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Internal Revenue Service

Fill out Form 1040-ES online

Estimated Tax for Individuals

Form 1040-ES is the IRS package individuals use to figure and pay estimated tax for 2026. Estimated tax is how you pay tax on income that has no tax withheld, such as self-employment earnings, interest, dividends, rents and alimony. The package has a worksheet to figure the amount, a record of your payments, and four payment vouchers for paying by check or money order.

Fill out Form 1040-ESBlank form from the IRS

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Edition
Tax year 2026
Pages
16
Fillable fields
118
Checked against the IRS
November 8, 2026

GuruPDF is not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service. This page explains the form in plain words; it is not legal or tax advice. Always check the official instructions before you file. This is the tax year 2026 version; the IRS keeps forms for earlier years.

Who uses Form 1040-ES

  • Self-employed people, including gig economy workers, sole proprietors, partners and S corporation shareholders
  • People with interest, dividends, rents, alimony, capital gains or other income that has no tax withheld
  • People whose withholding from wages or a pension will not cover the tax they expect to owe
  • People who get unemployment compensation or taxable social security benefits and did not choose voluntary withholding
  • Residents of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa (nonresident aliens use Form 1040-ES (NR) instead)

Before you start

  • Your 2025 tax return and its instructions, to use as a guide for income, deductions and credits
  • An estimate of your 2026 income, including any expected net profit from self-employment
  • Your expected 2026 deductions (itemized or standard) and credits
  • Income tax withheld so far in 2026 and the withholding you expect for the rest of the year
  • Any 2025 overpayment you chose to apply to your 2026 estimated tax
  • Your SSN or ITIN, and your spouse's if you will make a joint payment

How to fill out Form 1040-ES

  1. Estimated Tax Worksheet, lines 1 to 3: income and deductions

    On line 1, enter the adjusted gross income you expect in 2026. If you are self-employed, first complete the 2026 Self-Employment Tax and Deduction Worksheet: its line 11 is the deduction you subtract when figuring line 1. On line 2a, enter your estimated itemized deductions, or your standard deduction plus the cash or check charitable contributions the worksheet allows (see Pub. 505). Enter any qualified business income deduction on line 2b and any Schedule 1-A (Form 1040) deduction on line 2c, add lines 2a through 2c on line 2d, and subtract line 2d from line 1 on line 3. If you file Form 1040-SS, use the separate 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet for Filers of Form 1040-SS instead.

  2. Lines 4 to 8: tax and credits

    On line 4, figure the tax on line 3 with the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules in the package. If you will have qualified dividends or a net capital gain, or expect to exclude or deduct foreign earned income or housing, use Pub. 505 instead. Enter any alternative minimum tax from Form 6251 on line 5, and on line 6 add lines 4 and 5 plus any other taxes you expect to include on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 16. Enter your credits on line 7, without any income tax withholding, and subtract line 7 from line 6 on line 8 (enter -0- if the result is zero or less).

  3. Lines 9 to 11c: other taxes and total estimated tax

    Line 9 is your self-employment tax, from line 10 of the Self-Employment Tax and Deduction Worksheet. On line 10, enter other taxes as the instructions explain: household employment taxes count only in the cases listed under Exception 1, and the taxes listed under Exception 2 are left out. Add lines 8 through 10 on line 11a, enter refundable credits such as the earned income credit and additional child tax credit on line 11b, and subtract line 11b from line 11a to get your total 2026 estimated tax on line 11c.

  4. Lines 12a to 12c: required annual payment

    Line 12a is 90% of line 11c (66 2/3% if you qualify for the farming and fishing rule). Line 12b is the required payment based on your 2025 tax, figured as the line 12b instructions explain; higher income taxpayers use 110% of their 2025 tax, and there are special rules if your filing status changes between joint and separate. If you did not file a 2025 return or your 2025 tax year was shorter than 12 months, skip line 12b and enter line 12a on line 12c. Otherwise, enter the smaller of lines 12a and 12b on line 12c.

