equal payments on the Form 1040-ES dates. Income that arrives early in the year can still leave a penalty under the annualized income method even when the annual total is enough. That method is not modelled.
You generally do not have to make estimated payments if you expect to owe less than $1,000 after withholding and refundable credits, or if those payments already cover the required annual payment. Having no tax last year can also remove the requirement; that exception is named and not tested here.
For calendar-year filers: April 15, June 15, September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027.
The January 15 payment is not required if you file by February 1 and pay the balance with the return.
If last year’s AGI was more than $150,000, or $75,000 if you will file married separately, the prior-year safe harbor is 110% of last year’s tax instead of 100%.
No. Form 2210 figures that penalty, including relief for annualized income and certain disasters. This page only shows the required annual payment and equal installments.
Results are for information. They are not legal, tax, medical, or financial advice. How the math is maintained · Report a wrong figure.
Rounding, versioning, and omissions that sit beside the guide rather than repeating it.
Calculation receipt
This answer is built from published figures. Each one is named below, with the release it came from.
If a source above is unavailable or out of date: Safe-harbour percentages, the owed threshold and the due dates are all published rules.
Sources