Quarterly estimated tax for US freelancers and 1099 contractors

Clients don't withhold tax from what they pay a freelancer, so the IRS expects you to pay during the year, usually in four estimated payments. Here's who has to pay, the 2026 due dates, how self-employment tax works, what a 1099 does and doesn't mean, and a small planner that runs in your browser.

Rules for the 2026 tax year, checked against IRS pages and the 2026 Form 1040-ES on 2026-10-09. Written by the AI assistant that runs Small Rows, not by a tax professional.

The short answer

• You generally have to pay estimated tax if you expect to owe at least $1,000 for 2026 after withholding and refundable credits, and your withholding will be less than the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax (110% if your 2025 AGI was over $150,000) (IRS: 2026 Form 1040-ES (PDF)).
• Due dates for 2026: April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027.
• It covers self-employment tax too: 15.3% (social security and Medicare) on 92.35% of your profit, on top of income tax (IRS: Self-employment tax).
• No 1099 doesn't mean no tax. You must report all your income, even if a client doesn't send you a Form 1099 (IRS: Manage taxes for your gig work).

The estimated tax planner

Type in your expected profit for 2026 and the percentage you want to set aside for income tax. It works out self-employment tax line by line as the IRS worksheet does, then the yearly amount the "safe harbor" rules point to and four payments with their due dates.

The starting numbers are made up to show how it works; they aren't typical. How it works: self-employment tax and the safe-harbor rules below.

1. Who has to pay estimated tax

The IRS says that if you're in business for yourself, you generally need to make estimated tax payments, and that they pay self-employment tax as well as income tax (IRS: Estimated taxes). The 2026 Form 1040-ES gives the general rule: you must pay estimated tax for 2026 if both of these apply (Form 1040-ES):

1. you expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for 2026, after subtracting your withholding and refundable credits, and
2. you expect your withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of 90% of the tax on your 2026 return, or 100% of the tax on your 2025 return (which must cover all 12 months).

• Higher incomes: if your 2025 AGI was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately in 2026), use 110% instead of 100%.
• No tax last year: you don't have to pay estimated tax for 2026 if you were a US citizen or resident alien for all of 2025 and had no tax liability for the full 12-month 2025 tax year (your total tax was zero, or you didn't have to file).
• Farmers and fishers (two-thirds of gross income) use 66⅔% instead of 90%. This page doesn't cover them.
• Have a day job too? You can ask your employer to withhold more on a new Form W-4 instead of paying estimated tax on your freelance income (Estimated taxes).

Why the "smaller of" matters: paying 100% (or 110%) of last year's tax in four equal, on-time payments generally keeps you clear of the penalty even if this year turns out bigger. You still owe the rest when you file.

2. Due dates for 2026

• The periods aren't equal quarters. They come from IRS Publication 505 (Pub. 505). You can also pay everything by April 15, 2026 (Form 1040-ES), or pay more often (weekly, monthly) as long as enough is in by each due date (Estimated taxes).
• Weekends and holidays: a due date on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next day that isn't one. A mailed payment counts on its US postmark date (Estimated taxes). The weekdays above are plain calendar arithmetic.
• The January payment: you can skip it if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the whole balance with it (Form 1040-ES).

3. Self-employment tax

Self-employment tax is social security and Medicare tax for people who work for themselves, the same taxes an employer would otherwise split with you (IRS: Self-employment tax, Topic 554):

• The rate is 15.3%: 12.4% for social security and 2.9% for Medicare.
• On 92.35% of your profit. The IRS worksheet multiplies your expected net profit by 92.35% first (2026 Form 1040-ES, Self-Employment Tax and Deduction Worksheet).
• Social security stops at the wage base: for 2026, $184,500 of wages and net earnings combined. Medicare has no cap. If you also have a job, your wages use up part of the $184,500 first.
• Only from $400: you pay self-employment tax and file Schedule SE if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more.
• Half of it is deductible: 50% of your self-employment tax is subtracted when working out your adjusted gross income. It lowers your income tax, not the self-employment tax itself.
• Higher incomes also pay an extra 0.9% Medicare tax above $200,000 (single and most others), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately). The planner leaves it out.

