Quarterly Tax Due Dates for 2026 (and Why Q2 Catches Everyone)
When are quarterly taxes due in 2026? The four estimated tax payment dates, why the periods are not equal lengths, and what actually happens if you miss one.
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Four dates. They are not three months apart, and that is the part that costs people money.
The dates
| Quarter | Income earned | Payment due |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 1 January – 31 March | 15 April 2026 |
| Q2 | 1 April – 31 May | 15 June 2026 |
| Q3 | 1 June – 31 August | 15 September 2026 |
| Q4 | 1 September – 31 December | 15 January 2027 |
If a due date lands on a weekend or a federal holiday, it moves to the next business day. The IRS publishes the current schedule on its estimated taxes page.
Why the periods are uneven
Q1 is three months. Q2 is two. Q3 is three. Q4 is four.
The first payment was aligned with the April filing deadline, and everything downstream shifted to accommodate it. The result is a schedule that looks quarterly but is not.
The June trap
Someone who divides their annual estimate by four and pays a quarter each time is fine. Someone who pays "what I earned in the last three months" underpays in June, because Q2 is only two months of income but the payment is due on the same schedule as everyone else's.
The January payment is optional, sort of
The fourth instalment is due 15 January 2027, but there is an alternative: if you file your return and pay in full by 31 January, you can skip the January instalment entirely.
In practice almost nobody has their paperwork ready that early. It is worth knowing it exists.
Missing one is not a disaster
The penalty is interest, currently 7% a year, running from that quarter's due date. It is not a flat fine and there is no cliff.
Two consequences:
- Pay as soon as you can. The meter stops when the money arrives.
- An early miss costs more than a late one. A missed April payment accrues for up to twelve months, until the April filing deadline; a missed January payment for three.
The safe harbour still protects you
If your four payments total the lesser of 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's — 110% if last year's AGI topped $150,000 — no penalty applies, whatever you end up owing at filing.
A calendar that works
Set four reminders now, a week before each date. Not on the date — a week before, so there is time to run the numbers and move money.
Then run the quarterly tax calculator each time rather than paying the same figure four times. Freelance income moves, and the safe-harbour target moves with it.
The freelancers who never think about this are not more organised. They just made the decision once, automated it, and stopped revisiting it.