{"tool":{"slug":"estimated-taxes","name":"Estimated tax calculator","version":"2026-08-22","canonicalUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/estimated-taxes","jsonUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/estimated-taxes.json","pageUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/estimated-taxes","parameters":[{"key":"income","label":"Expected self-employment profit for 2026","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":120000,"sourceId":null,"help":"What you expect to clear this year from freelance, contract, 1099, or business work, after your business expenses and before any tax. This is Schedule C net profit, not what lands in your bank account."},{"key":"withholding","label":"Federal tax withheld in 2026","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":0,"sourceId":null,"help":"Federal income tax expected to come out of a paycheck, pension, or retirement withdrawal across the whole year, not just so far. It counts against the same requirement estimated payments do, so every dollar of it is a dollar you do not have to send in quarterly."},{"key":"priorTax","label":"Total tax on your 2025 return","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":26000,"sourceId":null,"help":"Line 24 of your 2025 Form 1040, the total tax for that year. Not what you paid in April and not your refund: the whole year's tax, including self-employment tax. This is the number the safe harbor is built on."},{"key":"priorAgi","label":"Adjusted gross income on your 2025 return","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":93000,"sourceId":null,"help":"Line 11 of your 2025 Form 1040. It does nothing except decide whether your safe harbor is 100% or 110% of last year's tax, which flips above $150,000, or above $75,000 if you file separately."},{"key":"wages","label":"W-2 wages expected in 2026","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":0,"sourceId":null,"help":"Box 1 wages from a job you also hold this year. They raise the tax the year owes and they use up part of the Social Security wage base, which lowers the self-employment tax on your business profit."},{"key":"paid","label":"Estimated tax already paid for 2026","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":0,"sourceId":null,"help":"Estimated tax payments you have already sent in for this year. Credited to the earliest quarters first, which is the order Form 2210 applies payments in, so the schedule below shows what is still short."}],"options":[{"key":"status","label":"Filing status","options":[{"value":"single","label":"Single"},{"value":"married-joint","label":"Married filing jointly"},{"value":"married-separate","label":"Married filing separately"},{"value":"head-of-household","label":"Head of household"},{"value":"qualifying-surviving-spouse","label":"Qualifying surviving spouse"}],"default":"single","sourceId":null,"help":"Your status on 2026-12-31. It sets the rates and the standard deduction, and filing separately halves the AGI line where the prior-year safe harbor goes from 100% to 110%."}]},"taxYear":2026,"priorYear":2025,"inputs":{"income":120000,"withholding":0,"priorTax":26000,"priorAgi":93000,"wages":0,"paid":0,"status":"single"},"result":{"installment":6500,"safeHarbor":{"basis":"prior_year_100_percent","label":"100% of your 2025 tax","amount":26000},"paymentsRequired":true,"installments":[{"period":"Q1","dueDate":"2026-04-15","dueLabel":"Apr 15, 2026","share":0.25,"required":6500,"credited":0,"shortfall":6500},{"period":"Q2","dueDate":"2026-06-15","dueLabel":"Jun 15, 2026","share":0.25,"required":6500,"credited":0,"shortfall":6500},{"period":"Q3","dueDate":"2026-09-15","dueLabel":"Sep 15, 2026","share":0.25,"required":6500,"credited":0,"shortfall":6500},{"period":"Q4","dueDate":"2027-01-15","dueLabel":"Jan 15, 2027","share":0.25,"required":6500,"credited":0,"shortfall":6500}],"safeHarbor90":29395.32,"priorYearSafeHarbor":{"basis":"prior_year_100_percent","label":"100% of your 2025 tax","amount":26000},"requiredAnnual":26000,"remainingAfterWithholding":26000,"totalShortfall":26000,"expectedTax":32661.46,"estimatedTaxBase":32661.46,"expectedWithholding":0,"balanceAfterWithholding":32661.46,"selfEmploymentTax":16955.46,"incomeTax":15706,"agi":111522.27,"standardDeduction":16100,"taxableIncome":95422.27,"form1040":[{"line":"9","label":"Total income","amount":120000},{"line":"10","label":"Adjustments, half of self-employment tax","amount":8477.73},{"line":"11","label":"Adjusted gross income","amount":111522.27,"emphasis":true},{"line":"12","label":"Standard deduction","amount":16100},{"line":"15","label":"Taxable income","amount":95422.27,"emphasis":true},{"line":"16","label":"Income tax on that amount","amount":15706},{"line":"22","label":"Income tax after credits","amount":15706},{"line":"23","label":"Self-employment tax and other taxes","amount":16955.46},{"line":"24","label":"Total tax for the year","amount":32661.46,"emphasis":true}],"highIncomeThreshold":150000,"reliability":"reliable","computability":{"status":"final","fileReady":true,"blocking":[]},"diagnostics":[{"code":"ESTIMATED_TAX_FINAL_ANNUAL_FORMS_UNAVAILABLE","severity":"info","message":"Final TY2026 annual return and penalty forms are not part of this planning-grade result.","consumerAction":"Do not present this output as final annual-return preparation or filing support."},{"code":"ESTIMATED_TAX_FILING_GRADE_PENALTY_UNAVAILABLE","severity":"info","message":"Filing-grade underpayment penalty computation is blocked until final TY2026 Form 2210, FTB 5805, or New York penalty support is packeted.","consumerAction":"Use this output for current-year payment planning, not penalty filing."}],"nonClaims":["No certified TY2026 annual Form 1040, Form 2210, Form 6251, Form 8801, Schedule D, Form 8949, CA Form 540, Schedule CA, Schedule D, Schedule P, FTB 5805, NY Form IT-201/IT-203, IT-2105.9, or New York annual penalty support.","No filing-grade federal, California, or New York underpayment penalty computation.","No annualized-income installment method, farmer/fisher special schedule, California part-year resident, California nonresident, or New York city/Yonkers/MCTMT decomposition computation.","No raw equity, brokerage, payroll, Form 3921/3922, Form 1099-B, or workpaper ingestion."]