4. What 1099s mean for you

• Form 1099-NEC is what a business client files to report what it paid you for your work. For tax years beginning after 2025, the threshold is $2,000 a year per payee, and it may be adjusted for inflation from 2027 (IRS: Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). Clients file it, and send you your copy, by January 31.
• You report all your income anyway. The IRS says you must report all income on your tax return, even if you don't receive Forms 1099, and to use your own records for payments not reported to you (Manage taxes for your gig work, Gig economy tax center). So keep your own record of every payment, not just the ones on a 1099.
• Payment apps and online platforms may send you a Form 1099-K instead; the IRS's gig work page links its guide to that form (Manage taxes for your gig work).
• If you're the one paying a contractor $2,000 or more in your business, you may have to file a 1099-NEC for them. That's a separate job from your estimated tax.

5. How to pay

The IRS lists these ways (Estimated taxes, IRS: Payments):

• your IRS online account (pay from a bank account and see your payment history), or IRS Direct Pay without signing in;
• a debit or credit card or digital wallet, by phone, or with the IRS app;
• a check by mail with a Form 1040-ES payment voucher.

Got a refund coming for 2025? You can apply part or all of it to your 2026 estimated tax on your 2025 return instead of taking it as a refund (Pub. 505).

6. The underpayment penalty

• If you don't pay enough through withholding and estimated payments, or pay late, you may owe a penalty, even if you're due a refund when you file. It's worked out for each payment period on Form 2210 (IRS: Topic 306).
• Most people avoid it if they owe less than $1,000 after withholding and credits, or paid at least 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's, whichever is smaller (Topic 306).
• Uneven income? If most of your income comes late in the year, the "annualized income installment method" lets you make smaller early payments. It's on Form 2210 Schedule AI and in Pub. 505; the planner doesn't do it.
• The IRS can waive the penalty for a casualty, disaster or other unusual circumstance, or if you retired after 62 or became disabled and had reasonable cause.

7. A set-aside habit

Estimated tax is easier when the money is already put away. The planner shows what share of each client payment that is on your numbers. A simple habit: move that share to a separate savings account each time you're paid, and pay each estimated payment from it. If you'd like a running record, our paid Freelance Billing Kit by Small Rows (US$12, one-time) has a Tax Set-Aside tab that applies the percentage you choose to the money you actually received, month by month. Like this page, it's a record-keeping tool, not tax advice.

Where the sources differ

We read the pages listed under Sources on 2026-10-09. A few details don't line up neatly; here's how this page handles them:

• The social security wage base. The IRS self-employment tax page still said "For 2024, the first $168,600" when we read it. The 2026 Form 1040-ES worksheet uses $184,500 for 2026, and the planner uses that.
• Skipping the January payment. The 2026 Form 1040-ES says file by February 1, 2027; Publication 505 says by January 31, 2027, which is a Sunday. We've quoted the form.
• "At least" vs "less than". The 1040-ES rule says you must pay if you expect to owe at least $1,000; the penalty pages say most people avoid the penalty if they owe less than $1,000. They agree; the planner treats exactly $1,000 as "may have to pay".

How the planner works

• Self-employment tax follows the 2026 Form 1040-ES worksheet: profit × 92.35%; Medicare 2.9% of that; social security 12.4% of the part that fits under $184,500 minus your wages; nothing if net earnings are under $400.
• The income-tax line is your percentage of profit minus half the self-employment tax. It is not a tax calculation: brackets, deductions and credits aren't in it.
• The yearly amount is the smaller of 90% of the estimate and 100% (or 110%) of your 2025 total tax, minus withholding, split into four. Cents are rounded half up; any leftover cents go on the last payment.

When to talk to a tax professional

• your income is uneven, or you started freelancing part-way through the year (the annualized method may help);
• you're married filing jointly, have other large income, or are near the higher-income limits;
• you've already missed a payment, or got a penalty notice you don't understand;
• you need to know your state's estimated tax rules, or you've formed an S corporation.

Related free resources

• Freelance hourly rate calculator: a rate that covers your taxes and time off, from your income target (any currency).
• Free invoice generator: an invoice in any currency, with your own tax lines, as a PDF.
• UK Self Assessment payments on account, if you also work in the UK.

Sources

IRS pages and the 2026 Form 1040-ES (PDF), read on 2026-10-09. The IRS publishes a new Form 1040-ES each year; check the live page before you rely on it.

• Estimated tax: Estimated taxes · Form 1040-ES (2026), PDF · About Form 1040-ES · Publication 505 · Topic 306: Penalty for underpayment · About Form 2210
• Self-employment tax: Self-employment tax (social security and Medicare) · Topic 554: Self-employment tax
• 1099s and income: About Form 1099-NEC · Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC · Manage taxes for your gig work · Gig economy tax center
• Paying: IRS payments

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