If you’re self-employed or own a business that passes income through to you, there’s a date worth putting on your calendar before the holidays: January 15, 2027. That’s when the fourth and final federal estimated tax payment for 2026 is due.
Here’s what that means in plain terms.
When you’re an employee, tax comes out of each paycheck. When you work for yourself, nobody withholds it, so the IRS expects you to pay during the year through estimated tax payments. For 2026, the due dates were April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, with the last one on January 15, 2027.
Estimated tax isn’t just income tax. If you have net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more, you also owe self-employment tax, which is Social Security and Medicare for the self-employed. The rate is 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security, which stops at an annual earnings cap, plus 2.9% for Medicare. That surprises a lot of first-year business owners.
According to the IRS instructions for Form 1040-ES, you generally need to pay estimated tax for 2026 if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and credits, and your withholding and credits will be less than the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax. (If your 2025 adjusted gross income was over $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately, it’s 110% instead of 100%.) If you don’t pay enough by each due date, you may owe a penalty even if you end up getting a refund.
One more detail: you can skip the January 15 payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the full balance with it. For most busy owners, that’s a tall order.
Where I come in is the numbers behind the estimate. Your tax preparer can only estimate well from current books. If your books are caught up through October, you and your preparer can make a real decision in November instead of a guess in January.
What to do this week:
Check what you’ve already paid for 2026.
Get your books current so your year-to-date profit is real.
Ask your tax preparer what your January payment should be.
This isn’t tax advice. Your situation may be different, so check with your tax preparer.
If your books aren’t current enough to answer “what did I make this year?”, send me a message through the Contact page.
— Rachel, Two Miles LLC