Next federal deadline  Sep 15  in 1 days

Your quarterly payment computed, not guessed Compare both IRS payment methods

The calculation is free. Paid plans add the PDF report, vouchers, and the Form 2210 package.

Built on the IRS's own rules

Form 1040-ESIRC §6654Form 2210Schedule AIPublication 505Form 8582Rev. Proc. 2025-32

One calculation covers the quarter. It gives you the payment, the proof, the deadlines, and the filing paper trail.

Know if you're on track today

Every deadline has a required amount. See where you stand while the quarter is still open, not on next year's return.

2026 federal estimated tax

Year target $12,078 | Projected tax $13,420

On track. Pay $4,389 by Sep 15

Q1 Apr 15
paid
annualized
Q2 Jun 15
paid
annualized
Q3 Sep 15, 1d
pay $4,389
annualized
Q4 Jan 15
about $3,020
annualized, projected

Never miss a deadline

A reminder lands in your inbox before every federal due date, with your number in it.

SE

Q3 estimate due Sep 15

Your payment is $8,227. Pay at IRS Direct Pay before the deadline.

7 days out

SE

Q2 estimate confirmed

You marked $4,547 paid on Jun 12. Your year is up to date.

Jun 12

Send it to your accountant

Sharing works on every plan. Your accountant gets the numbers to verify without a quarterly billable call.

From Jordan Meyer via EstimatedTax.com

Jordan shared their Q3 2026 quarterly tax estimates

Both methods, the recommended payment, and the figures behind them.

The state layer, not forgotten

Most income-tax states want their own quarterly payments. Your state's safe harbor number is included free, next to the federal one.

Federal quarterly payment

$4,112.00

California safe harbor

$1,230.00

Sample. State coverage is the safe harbor number.

Both official methods, side by side

Safe harbor protects you with last year's tax. Annualized income follows the year you're actually having. The calculator runs both from Publication 505 and recommends the lower penalty-free payment.

Setting aside a flat 30% is a guess that costs money in both directions. The computed number is checkable, and in this sample it is $1,651 lower this quarter.

Safe harbor

Based on last year's total tax

$9,878.00

Annualized income Selected

Based on this year's actual income

$8,227.00

Sample calculation

Your entity and income mix, all in one estimate

An owner salary and its withholding, pass-through income from an S-corp or partnership, a rental, a stock sale. Each stream is taxed by its own rules and they interact. The estimate accounts for every one of them.

Self-employment tax, the QBI deduction, the passive loss rules, and net investment income tax are computed where they apply, so the number is right for the mix you actually have.

Owner W-2 salary withholding counted

$60,000.00

S-corp pass-through (K-1)

$85,000.00

Rental income passive rules applied

$12,400.00

Long-term capital gain

$18,000.00

Sample mix. QBI, SE tax, and NIIT are computed where they apply.

Defensible at filing

Uneven payments are justified to the IRS with Form 2210 and Schedule AI. The same calculation that gave you the quarterly number produces the paper trail that defends it in April.

Form 2210 · Underpayment of Estimated Tax

Tells the IRS you used the annualized method, box C, and shows the four required installments.

Sample pages, produced by the calculator for the same sample year.

See every line the IRS sees. Nothing here is a black box.

You get the whole worksheet. Income, self-employment tax, the required annual payment, and each installment are shown line by line, so you or your accountant can check any figure against the source.

Rough numbers are fine to start. Sharpen any line later and the whole worksheet recomputes.

Start your worksheet

2026 estimate worksheet

Single · self-employed · sample

Self-employment income, annualized$86,400.00
Self-employment tax$12,208.00
Federal income tax$10,246.00
Total estimated tax$22,454.00
Required annual payment$20,209.00
Q1 installment Paid ✓$4,547.00
Q2 installment Paid ✓$4,547.00
Q3 installment Due Sep 15$8,227.00
Q4 installment Upcoming$2,888.00

Asked before signing up.

My spreadsheet works fine. Why switch?

A spreadsheet usually applies one method, and you have no way to check it. One owner in our research overpaid by $7,000 doing exactly that. Here both official IRS methods are computed on the same numbers, side by side, so the answer is checkable instead of hopeful.

If it tells me to pay less than last year, will the IRS accept that?

Yes, when the paperwork backs it up. Uneven payments are justified with Form 2210 and Schedule AI, which is the IRS's own form for exactly this situation. The calculator produces that package from the same calculation that gave you the number.

Does it handle S-corp salary plus distributions?

Yes. Your owner W-2 wages and their withholding count toward what you have paid in, and pass-through business income flows into the personal estimate where it belongs. Rental income and the passive rules are handled too.

Do I re-enter everything every quarter?

No. Your year carries forward from quarter to quarter. You update what changed, the worksheet recomputes, and the next payment reflects the year you are actually having.

Not filing as an individual? You get the same calculations, set up for how you work.

Accountants

Every client's quarterly numbers in one dashboard, computed both official ways, with filled 1040-ES vouchers and PDF reports ready to send. Direct worksheet entry, no interview required.

EstimatedTax.com for accountants

Understand the rules you're paying under. Every guide is written in plain language and sourced from the IRS.

SH

The safe harbor rule, explained.

How last year's tax can protect this year's payments, and when the 110% threshold applies.

Read the guide
Q?

Do you even need to pay quarterly?

Generally yes if you'll owe $1,000 or more beyond withholding. Who that covers, and how to check either way.

Read the guide
AI

Uneven income and Schedule AI.

Why a windfall or a slow start changes each quarter's required payment, and how to prove it.

Read the guide
W

A windfall quarter, handled.

Sold something big or landed the year's project? How safe harbor and annualization keep a spike penalty-free.

Read the guide
ST

State estimated taxes.

Most income-tax states want their own quarterly payments, with different thresholds and schedules.

Read the guide
UP

Paid in full and still penalized.

Why the underpayment penalty exists even when the April bill was paid on time, and how it is figured.

Read the guide

Get your quarterly payment. The next deadline is Sep 15. The check is free.

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