Quarterly Tax Calculator (2026)
Estimate your quarterly estimated tax payments as a self-employed or 1099 earner, with the safe harbor amount and the 2026 due dates. Enter your expected 1099 income and expenses, any W-2 wages and withholding, and last year's tax to see what to pay each quarter.
Your numbers
Commissions and other self-employment income for the whole year. If you know your net profit, enter it and leave expenses empty.
Mileage, phone, travel and other business costs.
Interest, dividends, rent.
Above the standard deduction: the qualified business income deduction, if you take it, or itemized deductions beyond it.
From a W-2 job's paychecks for the year, or a spouse's on a joint return.
For the safe harbor. Leave empty if you did not file for all of 2025.
The safe harbor becomes 110% of the 2025 tax.
Estimated tax payment due each quarter
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The calculation runs in your browser and ParrotNotes does not store your numbers. They sit in the page address so you can bookmark or share the result.
How the quarterly payment is worked out
Net profit is your 1099 income less business expenses. Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of it (12.4% for Social Security up to $184,500 less any W-2 wages, 2.9% for Medicare), and half of it comes off your income. Add W-2 wages and other income, take off the 2026 standard deduction, and the rest is taxed at the 2026 rates. Income tax plus self-employment tax is your estimated tax for the year.
The required annual payment is the smaller of 90% of that and 100% of your 2025 tax (110% if your 2025 AGI was over $150,000). Take off your withholding and divide by four. If what is left is zero, or the tax you would still owe is under $1,000, no estimated payments are required.
Worked example: a single commission rep with $90,000 of 1099 income, $10,000 of expenses and no W-2 job. Net profit $80,000; self-employment tax $11,303.64; AGI $80,000 − $5,651.82 = $74,348.18; taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction $58,248.18; income tax $5,800 + 22% of $7,848.18 = $7,526.60. Total $18,830.24. 90% is $16,947.22, but their 2025 tax was $15,000, so the safe harbor is $15,000: $3,750 a quarter. Paying the full estimate would be $4,707.56 a quarter.
2026 quarterly tax due dates
Pay all of it by April 15 or in four equal amounts by these dates. If you mail a payment, the U.S. postmark date counts as the payment date. Paying late or too little can bring a penalty for underpaying.
| Payment | Income received | Due |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan. 1 to March 31, 2026 | April 15, 2026 |
| 2 | April 1 to May 31, 2026 | June 15, 2026 |
| 3 | June 1 to Aug. 31, 2026 | Sept. 15, 2026 |
| 4 | Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026 | Jan. 15, 2027 |
You can skip the January 15, 2027 payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the whole balance with it.
The safe harbor: pay the smaller amount
You do not have to guess the year exactly. The general rule in Form 1040-ES asks for withholding and estimated payments of at least the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax, where the 2025 return covered all 12 months. With an AGI over $150,000 in 2025 ($75,000 married filing separately) it is 110% of the 2025 tax.
When income is rising, the prior-year figure is often the smaller one, and paying it on time generally avoids the underpayment penalty, though you will owe the rest when you file. When income is falling, 90% of this year's estimate is smaller. If you were a U.S. citizen or resident for all of 2025 and had no tax liability for that year, you do not have to pay estimated tax for 2026.
2026 standard deduction
| Filing status | Standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Single or married filing separately | $16,100 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
| Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse | $32,200 |
What this estimate leaves out
State income tax, tax credits, the alternative minimum tax, the lower rates on qualified dividends and capital gains, and itemized deductions. If you can take the qualified business income deduction or itemize more than the standard deduction, enter the amount above the standard deduction under extra deductions. If a large change in income after March 31 means you need to start paying, Form 1040-ES points to the annualized income installment method in chapter 2 of IRS Publication 505.
For 1099 commission reps
Commission income comes in lumps, so a quarter with a big deal can leave the next one short. Set aside a share of every commission check when it lands rather than finding the money on the due date, and rerun the numbers when a big deal closes or falls through. Keep mileage and other business costs logged as you go: they lower the profit both taxes are worked out on.
An estimate of federal tax for 2026 from the IRS Form 1040-ES worksheet. State income tax is separate and not included. This is not tax advice: talk to a tax professional about your own payments.
Sources, read on 2026-10-29:
- IRS Publication 505 (2026): Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax (payment periods and due dates)
- IRS Form 1040-ES (2026): who must pay, safe harbor, due dates, standard deduction, 2026 tax rate schedules, estimated tax and self-employment tax worksheets
Only want the Social Security and Medicare part? The self-employment tax calculator breaks it down. Logging business miles? The mileage calculator turns them into dollars at the IRS rate.
More for 1099 and commission reps: What an outside sales rep does, Manufacturers' reps, Sales commission plans.
The commission comes from the calls
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