  5. Lines 13 to 15: withholding and installment amount

    On line 13, enter income tax withheld and expected to be withheld in 2026. Subtract line 13 from line 12c on line 14a; if the result is zero or less, you are not required to make estimated tax payments. If not, subtract line 13 from line 11c on line 14b; if that is less than $1,000, you are not required to make payments either. Otherwise, if your first required payment is due April 15, 2026, line 15 is one quarter of line 14a, minus any 2025 overpayment you apply to that installment.

  6. Record of Estimated Tax Payments

    Use this table to track each of the four payments. For each one, enter (a) the amount due, (b) the date paid, (c) the check or money order number or the card confirmation number, (d) the amount paid without any convenience fee, (e) any 2025 overpayment credit applied, and (f) the total of columns (d) and (e). Keep this page for your records.

  7. Payment vouchers 1 to 4

    Fill in a voucher only if you are paying by check or money order, and use the one whose number and due date match the payment. Print or type your first name and middle initial, last name and SSN; if you have an ITIN, enter it where the SSN is asked, but once you have an SSN, use it instead. For a joint payment, add your spouse's name and SSN, listed in the same order as on your joint return; if you and your spouse plan to file separate returns, use separate vouchers. Enter your address, and the foreign country, province or county and postal code if you have a foreign address. In the amount box, enter only the amount you are sending by check or money order.

After you fill it out

The Estimated Tax Worksheet and the Record of Estimated Tax Payments are marked "Keep for Your Records" and stay with you. If you pay by check or money order, mail the voucher for that due date with your payment made out to "United States Treasury", with your SSN and "2026 Form 1040-ES" written on it. The mailing address depends on where you live, and bona fide residents of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands send income tax vouchers to their territory's own tax office, so check the address in the form and on the official page. You can also pay without a voucher through your IRS Online Account, IRS Direct Pay, EFTPS, or by debit or credit card; see the IRS payments page.

Signing: The worksheets, the payment record and the payment vouchers have no signature line. Nothing in this package is signed.

Watch out for

  • Send a voucher only with a check or money order. Enclose the payment with the voucher, but do not staple or attach it, and do not send cash.
  • Do not mail estimated tax payments to the address in the Form 1040 instructions, and do not mail your tax return to the voucher address. Use the voucher address listed for where you live. Only the U.S. Postal Service can deliver to the P.O. box addresses; a private delivery service can't.
  • You can't make joint estimated tax payments if you or your spouse is a nonresident alien, you are separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, or you have different tax years.
  • The IRS has posted a correction to the state and local tax deduction amounts printed in the Reminders section of this edition. The form will not be revised, so read the correction under Recent developments on the About Form 1040-ES page.

Questions about Form 1040-ES

Do I send the worksheet to the IRS?

No. The Estimated Tax Worksheet and the Record of Estimated Tax Payments are marked "Keep for Your Records". Only a payment voucher is mailed, and only with a check or money order.

Do I need a voucher if I pay online?

No. The voucher is used only when paying by check or money order. Electronic options, such as your IRS Online Account, IRS Direct Pay and EFTPS, do not use it.

When are the 2026 estimated tax payments due?

This edition lists April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, Sept. 15, 2026 and Jan. 15, 2027. You don't have to make the January payment if you file your 2026 return by Feb. 1, 2027 and pay the entire balance due with it. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, a payment made on the next business day is on time.

Who does not have to pay estimated tax for 2026?

You don't have to pay if you were a U.S. citizen or resident alien for all of 2025 and had no tax liability for the full 12-month 2025 tax year. You had no tax liability if your total tax was zero or you didn't have to file an income tax return.

What if my income comes in unevenly during the year?

You may be able to lower or eliminate some payments with the annualized income installment method, explained in chapter 2 of Pub. 505. If you use it, file Form 2210 with Schedule AI with your 2026 tax return, even if no penalty is owed.

Official information

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

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