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Quarterly Payment
$0
Total Annual Tax
$0
SE Tax Portion
$0
Calculate your quarterly estimated tax payment based on projected annual income and self-employment tax.
$0
Total Annual Tax
$0
SE Tax Portion
$0
Add estimated income tax (net income × tax rate) and self-employment tax (15.3% of 92.35% of net income), subtract any tax already withheld, then divide the remainder by four for each quarterly payment.
Quarterly Payment = (Income Tax + SE Tax − Withholding) ÷ 4
Employees have taxes withheld automatically from each paycheck, spreading their annual tax liability evenly throughout the year. Self-employed individuals and freelancers don't have an employer withholding on their behalf, so the IRS requires quarterly estimated payments instead, keeping the "pay as you earn" principle intact even without a traditional employer.
Self-employed income is subject to both regular income tax (at your marginal bracket rates) and self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare, calculated as 15.3% of 92.35% of net self-employment income). Both components need to be included in quarterly estimated payments, and forgetting the self-employment tax portion is a common source of underpayment.
To avoid an underpayment penalty, the IRS generally requires you to pay the smaller of 90% of the current year's tax or 100% of the prior year's tax (110% if your prior-year adjusted gross income exceeded a certain threshold) through a combination of withholding and estimated payments. Using last year's tax liability as your target, if you expect similar or higher income this year, is often a simpler and safer approach than trying to precisely predict a fluctuating current-year income.
Since income for self-employed workers often fluctuates, it's worth revisiting your estimated tax calculation each quarter rather than paying a flat amount based on a single early-year projection. If income comes in higher or lower than expected, adjusting the remaining quarterly payments helps avoid a large balance due (and potential penalty) at filing time, or overpaying and tying up cash unnecessarily.
Self-employed individuals, freelancers, and anyone with income not subject to withholding (business income, significant investment income) generally need to pay quarterly estimated taxes if they expect to owe $1,000 or more in tax for the year.
The safe harbor rule protects you from underpayment penalties if you pay at least 90% of the current year's tax liability or 100% of the prior year's tax liability (110% if prior-year AGI was above a certain threshold), whichever is smaller, through withholding and estimated payments.
Federal estimated tax payments are generally due in four installments throughout the year, though the exact dates can shift slightly due to weekends and holidays. Check current IRS Form 1040-ES instructions for exact due dates.
Calculate full self-employment tax with the Self-Employment Tax Calculator, or check your overall tax bracket with the Tax Bracket Calculator.
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