},"drivers":[{"key":"withholding","label":"Withholding","step":5000,"installmentDelta":-1250,"sentence":"Another $5,000 withheld from a paycheck cuts each quarterly payment by $1,250. Withholding counts as paid evenly across the year no matter when it happens, which is why it can fix a missed quarter and an estimated payment cannot."},{"key":"priorTax","label":"2025 total tax","step":5000,"installmentDelta":848.83,"sentence":"A 2025 tax bill $5,000 higher raises each payment by $849 and no further: past that point the 90% test on this year's income becomes the cheaper leg and takes over."},{"key":"income","label":"Expected profit","step":10000,"installmentDelta":0,"sentence":"Another $10,000 of profit does not change the quarterly payment, because your required annual payment is set by 100% of your 2025 tax and this year's income does not touch it."}],"sensitivity":{"byIncome":[{"income":60000,"expectedTax":12990.73,"safeHarborBasis":"current_year_90_percent","requiredAnnual":11691.66,"installment":2922.92},{"income":90000,"expectedTax":22284.6,"safeHarborBasis":"current_year_90_percent","requiredAnnual":20056.14,"installment":5014.04},{"income":120000,"expectedTax":32661.46,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","requiredAnnual":26000,"installment":6500},{"income":150000,"expectedTax":43385.01,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","requiredAnnual":26000,"installment":6500},{"income":180000,"expectedTax":54315.21,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","requiredAnnual":26000,"installment":6500},{"income":240000,"expectedTax":72915.43,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","requiredAnnual":26000,"installment":6500}],"byPriorAgi":[{"priorAgi":75000,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","requiredAnnual":26000,"installment":6500},{"priorAgi":140000,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","requiredAnnual":26000,"installment":6500},{"priorAgi":150000,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","requiredAnnual":26000,"installment":6500},{"priorAgi":160000,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_110_percent","requiredAnnual":28600,"installment":7150},{"priorAgi":225000,"safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_110_percent","requiredAnnual":28600,"installment":7150}],"byStatus":[{"status":"single","label":"Single","safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","installment":6500},{"status":"married-joint","label":"Married filing jointly","safeHarborBasis":"current_year_90_percent","installment":5845.16},{"status":"married-separate","label":"Married filing separately","safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_110_percent","installment":7150},{"status":"head-of-household","label":"Head of household","safeHarborBasis":"prior_year_100_percent","installment":6500},{"status":"qualifying-surviving-spouse","label":"Qualifying surviving spouse","safeHarborBasis":"current_year_90_percent","installment":5845.16}]},"assumptions":[{"key":"income","label":"Expected self-employment profit for 2026","value":120000,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"withholding","label":"Federal tax withheld in 2026","value":0,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"priorTax","label":"Total tax on your 2025 return","value":26000,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"priorAgi","label":"Adjusted gross income on your 2025 return","value":93000,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"wages","label":"W-2 wages expected in 2026","value":0,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"paid","label":"Estimated tax already paid for 2026","value":0,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"status","label":"Filing status","value":"single","unit":"choice","provided":false,"source":null}],"sources":[{"id":"irs-1040-es-2026","name":"IRS Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals","url":"https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1040-es","asOf":"2026-01-01","note":"The worksheet that computes the required annual payment and the four 2026 installment due dates. The engine cites it for every installment it prices."},{"id":"irs-pub-505","name":"IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax (2026)","url":"https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-505","asOf":"2026-01-01","note":"The prior-year safe harbor, the $1,000 threshold below which no estimated tax is required, and the rule that withholding counts as paid evenly across the year."},{"id":"usc-title-26","name":"26 U.S.C. § 6654 (failure by individual to pay estimated income tax)","url":"https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title26","asOf":"2026-01-01","note":"The statute itself: § 6654(d)(1)(B) makes the required annual payment the lesser of the two safe harbors, § 6654(d)(1)(C) sets the 110% high-income variant, and § 6654(e) sets the exceptions."},{"id":"rev-proc-2025-32","name":"IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation-adjusted items)","url":"https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf","asOf":"2026-01-01","note":"The rate tables and standard deduction for tax year 2026, which is what the expected-tax half of this page is computed on."},{"id":"pl-119-21-obbba","name":"One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21)","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-119publ21","asOf":"2025-07-04","note":"The statute behind the current standard deduction and rate structure the 2026 projection uses."}],"warnings":[],"disclaimer":"This computes federal estimated tax for tax year 2026: the required annual payment under 26 U.S.C. § 6654 and the four equal installments that satisfy it. It assumes the standard deduction and the standard installment method. It does not compute state or local estimated tax, the annualized-income installment method for uneven income, the farmer and fisher schedule, or the Form 2210 underpayment penalty itself, and it is not tax advice. Check anything that matters against your own return."}