Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Form 2210 figures the penalty for underpaying estimated tax, and most people never file it because the IRS figures the penalty and sends a bill. For 2025, the penalty can apply if withholding plus timely estimated payments fall short of the smaller of 90% of 2025 tax or 100% of 2024 tax. The 100% becomes 110% when 2024 adjusted gross income was more than $150,000 ($75,000 for married filing separately).
Form 1040 for 2025, lines 12 to 38 read line by line: Form 1040 lines 22 to 24, Form 1040 line 26 and Form 1040 line 37.
Form 1040 for 2025, read line by line: Form 1040 line 1g and Form 1040 lines 9, 10 and 11.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 4868 extension and Form 8275 instructions.
Related reading on this site: Estimated tax due dates 2027.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form W-4 instructions.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 1040-ES instructions.
Who must file Form 2210 and who does not
The IRS states the purpose plainly: “Use Form 2210 to see if you owe a penalty for underpaying your estimated tax. The IRS will generally figure your penalty for you and you should not file Form 2210.” Filing becomes required in specific cases: “If box B, C, or D in Part II is checked, you must figure the penalty yourself and attach Form 2210 to your return.”
Two screens come first on page 1 of the form. It asks whether “line 4 or line 7 less than $1,000?” If so, the form says “Don’t file Form 2210. You don’t owe a penalty.” The instructions also give a prior-year exception: you will not owe the penalty if “You had no tax liability for 2024, you were a U.S. citizen or resident alien for the entire year” and the 2024 return covered a full 12 months. If the IRS figures the penalty for you, “If you file your 2025 return by April 15, 2026, no interest will be charged on the penalty if you pay the penalty by the date shown on the bill.”
The safe harbor tests for 2025
The instructions set the baseline: “In general, you may owe the penalty for 2025 if the total of your withholding and timely estimated tax payments didn’t equal at least the smaller of:”
- “90% of your 2025 tax, or”
- “100% of your 2024 tax. Your 2024 tax return must cover a 12-month period.”
Higher earners get a different second test: “If your adjusted gross income (AGI) for 2024 was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if your 2025 filing status is married filing separately), substitute 110% for 100% in (2) above.” Farmers and fishers are handled separately: “Different percentages are used for farmers and fishers, and certain higher income taxpayers.”
The following is an illustration with made-up amounts, not an IRS example. It follows the form’s own logic, where line 9 is “Enter the smaller of line 5 or line 8”.
| Step | Amount | Source of the number |
|---|---|---|
| Current year tax after credits | $20,000 | Illustration |
| 90% of current year tax: $20,000 x 90% | $18,000 | Computed here |
| Prior year tax, 2024 AGI at or below $150,000 | $15,000 | Illustration |
| Required annual payment: smaller of $18,000 or $15,000 | $15,000 | Computed here |
| Each installment: $15,000 x 25% | $3,750 | Computed here |
| Same facts, 2024 AGI above $150,000: $15,000 x 110% | $16,500 | Computed here |
| Required annual payment: smaller of $18,000 or $16,500 | $16,500 | Computed here |
| Each installment: $16,500 x 25% | $4,125 | Computed here |
In the illustration, 90% of $20,000 is $18,000. With prior-year tax of $15,000 and 2024 AGI at or below the $150,000 line, the smaller figure is $15,000 and each of four equal installments is $3,750. If 2024 AGI was above the line, 110% of $15,000 is $16,500 and that is still below $18,000 so each installment is $4,125. The tax-year lines you start from are on the form: the first year of self-employment, a prior year under 12 months, or a changed filing status after divorce all change line 8. For example, “If you didn’t file a return for 2024 or your 2024 tax year was less than 12 months, don’t complete line 8.” See the first-year self-employed page. And “If you file a 2025 return as single, head of household, or married filing separately, but you filed a joint return with a spouse for 2024, your 2024 tax is your share of the tax on the joint return.” That case is covered on the estimated taxes after divorce page.
Installment dates and how the penalty is figured
The 2025 form lists four required payment dates.
| Column on Form 2210 | Payment due date printed on the 2025 form | Required installment |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | 4/15/25 | 25% (0.25) of the required annual payment, for most filers |
| (b) | 6/15/25 | 25% (0.25) of the required annual payment, for most filers |
| (c) | 9/15/25 | 25% (0.25) of the required annual payment, for most filers |
| (d) | 1/15/26 | 25% (0.25) of the required annual payment, for most filers |
On line 10 the instructions say “For most taxpayers, this is one-fourth of the required annual payment shown on Part I, line 9.” Timing matters because “The penalty is figured separately for each installment due date.” “Therefore, you may owe the penalty for an earlier due date even if you paid enough tax later to make up the underpayment.”
