State estimated tax — 2026

Georgia Estimated Tax Payments 2026

Who has to make Georgia quarterly estimated payments, the 2026 due-date calendar, the safe-harbor rules that avoid an underpayment penalty, and how to pay through Georgia Tax Center (GTC).

Who must pay

Georgia requires Form 500-ES estimated payments if your gross income is expected to exceed your applicable exemptions and deductions plus $1,000 of income not subject to withholding. An exception applies if you and your employer arrange additional withholding to cover the income that would otherwise require an estimate.

2026 due-date calendar

Installment	% of annual estimate	Due date	Note
Q1	25%	April 15, 2026	—
Q2	25%	June 15, 2026	—
Q3	25%	September 15, 2026	—
Q4	25%	January 15, 2027	—

Georgia divides the required annual payment into four equal installments if your filing obligation starts at the beginning of the year; first becoming liable later compresses the schedule to three (from June 15), two (from September 15), or one (the January 15 voucher). Farmers and fishermen whose gross income from farming or fishing is at least two-thirds of the total can skip quarterly declarations altogether by filing their Georgia return and paying the full amount due by March 1 of the following year.

Safe harbor — avoiding the underpayment penalty

Georgia’s underpayment penalty under O.C.G.A. §48-7-120 goes away once you’ve paid whichever is less — 90% of what you actually owe for 2026, or 100% of your full 2025 Georgia tax. That threshold doesn’t move for high earners: some other states on this list ratchet the prior-year figure up once income clears a set line, but Georgia keeps the flat 90%/100% test for every taxpayer.

How to calculate your payment

Estimate your annual Georgia tax, test it against the safe harbor above, then split the required annual payment across the installments in the calendar. The site's quarterly planner handles the math and the federal side together.

Open the quarterly estimated tax calculator → Check your underpayment penalty exposure →

How to pay

Pay online through Georgia Tax Center (GTC), or mail a check or money order with the Form 500-ES voucher.

Penalty basics

Georgia charges two distinct rates on unpaid tax: a 9% per-annum underpayment-of-estimated-tax penalty on any shortfall (O.C.G.A. §48-7-120), and a separate general interest rate on tax unpaid after the filing deadline — 9.75% for calendar year 2026 (Federal Reserve prime rate plus 3 points, compounded monthly, per DOR Notice ADMIN-2026-01).

Georgia-specific notes

Georgia’s flat rate dropped to 4.99% for tax year 2026 — its second acceleration in as many legislative sessions. HB 111 (2025) cut the rate from 5.39% to 5.19%; HB 463, signed May 11, 2026, then skipped ahead and set the rate directly to 4.99%, retroactive to January 1, 2026, bypassing an intermediate step the earlier law had scheduled.
Because HB 463 wasn’t signed until May 2026, anyone who computed their April 15 Q1 estimate before then was working off the higher pre-signing rate — worth revisiting later-quarter installments if Q1 was locked in early.
A separate one-time Georgia Surplus Tax Refund (HB 1000, signed March 20, 2026) began paying out in May 2026 to taxpayers who filed both their 2024 and 2025 returns on time — a cash-flow factor distinct from, and not a substitute for, quarterly estimated tax.
Georgia has no local or municipal income tax layered on top of the state Form 500-ES system.

See the Georgia 2026 tax brackets for current rates, or the Georgia state tax calculator to estimate your full-year liability.

Frequently asked questions

When are Georgia estimated tax payments due in 2026?

The four Georgia due dates for 2026 are April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026, January 15, 2027. Georgia divides the required annual payment into four equal installments if your filing obligation starts at the beginning of the year; first becoming liable later compresses the schedule to three (from June 15), two (from September 15), or one (the January 15 voucher). Farmers and fishermen whose gross income from farming or fishing is at least two-thirds of the total can skip quarterly declarations altogether by filing their Georgia return and paying the full amount due by March 1 of the following year.

What is Georgia’s flat income tax rate for 2026?

4.99%, effective retroactively to January 1, 2026, under HB 463 (signed May 11, 2026). That’s Georgia’s second rate cut in two consecutive legislative sessions — HB 111 in 2025 had already dropped the rate from 5.39% to 5.19%, and HB 463 then accelerated straight past the originally scheduled step to 4.99%.

I already paid my April Q1 estimate before Georgia’s rate cut was signed — do I need to true up?

Possibly. HB 463 wasn’t signed until May 11, 2026, so any Q1 (April 15) estimated payment calculated before that date would have used the higher pre-HB-463 assumption. Recompute your remaining installments using the confirmed 4.99% rate to avoid overpaying across the year.

Is Georgia’s safe harbor stricter for high-income taxpayers?

No. Under O.C.G.A. §48-7-120, Georgia sticks to its 90/100 comparison no matter how much you earn — several other states move to a costlier prior-year requirement once income clears a set line, but Georgia’s rule doesn’t change with income.

How do I pay Georgia estimated tax?

Pay online through Georgia Tax Center (GTC), or mail a check with the Form 500-ES voucher.

Estimated tax in other states

Compare how Georgia stacks up against the other states with a Rising search trend for estimated-tax rules.