Form 1040-ES calendar
Calendar-year individuals generally make four Form 1040-ES installments. The "quarters" are uneven IRS payment periods, not four equal three-month blocks. The IRS has not yet published a 2027 Form 1040-ES — every date below is computed directly from IRC §6654(c)(2) and the §7503 weekend/holiday rule, not copied from an IRS PDF.
Next due date
Q1 2027 payment — April 15, 2027
Covers income from january 1 through march 31, 2027. Filed a Form 4868 extension on your 2026 return? That's a separate deadline — the extended filing due date is October 15, 2027, though any tax owed was already due April 15, 2027. See the extension planner.
| Installment | Income period | Due date | Planning page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | January 1 through March 31, 2027 | April 15, 2027 | Q1 guide |
| Q2 | April 1 through May 31, 2027 | June 15, 2027 | Q2 guide |
| Q3 | June 1 through August 31, 2027 | September 15, 2027 | Q3 guide |
| Q4 | September 1 through December 31, 2027 | January 18, 2028 | Q4 guide |
The statutory Q4 2027 due date is January 15, 2028 — but that's a Saturday. Under IRC §7503, a due date that falls on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next business day. That would normally be Monday, January 17, 2028 — except that date is itself Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal legal holiday (the third Monday of January). So the deadline shifts a second time, landing on Tuesday, January 18, 2028.
Self-employed workers, investors, landlords, retirees and employees with insufficient withholding often use Form 1040-ES. The site calculator tests the $1,000 balance-due threshold and current- or prior-year safe harbor.
The annualized-income installment method can reduce earlier required installments when income arrives unevenly. Keep quarter-by-quarter records for Form 2210 Schedule AI.
Filing your 2026 return in the 2027 season and expecting a refund instead of owing? See the 2027 IRS refund schedule for e-file timing and the PATH Act EITC/ACTC hold. Setting up payroll or benefits elections for 2026? Check the 2026 FSA contribution limits before your employer's open-enrollment deadline.
Missing the Q3 installment doesn't create its own penalty — it raises the odds of an underpayment penalty under Form 2210 unless you meet a safe harbor: paying at least 90% of your current-year tax, or 100% of your prior-year tax (110% if your prior-year AGI exceeded $150,000, or $75,000 married filing separately). The shortfall accrues interest at the IRS underpayment rate — see current IRS interest rates — from September 16 until paid. Check your exposure with the estimated tax penalty calculator, then catch up through the quarterly estimated tax calculator.
October 15 is a different deadline — it's the extended filing deadline for the 2026 tax return (Form 4868), not an estimated-tax due date. It never moved the payment deadline, which stayed at April 15, 2027. If your extended 2026 return still isn't filed after October 15, 2027, the failure-to-file penalty (5% of unpaid tax per month, capped at 25%, with a minimum penalty if more than 60 days late) starts running from October 16, on top of the failure-to-pay penalty and interest already accruing since April 15. Estimate the total with the late filing penalty calculator.
Form 1040-ES installments are due January 15 of the following year under IRC §6654(c)(2) — but January 15, 2028 is a Saturday, so IRC §7503 moves the deadline to the next business day. That next business day, Monday January 17, 2028, is itself Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal legal holiday — so the deadline moves a second time, to Tuesday, January 18, 2028.
States publish their own estimated-tax forms for a year later than the IRS does, so the pages below carry each state's current 2026 due dates, safe harbor and payment portal — the schedule your Q4 2026 installment still runs on, and the one each state's 2027 version will replace.
Use these guides for rule explanations, planning context, and follow-up questions beyond the calculator result.
Four installments (4/15, 6/15, 9/15, 1/15), safe harbor 90%/100%
Form 2210 safe harbor, 90%/100% prior-year test, 7% rate
Every 2026 and 2027 IRS key date: April 15 filing + IRA, quarterly estimated payments, October 15 extension, 401(k) year-end
Estimated 2027 e-file-to-deposit refund timing, direct deposit vs check, and the PATH Act EITC/ACTC hold — clearly labeled as estimates
2026 IRS FSA limits: $7,500 DCFSA and health FSA cap, plus grace period, carryover and use-it-or-lose-it rules