How to Pay Quarterly Estimated Taxes Online

Your first year freelancing or running a side business usually goes well until April, when you discover nobody withheld any tax from your income. Now you owe a full year of income tax plus self-employment tax, and the IRS may add an underpayment penalty on top. Quarterly estimated taxes exist so that does not happen.

The good news is that paying online takes about 5 minutes once you know which system to use and how much to send. This guide covers who needs to pay, how to figure the amount, the 2026 due dates and step-by-step instructions for IRS Direct Pay and your IRS Online Account. It also covers a change many people missed: the IRS is retiring EFTPS for individual taxpayers.

This is general information, not tax advice. A CPA or enrolled agent can help with your specific numbers.

Who has to pay estimated taxes

The US tax system is pay-as-you-go. Employees pay through paycheck withholding. If you earn income with no withholding, you generally need to send estimated payments during the year.

Per the IRS, you must pay estimated tax if both of these are true:

1. You expect to owe at least $1,000 in federal tax for the year after subtracting withholding and refundable credits.
2. Your withholding and refundable credits will be less than the smaller of 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s tax (110% if last year’s adjusted gross income was over $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately).

Common reasons people owe estimated taxes:

• Self-employment or 1099 contractor income (see our guide to 1099 vs W-2 classification)
• Side business sales, including income from payment apps (see Venmo, PayPal and 1099-K taxes)
• Rental income, investment gains, dividends and interest
• Alimony from pre-2019 divorce agreements, prizes and other untaxed income

Self-employed people pay self-employment tax too: 15.3% for Social Security and Medicare on net earnings, on top of income tax. That second tax surprises many first-year freelancers.

2026 due dates

Estimated tax “quarters” are not equal calendar quarters. Here are the IRS due dates for the 2026 tax year:

If a due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, a payment made the next business day counts as on time. Most states with an income tax have their own estimated payment schedule, often matching the federal dates, so check your state revenue department’s website too.

How much to pay: safe harbor basics

You have 2 ways to pick a number.

Option 1: Use a safe harbor. Pay at least 100% of last year’s total tax (110% if your prior-year AGI was over $150,000), split into 4 equal payments. This avoids the federal underpayment penalty even if you end up owing more in April. It is the simplest method when your income is growing.

Option 2: Estimate this year’s tax. Use the worksheet in Form 1040-ES to project this year’s income, deductions and credits, then pay at least 90% of that total across the 4 deadlines. This works better when your income is falling, because you are not overpaying based on a bigger prior year.

Key takeaway: If you are not sure what you will earn, pay 100% (or 110%) of last year’s tax in 4 equal installments. You may still owe at filing time, but you avoid the underpayment penalty.

If your income is lumpy, such as a big December contract, the annualized income installment method on Form 2210 can lower or eliminate the penalty for earlier quarters. Tax software and accountants handle this calculation.

A practical budgeting habit: move a fixed share of every client payment into a separate savings account the day it arrives. Our guides to building a budget with an app and how high-yield savings accounts work can help you set that up.

Your online payment options compared

The IRS accepts estimated payments several ways. These are the main online options:

You can also apply an overpayment from last year’s return to this year’s estimated tax when you file. Mailed checks with a Form 1040-ES voucher are still accepted for now, but the IRS has said it will fully transition to electronic methods over time.

Step by step: paying with IRS Direct Pay

Direct Pay is the fastest route for most individuals. It is free, pulls money from your bank account and needs no account or enrollment.

1. Go to IRS.gov/payments and choose Direct Pay. Type the address yourself rather than clicking a link in an email or text; scammers send fake “IRS payment” links. Our guide on how to spot phishing emails explains the warning signs.
2. Choose “Make a payment.”
3. Set the reason for payment to “Estimated tax,” the apply-to field to “1040ES” and the tax period to the correct year (2026 for all 4 payments covering 2026 income, including the one due January 15, 2027).
4. Verify your identity with information from a prior-year return: name, SSN or ITIN, filing status and address.
5. Enter your bank details and the payment amount, and pick a payment date.
6. Review and submit. Save or print the confirmation number. You will need it to look up, change or cancel the payment.
7. Opt in to email confirmations so you have a record.

The IRS says you can change or cancel a scheduled Direct Pay payment up to 2 business days before the payment date. Double-check the tax year before submitting; a payment applied to the wrong year is the most common mistake and takes time to fix.

Paying through your IRS Online Account

If you already use an IRS Online Account, signed in through ID.me, you can make the same bank-account payment there. The advantage is history: you can see every estimated payment you have made for the year, which makes filing easier. When you prepare your return, you need the total of your estimated payments, and your account shows it without hunting through emails.

Businesses have a parallel option, the IRS Business Tax Account, and the IRS has expanded Direct Pay to cover some business tax payments, including federal tax deposits. Direct Pay payments cannot exceed $10 million; larger amounts go through EFTPS or a same-day wire.

What is happening to EFTPS

The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) was long the default for self-employed people who wanted to schedule a year of payments at once. That is changing for individuals:

• Since October 17, 2025, individuals can no longer create new EFTPS enrollments.
• The IRS says EFTPS payment options will be sunset for individual taxpayers in late 2026, and all individuals must transition away from EFTPS.gov.

If you still schedule individual estimated payments in EFTPS, move to Direct Pay or your IRS Online Account now, and check that any payments you scheduled for after the cutoff will still go through. Businesses can still use EFTPS for now; the IRS had not announced a business end date at the time of writing.

Where to start this week

1. Pull last year’s return and find your total tax (Form 1040, the “total tax” line).
2. Choose your method: safe harbor (100% or 110% of last year) or a current-year estimate using the Form 1040-ES worksheet.
3. Divide by 4 and put the 4 due dates in your calendar with a reminder 1 week ahead.
4. Open a separate tax savings account and move a share of every payment you receive into it.
5. Make your next payment through Direct Pay or your IRS Online Account, and save the confirmation.
6. Set up your state payments on your state revenue department’s site.
7. Track everything in your accounting software so the total is ready at filing time.

Conclusion

Quarterly estimated taxes are mostly a habit problem, not a math problem. Pick a safe harbor amount, put 4 dates in your calendar and pay through Direct Pay or your IRS Online Account. If you still rely on EFTPS as an individual, switch before the late-2026 cutoff. For more on building a freelance business, see how to start freelancing in tech, and find tax and finance terms in our glossary.

This is not legal or tax advice.

Sources

• IRS: Estimated tax FAQs — who must pay, safe harbor percentages, 2026 due dates and payment methods
• IRS: Direct Pay with bank account — no-fee payments, change and cancel window, business use and $10 million limit
• IRS: Questions and answers about Executive Order 14247 — EFTPS sunset for individuals, enrollment cutoff and paper check status
• IRS Tax Topic 306: Penalty for underpayment of estimated tax — penalty basics, Form 2210, annualized installment method and waivers