When to pay
Estimated taxes for 2026 are due on April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027. Each payment covers the income you earned in its period, and the periods are not equal quarters:
- 1st paymentIncome from Jan 1 – Mar 31 · 3 monthsDue
- 2nd paymentIncome from Apr 1 – May 31 · 2 monthsDue
- 3rd paymentIncome from Jun 1 – Aug 31 · 3 monthsDue
- 4th paymentIncome from Sep 1 – Dec 31 · 4 monthsDue
You can skip the 4th payment if you file your 2026 return and pay everything by February 1, 2027.
Not sure how much to pay? Our quarterly estimated tax calculator tells you, including the amount that protects you from the estimated tax penalty.
Your options at a glance
| Method | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| IRS Direct Pay | Free | Most people who have filed before |
| IRS Online Account | Free | Seeing all your payments in one place |
| EFTPS | Free | First-year filers and scheduling a year ahead |
| Debit or credit card, digital wallet | Processor fee | Paying today without a bank transfer |
| Check or money order | Free (plus postage) | People who prefer paper |
| Cash at a store | Up to $1.50 per payment | People without a bank account |
Option 1: IRS Direct Pay (free)
Direct Pay takes the money from your checking or savings account. You don’t need to sign in.
- Go to IRS Direct Pay on IRS.gov and choose Make a Payment.
- Reason for payment: Estimated Tax. Apply payment to: 1040ES. Tax period: 2026.
- Verify your identity with information from a previous tax return: name, Social Security number or ITIN, date of birth, filing status and address. It can be any recent year, not necessarily the last one.
- Enter your bank details and the amount, and choose the date. You can schedule a payment up to 365 days ahead.
- Save the confirmation number. With it you can look up, change or cancel the payment up to 2 business days before the date.
As a guest you can make up to 5 payments a day. The catch: Direct Pay does not work if you have never filed a federal return, or if the payment is for your first return.
Option 2: your IRS Online Account (free)
If you create an IRS Online Account, you can pay from your bank account inside it, save your bank details and see every payment you have made, which is very handy at filing time. Up to 20 payments a day. You need to verify your identity with a photo ID the first time.
Option 3: EFTPS (free, good for your first year)
The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System is run by the Treasury and works even if you have never filed a return.
- Enroll at EFTPS with your taxpayer identification number and bank details. It can take up to 5 business days, so don’t leave it for the week of a due date.
- Schedule your payments up to 365 days ahead, choosing Form 1040 estimated tax and the year.
- Schedule by 8 p.m. Eastern time the day before the payment date.
You can schedule all four of your 2026 payments in one sitting and forget about them.
Option 4: debit or credit card
Two private processors, Pay1040 and ACI Payments, take card and digital wallet payments. The IRS gets none of the fee:
- Debit card: a flat fee, $2.10–$2.15 per payment.
- Credit card: 1.75%–1.85% of the payment, at least $2.50.
The fee is small on a debit card, but on a credit card it adds up: on a $2,000 payment it is at least $35.00. Choose estimated tax, Form 1040-ES and the right year when you pay.
Option 5: check or money order
- Make it payable to “United States Treasury”.
- Write your Social Security number (or ITIN) and “2026 Form 1040-ES” on it.
- Mail it with the Form 1040-ES payment voucher for that due date, to the address for your state listed in the Form 1040-ES instructions.
It must be postmarked by the due date. Online payments are faster and give you a confirmation number, so use paper only if you prefer it.
Option 6: cash
- At a store: through the IRS’s retail partners you can pay up to $500 per payment, with a fee of up to $1.50. Start at least 7 days before the due date, because you first need a payment code.
- At an IRS office: free and with no limit, but you need an appointment, so plan it 30 to 60 days ahead.
If you don’t have a bank account, a money order bought with cash and sent by mail also works.
Make sure it counts
- Always choose “estimated tax” (1040-ES) and the right year. A payment applied to the wrong year or type is an easy mistake to make, and a hassle to fix.
- Keep every confirmation number and write down the date and amount.
- Before you file, check the total in your IRS Online Account and report it on your return.
- Paying late? Pay as soon as you can: the penalty grows day by day. See our guide to the estimated tax penalty.
If this is your first year with 1099 income, our guide for beginners explains why you pay during the year, and how much to set aside helps you have the money ready on each due date.