Form 1040-ES Instructions (2026): Estimated Tax Payments

Updated October 9, 2026. Quick answer: Form 1040-ES is the package the IRS uses to figure and pay estimated tax for 2026. The general rule is a two part test: you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and refundable credits, and you expect that withholding and those credits to fall short of the smaller of 90% of the 2026 tax or 100% of the 2025 tax (110% in the higher income case). Payments are due in four installments, April 15, June 15 and Sept. 15 of 2026 and Jan. 15 of 2027, and tax withheld from pensions and annuities counts on the worksheet.

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More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Schedule H instructions and Schedule H Part II FUTA tax.

Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 334 and IRS Publication 505.

More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 1040-V payment voucher.

Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form W-2G boxes explained, Form W-2G box 4 and Form W-2G lottery winnings.

Schedule C and Schedule SE (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule C lines 8 and 9, Schedule C Part III and Schedule SE (Form 1040).

Related reading on this site: Form 5695 residential energy credits, Form 8959 Additional Medicare Tax and 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet.

Schedule A and Schedule B (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule A line 5a, Schedule A lines 5d and 5e and Schedule A line 16.

Schedule 3 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 3 lines 5a and 5b, Schedule 3 lines 6f to 6k and Schedule 3 lines 6l, 6m and 6z.

Schedule 2 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 2 lines 1a to 1c, Schedule 2 lines 17a and 17b and Schedule 2 lines 17z and 18.

Schedule 1 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 1 lines 2a and 2b, Schedule 1 line 11 and Schedule 1 lines 25 and 26.

Read line by line from the IRS form text: Form 1095-A line 33, Form 1095-A VOID, CORRECTED or missing and Form 1095-C codes 1B to 1E.

Form 1040 for 2025, lines 12 to 38 read line by line: Form 1040 line 12, Form 1040 lines 14 and 15 and Form 1040 line 37.

Form 1040 for 2025, read line by line: Form 1040 line 1b, Form 1040 line 1c and Form 1040 line 1d.

Read box by box from the IRS instructions: RRB-1099 boxes 10 and 11 and Form 1098 box 4.

More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 4868 extension and Form 4506-T instructions.

Related reading on this site: Form 1040 due date 2027 and Estimated tax due dates 2027.

More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form W-4 instructions.

The recipient copy of Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC, read box by box: 1099-NEC box 4 and 1099-MISC box 4 and 1099-MISC box 3.

More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 1040 instructions and Schedule 2 instructions.

More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Schedule C instructions.

Who has to make estimated tax payments

The package opens with its purpose: “Use Form 1040-ES to figure and pay your estimated tax for 2026.” It defines the idea in one sentence: “Estimated tax is the method used to pay tax on income that isn’t subject to withholding (for example, earnings from self-employment, including gig economy work, interest, dividends, rents, alimony, etc.).” It adds a second group, people who skip voluntary withholding: “if you don’t elect voluntary withholding, you should make estimated tax payments on other taxable income, such as unemployment compensation and the taxable part of your social security benefits.”

The general rule is stated this way: “In most cases, you must pay estimated tax for 2026 if both of the following apply.” The two conditions are in the table in the next section. There is also a clear exception: “You don’t have to pay estimated tax for 2026 if you were a U.S. citizen or resident alien for all of 2025 and you had no tax liability for the full 12-month 2025 tax year.” The package explains what that means: “You had no tax liability for 2025 if your total tax was zero or you didn’t have to file an income tax return.”

The rules cover “U.S. citizens and resident aliens”, residents of several U.S. territories, and nonresident aliens, who are sent to a different form: “Nonresident aliens (use Form 1040-ES (NR)).”

The tests as printed, and a worked illustration

Here are the tests, in the package’s own words:

Two things follow from the wording. The prior year test only works with a full year: the package says the 2025 return “must cover all 12 months”. And the higher income switch looks at 2025 AGI, not 2026 expectations. The worksheet repeats the same idea on line 12b: “If the AGI shown on your 2025 return is more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately for 2026), enter 110% of your 2025 tax as figured next.”

The worksheet then asks for the smaller of the two figures. Line 12c reads “Required annual payment to avoid a penalty. Enter the smaller of line 12a or 12b”. The following is an illustration with made-up amounts, not an IRS example, following the worksheet’s line order:

In the illustration, the 2025 tax of $24,000 is below the $27,000 figure, so $24,000 is the required annual payment. If the 2025 AGI had been over the higher income line, line 12b would be 110% of $24,000, which is $26,400 when computed, and the smaller of $27,000 and $26,400 would be $26,400. The worksheet also checks the first test: it asks for “Subtract line 13 from line 11c” and then asks “Is the result less than $1,000?” In the illustration that figure, computed as $30,000 minus $9,000, is $21,000, well above the threshold. The package says what happens on a yes at either of the last two checks: “Yes. Stop here. You are not required to make estimated tax payments.”

Due dates and the installment schedule

The schedule starts with a choice: “You can pay all of your estimated tax by April 15, 2026, or in four equal amounts by the dates shown below.”

The footnote on the last date reads “You don’t have to make the payment due January 15, 2027, if you file your 2026 tax return by February 1, 2027, and pay the entire balance due with your return.”

