Quarterly Estimated Taxes: Due Dates and Who Has to Pay
Estimated tax is due on April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15. Four dates, and they are not three months apart.
If you work for yourself, nobody is taking tax out of what you earn. Estimated payments are how you do it yourself, in four instalments through the year.
The next one is January 15, and it covers September through December, which is the longest stretch of the four.
This post is the calendar. For how to work out what to pay, see our guide to quarterly estimated taxes for the self-employed.
Each payment starts from what you earned in that period. Example data.
The short version
Four payments a year, due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15.
The periods are uneven: three months, two, three, then four.
You generally have to pay if you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file.
A date that falls on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next working day.
The four dates
Payment | For income earned | Due |
|---|---|---|
First | January 1 to March 31 | April 15 |
Second | April 1 to May 31 | June 15 |
Third | June 1 to August 31 | September 15 |
Fourth | September 1 to December 31 | January 15 of the following year |
Look at the middle column. The second period is only two months long, and the fourth is four. People who think of these as "quarterly" set aside for three months and are caught short in January, when the payment covers a third of the year.
If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the IRS treats the payment as on time if you make it on the next day that is not one of those.
Who has to pay
In the IRS's words, individuals, including sole proprietors, partners and S corporation shareholders, generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed.
For most people with a profitable business of any size, that is a yes. Self-employment tax alone reaches $1,000 on a little over $7,000 of profit.
Who does not
You do not have to pay estimated tax for the current year if all three of these are true:
You had no tax liability for the prior year.
You were a US citizen or resident alien for the whole year.
Your prior tax year covered a 12 month period.
All three, not one of the three. The first is the one that decides it for most people, and it usually applies only in a first year or after a year with no taxable income.
How to work out each payment
You do not need to predict the year. You need the profit for the period that has just ended, and your own set-aside percentage.
Period | Profit in the period | At a 25% set-aside | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
January to March | $12,000 | $3,000 | April 15 |
April and May | $9,000 | $2,250 | June 15 |
June to August | $15,000 | $3,750 | September 15 |
September to December | $20,000 | $5,000 | January 15 |
The 25% is an example to show the method. Yours is your own, and our post on how to set your tax set-aside percentage works through it. If you want to see the self-employment tax part on its own, it is worked through here on $60,000 of profit.
Notice that nothing in the table needed a forecast. Each payment came from money that had already arrived. That is the whole advantage of moving the set-aside on the day you are paid: by the due date, the payment is already sitting there.
Profit for the period is the only figure you need to bring. Example data.
How to pay
The IRS gives several routes. You can mail a payment with Form 1040-ES, or pay online, by phone, or from your mobile device using the IRS app. Paying online from your bank account means you have a confirmation the same day, which is worth having.
Whichever you use, record the payment the same way every time, in its own category, so that at the end of the year you can see four payments at a glance and hand the total to whoever prepares your return.
What if you miss one
Pay it as soon as you can. A late payment is better than a skipped one, and catching up early in the next period keeps the amount manageable.
The IRS can charge a penalty for paying too little through the year. It also says most taxpayers avoid that penalty if they owed less than $1,000 after withholding and credits, or paid at least 90% of the tax for the current year, or 100% of the tax shown on the prior year's return, whichever is smaller. There are different rules for higher incomes, so check your own position with whoever prepares your return.
Five habits that make the dates a non-event
Put all four dates in your calendar now, with a reminder two weeks before each.
Move the set-aside on the day you are paid, not at the end of the period.
Keep it in its own account, so the operating balance tells the truth.
Close the books for the period before the date, so the payment is based on real profit.
Record each payment in its own category, so the year adds up without a search.
See where you stand, free
Tax you owe and have not yet paid is a debt, and it belongs in your picture. La Soglia, the free membership of the Money Mastery System, holds everything you own and owe in one place, with no bank connection and no card. The profit figure for each period comes from the paid membership, which sorts the transactions for you.
Bring it to the Collective
January 15 is the one people forget, because it arrives straight after the holidays. The Money Mastery Collective has a discussion feed open on the free membership. Post your date there and ask someone to hold you to it.
Questions we hear
When are quarterly estimated taxes due?
April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year. A date on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next working day.
Do I have to pay estimated taxes?
Generally yes, if you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file. That covers most people with a profitable business.
Why are the periods different lengths?
They are set by the IRS as three months, two months, three months and four months. The last period is the longest, which is why the January payment is often the largest.
What happens if I miss a payment?
Pay as soon as you can. The IRS can charge a penalty for underpaying through the year, and paying late is better than not paying.
References
Who must pay, who does not, the ways to pay and the penalty rule are from the IRS page Estimated taxes, updated 25 September 2026. The four periods, their due dates and the weekend rule are from the IRS estimated tax questions and answers, updated 2 October 2026. The payment table is our own worked example.
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A note on what this is
This article is educational. The Money Mastery System is an educational tool, not financial software, and nothing here is legal, tax, investment or financial advice. Tax rules change, vary by state and depend on your whole situation, and state estimated payments have their own dates. For guidance on your own circumstances, please speak with a qualified professional who knows them.
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