How to pay quarterly estimated taxes, step by step

When you earn money as a creator or freelancer, nobody takes taxes out of your pay. The IRS still wants that money during the year, not all at once in April. That’s what quarterly estimated taxes are: you paying your tax bill in four installments as you earn.

It sounds scarier than it is. After the first time, each payment takes about ten minutes.

Here’s the whole process, from “do I even need to do this?” to hitting submit.

Quick note: this is general info, not tax advice. Your numbers depend on your situation, so run them by a tax pro if you can.

Do you need to pay estimated taxes?

According to the IRS’s estimated taxes page, individuals generally have to make estimated payments if they expect to owe $1,000 or more when they file their return, after subtracting withholding and refundable credits.

If creator or freelance work is your main income, you almost certainly need to pay.

There’s one exception worth knowing. You don’t have to pay estimated tax for the year if all three of these are true:

• You had no tax liability for the prior year
• You were a US citizen or resident alien for the whole year
• Your prior tax year covered a full 12 months

“No tax liability” means your total tax last year was zero, not that you got a refund. You’ll still owe the full tax when you file, so set the money aside anyway.

Step 1: Estimate what you’ll owe for the year

The tool here is Form 1040-ES, which includes a worksheet for figuring your estimated tax. You don’t mail the worksheet anywhere. It’s just for you.

The worksheet walks you through, roughly:

1. Your expected income for the year, after business expenses. That’s your profit, not your total payouts.
2. Your deductions, which for most people starting out is the standard deduction.
3. Your income tax on what’s left, using the rate schedules in the form’s instructions.
4. Self-employment tax, the Social Security and Medicare tax you pay as your own boss.
5. Minus any credits and withholding you expect.

What’s left is your estimated total tax for the year. Download the current version from the IRS’s About Form 1040-ES page, since brackets and deduction amounts change every year. As of this writing, the current revision is the 2026 form.

If your income is all over the place, you’re guessing. That’s fine. Use what you’ve earned so far plus what’s realistically coming. Or let tax software or a CPA figure your four amounts once, and you just pay them.

Step 2: Figure out how much to pay each time

Here’s the friendly part: you don’t have to predict your tax perfectly. You just need to pay enough to fall inside the safe harbor rules, which protect you from the underpayment penalty.

According to IRS Publication 505, you generally avoid the penalty if your payments plus any withholding add up to at least the smaller of:

• 90% of this year’s tax, or
• 100% of last year’s tax

There’s a catch for higher earners. If your adjusted gross income last year was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately), the prior-year number becomes 110% of last year’s tax.

You also generally avoid the penalty if you owe less than $1,000 after withholding and credits.

The simple route: find the total tax on last year’s return, take 100% (or 110%) of it, and divide by four. Pay that each time and you’re generally protected from the penalty, even if you end up owing more in April. You’ll just pay the difference when you file.

If your income is growing fast, remember the prior-year shortcut only protects you from the penalty. It doesn’t shrink the tax. If you made $15,000 last year and $70,000 this year, April is going to hurt unless you keep saving on the side.

Step 3: Put the due dates in your calendar

The estimated tax year is split into four payment periods, and they aren’t equal quarters. Here’s the schedule the IRS lists:

If a due date lands on a weekend or legal holiday, you have until the next business day. Set a reminder a week before each one.

Step 4: Make the payment

Paying online is fastest and gets you an instant confirmation. Your main options on IRS.gov:

• IRS Online Account. Sign in and pay from your bank account. The IRS says you can make a same-day payment or schedule payments up to 365 days in advance, and your past estimated payments show up in the same place. Scheduling all four at once is a solid move if your amounts are set.
• IRS Direct Pay. Free payments straight from a checking or savings account, no sign-in needed. Pick estimated tax as the payment reason and double-check the tax year.
• Debit card, credit card or digital wallet. Accepted, but the payment processors charge a fee. Usually not worth it.
• Check or money order, mailed with a 1040-ES payment voucher. Slower and harder to track.

What about EFTPS? The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System used to be a popular pick. For individuals, it’s being phased out: the IRS stopped accepting new individual enrollments in October 2025 and now points people to their Online Account and Direct Pay. Existing users can still use it for now, but EFTPS says individuals will be required to move off it later in 2026. If you’re starting fresh, skip it.

Watch the tax year on your January payment. The January 15 payment counts toward the previous year. Picking the wrong year is an annoying mistake to untangle.

Save every confirmation number in a spreadsheet or folder. You’ll need the total when you file.

Don’t forget your state

Most states with an income tax have their own estimated payments, with their own forms, thresholds and online payment portals. Due dates often match the federal ones, but not always. Search “[your state] estimated tax payments” and use your state’s department of revenue or taxation site (look for a .gov address). If your state has no income tax, you can skip this part.

What happens if you miss a payment

Missing a quarter isn’t a disaster. It just costs you. If you don’t pay enough by a due date, the IRS can charge an underpayment penalty. It works a lot like interest: it’s based on how much you underpaid and how long it stayed unpaid, and it’s figured separately for each payment period. So you can owe a penalty for an early quarter even if you caught up later, and even if you get a refund when you file.

If it happens:

• Pay as soon as you can. A late payment still stops the clock on that amount.
• Get back on schedule for the next due date.
• Know the form name. Form 2210 is how the penalty gets figured. If you don’t calculate it, the IRS generally will.
• Ask about the annualized income installment method if most of your income came late in the year. It’s built for uneven income and can reduce or remove the penalty.

The IRS can also waive the penalty in some situations, like a casualty, disaster or other unusual circumstance.

Make the money part automatic

Making the payment is easy. Having the money ready is the hard part. The fix: keep a separate tax savings account, move a slice of every payout there, and pay your estimates only from that account. A common rule of thumb is 25–30% of your profit, but your real number depends on your income, state and deductions. We covered the basics in creator taxes 101.

If your income swings month to month, our guide to budgeting with irregular income shows how to build the tax account into your system, and a separate business bank account makes all of it easier to track.

Your quarterly tax checklist

• Check whether you expect to owe $1,000 or more this year
• Download the current Form 1040-ES and run the worksheet, or have a pro do it
• Pick your safe harbor: 90% of this year or 100% (or 110%) of last year
• Divide by four and put all four due dates in your calendar
• Pay through your IRS Online Account or Direct Pay
• Double-check the tax year before you submit
• Save every confirmation
• Look up your state’s estimated tax rules
• Move a slice of every payout into your tax account

Four payments a year, and April stops being scary.