On mail timing, the package says “If you mail your payment and it is postmarked by the due date, the date of the U.S. postmark is considered the date of payment.” It also notes that you are not limited to four checks: “You can make more than four estimated tax payments.” “If you make more than four payments, to avoid a penalty, make sure the total of the amounts you pay during a payment period is at least as much as the amount required to be paid by the due date for that period.”

Special schedules exist. For farming and fishing, the package gives two options: “Pay all of your estimated tax by January 15, 2027.” or “File your 2026 Form 1040 or 1040-SR by March 1, 2027, and pay the total tax due.” For a fiscal year, it says “Due dates for fiscal year taxpayers are the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, and 9th months of your current fiscal year and the 1st month of the following fiscal year.”

Uneven income and starting partway through the year

A calendar split in four is not always a fair picture of how you earn. The package describes the alternative: “If you receive your income unevenly throughout the year (for example, because you operate your business on a seasonal basis or you have a large capital gain late in the year), you may be able to lower or eliminate the amount of your required estimated tax payment for one or more periods by using the annualized income installment method.” “See chapter 2 of Pub. 505 for details.”

Starting late is covered too: “If, after March 31, 2026, you have a large change in income, deductions, additional taxes, or credits that requires you to start making estimated tax payments, you should figure the amount of your estimated tax payments by using the annualized income installment method, explained in chapter 2 of Pub. 505.” The paperwork follows the method: “If you use the annualized income installment method, file Form 2210, including Schedule AI, with your 2026 tax return even if no penalty is owed.”

The 2026 tax rates and brackets used in the worksheet are on the 2026 tax brackets page. If a change of life situation is the reason payments changed, estimated taxes after divorce is one example.

Withholding from a pension, annuity or IRA and how it is counted

Estimated tax is not the only way to pay during the year, and the package says so: “If you also receive salaries and wages, you may be able to avoid having to make estimated tax payments on your other income by asking your employer to take more tax out of your earnings.”

For retirement income, the package lists forms. For periodic payments: “Generally, if you receive a pension or annuity, you can use Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Periodic Pension or Annuity Payments, to start or change your withholding from these payments.” For lump sums and distributions that can be rolled over: “You can also choose to have federal income tax withheld from certain government payments (see Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request) or from nonperiodic payments and eligible rollover distributions (see Form W-4R, Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions).”

Withholding enters the calculation on the worksheet. Line 13 asks for “Income tax withheld and estimated to be withheld during 2026 (including income tax withholding on pensions, annuities, certain deferred income, and Additional Medicare Tax withholding)”. Line 14a then subtracts that figure from line 12c, as the illustration above shows. Line 7 carries a related instruction for credits: “Do not include any income tax withholding on this line”. The package does not say how a withholding payment is spread across the four installment dates, so that question goes to the penalty rules in the Form 2210 instructions, which describe the form this way: “Use Form 2210 to see if you owe a penalty for underpaying your estimated tax.” The package also points to a tool: “You can use the Tax Withholding Estimator at IRS.gov/W4App to determine whether you need to have your withholding increased or decreased.”

For the pension side of the question, see 20 percent withholding on a pension lump sum.

The penalty, how to pay, and which revision applies

On the penalty, the package keeps it short: “The penalty is imposed on each underpayment for the number of days it remains unpaid.” “A penalty may be applied if you didn’t pay enough estimated tax for the year or you didn’t make the payments on time or in the required amount.” “The penalty may be waived under certain conditions.” “See the Instructions for Form 2210 for details.” The form itself is covered on the Form 2210 page.

Paying online is the first method listed: “Paying online is convenient and secure and helps make sure we get your payments on time.” The package names several ways, including “IRS Direct Pay. For online transfers directly from your checking or savings account at no cost to you, go to IRS.gov/Payments.” For a check, it says “Complete and send in the voucher only if you are making a payment by check or money order.” and “If you and your spouse plan to file separate returns, file separate vouchers instead of a joint voucher.” The mailing address depends on where you live, and the package warns “Do not mail your tax return to this address or send an estimated tax payment without a payment voucher.”

The edition read for this page is Form 1040-ES for 2026, the package with the 2026 payment vouchers, which is the revision irs.gov served when it was read on 2026-10-09. The cover of the package carries the catalog line and date shown below. Check the revision printed on the package you are using.

The package ends its front matter with the line “Form 1040-ES (2026) Catalog Number 11340T” dated “Feb 12, 2026”. On later developments it says “For the latest information about developments related to Form 1040-ES and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/Form1040ES.”

Common mistakes

• Treating the prior year test as always 100%. The package switches to 110% when 2025 AGI is above the stated line, and the prior year test needs a full 12-month 2025 return.
• Assuming a late-year jump in income means four equal installments. The package describes the annualized income installment method for uneven income, and it requires Form 2210 with Schedule AI when that method is used.
• Counting on withholding without putting it on the worksheet. Line 13 asks for tax withheld and expected to be withheld, including on pensions and annuities, and the result is what drives line 14a.

Related: 2026 tax brackets, Form 2210, estimated taxes after divorce, and 20 percent withholding on a pension lump sum.

Sources

• Form 1040-ES (2026) with instructions: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf
• Instructions for Form 2210 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2210.pdf

Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 9, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.