Payments also fill the oldest gap first: “Your payments are applied first to any underpayment balance on an earlier installment even if you designate a payment for a later period.” The penalty worksheet then multiplies each underpayment by the days it stayed unpaid, divides by 365 and applies a printed rate factor of 0.07 in each of the four rate periods on the 2025 worksheet. Interest mechanics beyond what that worksheet prints are not covered here.
Regular method and the annualized income installment method
The instructions describe two ways to complete the form. For the first: “If you use the regular method, complete Part I; check the applicable box(es) in Part II; and complete Part III, Section A, and the penalty worksheet”. For the second, “If you use the annualized income installment method, complete Part I; check the applicable box(es) in Part II; and complete Schedule AI and Part III, Section A.”
The annualized method exists for uneven income: “If your income varied during the year because, for example, you operated your business on a seasonal basis or had a large capital gain late in the year, you may be able to lower or eliminate the amount of one or more required installments”. It is all or nothing: “If you use Schedule AI for any payment due date, you must use it for all payment due dates.” The form tells you to check box C in Part II, and the periods build on each other.
| Schedule AI period | Income and deductions counted |
|---|---|
| (a) | January 1 through March 31 |
| (b) | January 1 through May 31 |
| (c) | January 1 through August 31 |
| (d) | The entire year |
A third path, treating withholding as paid when it was actually withheld, is box D: “Your penalty is lower when figured by treating the federal income tax withheld from your income as paid on the dates it was actually withheld, instead of in equal amounts on the payment due dates.” That is why late-year withholding can matter for a Roth conversion, vested RSUs or retirement income. The decision pages are safe harbor estimated taxes in retirement, Roth conversion estimated taxes, the RSU safe harbor and RMD withholding strategy.
Waiver of the penalty
The IRS can waive all or part of the penalty. “In 2024 or 2025, you retired after reaching age 62 or became disabled, and your underpayment was due to reasonable cause (and not willful neglect);” or “The underpayment was due to a casualty, disaster, or other unusual circumstance, and it would be inequitable to impose the penalty.”
The mechanics depend on the box. “If you checked box A, complete only page 1 of Form 2210 and attach it to your tax return”. With box B, you complete the form through line 18 and enter the amount to waive on the dotted line next to line 19. Either way, the instructions require that you “Attach Form 2210 and a statement to your return explaining the reasons you were unable to meet the estimated tax requirements”. For disasters, the IRS says it “automatically identifies taxpayers located in a covered disaster area” and applies relief. If a bill still arrives, see IRS payment plans.
What’s new for 2025
The What’s New box begins with “Public Law 119-21, July 4, 2025 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act), enacted several provisions that may affect your 2025 tax.” The place it matters is Schedule AI line 14: “Schedule 1-A (Form 1040) 2025 provides for new additional deductions for qualified tips, qualified overtime compensation, qualified passenger vehicle loan interest, and the enhanced deduction for seniors.” Line 2 of the form also pulls in other taxes, “including self-employment tax and, if applicable, Additional Medicare Tax and/or Net Investment Income Tax”. See self-employment tax explained.
Which revision applies
The edition read for this page is the Instructions for Form 2210 for tax year 2025, which is the revision irs.gov served when it was read for this page. It covers returns for 2025, so figures such as installment dates belong to that year. Check the year printed on the form you are filing. “Go to IRS.gov/Form2210 for the latest information.” Methods other than the two printed above are not described here, and this page does not cover Form 2210-F for farmers and fishers.
Common mistakes
- Filing Form 2210 by default. The instructions say the IRS generally figures the penalty and sends a bill, and the form is required only when a Part II box such as B, C or D applies.
- Assuming paying enough later erases the penalty. It is figured separately for each installment due date, so an earlier shortfall can carry a penalty even if the year ends with a refund.
- Using 100% of last year’s tax without checking AGI. If 2024 AGI was more than $150,000 ($75,000 married filing separately), the instructions substitute 110%.
Related: safe harbor estimated taxes, Roth conversion estimated taxes, RSU estimated taxes, and IRS payment plans.
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Answer againSources
- Instructions for Form 2210 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2210.pdf
- Form 2210 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2210.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 8, 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.