Freelance Quarterly Tax Payment Calculator

Enter your best estimate of the year and the calculator splits the tax into quarterly payments for tax year 2026.

1. Enter your expected annual freelance income, the total you expect to bill clients this year before expenses.
2. Enter your business expenses.
3. Choose your filing status, single or married filing jointly, which sets your standard deduction and your tax brackets.
4. Enter your state tax rate as a percent, or leave it at 0 if your state has no income tax.
5. Enter the total tax on last year return and tick the box if last year adjusted gross income was over $150,000. Enter 0 if this is your first year.
6. Enter what you have already paid and how many payments are left, then press Calculate.

Start with net profit, which is expected annual freelance income minus business expenses. Self-employment tax applies to 92.35 percent of net profit at 15.3 percent, made of 12.4 percent for Social Security and 2.9 percent for Medicare. The Social Security part applies only up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500.

Taxable income is net profit minus half of self-employment tax minus the standard deduction, floored at zero. For 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for married filing jointly.

Federal income tax uses the 2026 progressive brackets. For a single filer the rates are 10 percent to $12,400, 12 percent to $50,400, 22 percent to $105,700, 24 percent to $201,775, 32 percent to $256,225, 35 percent to $640,600 and 37 percent above that.

Total annual tax = self-employment tax + federal income tax + state tax. Quarterly payment = total annual tax / 4. Safe harbor quarterly amount = prior year total tax x 100 percent, or x 110 percent if prior year AGI was over $150,000, / 4.

A single freelancer expects $80,000 of freelance income and $12,000 of business expenses in 2026, with a 5 percent state rate and $9,000 of prior year total tax.

1. Net profit: $80,000 - $12,000 = $68,000.
2. Self-employment earnings: $68,000 x 92.35% = $62,798.
3. Self-employment tax: 12.4% of $62,798 = $7,786.95, plus 2.9% of $62,798 = $1,821.14, giving $9,608.09.
4. Half of self-employment tax: $9,608.09 / 2 = $4,804.05.
5. Taxable income: $68,000 - $4,804.05 - $16,100 = $47,095.95.
6. Federal income tax: 10% of $12,400 = $1,240, plus 12% of $34,695.95 = $4,163.51, giving $5,403.51.
7. State tax: 5% of $47,095.95 = $2,354.80.
8. Total annual tax: $9,608.09 + $5,403.51 + $2,354.80 = $17,366.41.
9. Quarterly payment: $17,366.41 / 4 = $4,341.60.
10. Safe harbor: $9,000 x 100% = $9,000 a year, or $2,250 a quarter, which is lower than the full payment.

As a second check, take a single freelancer with $50,000 income, $5,000 expenses and no state tax. Net profit is $45,000, self-employment tax is $6,358.30, federal income tax is $2,838.50, total tax is $9,196.80 and the quarterly payment is $2,299.20.

For tax year 2026 the four payments are due on April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year. If a due date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day. You can pay online through IRS Direct Pay, your IRS online account or the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.

You must pay estimated tax if you expect to owe $1,000 or more when your return is filed. If you expect to owe less, you generally do not have to pay estimated tax.

The safe harbor protects you from the underpayment penalty. Pay at least 90 percent of the current year tax or 100 percent of last year total tax, whichever is smaller, in four equal payments. The prior year figure rises to 110 percent if last year adjusted gross income was over $150,000. It only works if last year return covered a full 12 months, so in your first year of freelancing there is no prior year safe harbor. Meeting it does not reduce your tax. It only stops the penalty.

State tax moves the answer more than most freelancers expect. In the worked example, a 5 percent state rate adds $2,354.80 a year. With no state tax the quarterly payment falls from $4,341.60 to $3,752.90, a difference of $588.70 a quarter.

Filing status matters too. The same $80,000 income and $12,000 expenses as married filing jointly gives a $32,200 standard deduction, so the quarterly payment falls to $3,595.35, which is $746.25 a quarter less than the single figure.

Business expenses are the lever you control. With no expenses at all on the same $80,000 income, the quarterly payment is $5,435.66. The $12,000 of expenses in the worked example therefore saves $1,094.06 a quarter. Our freelance rate calculator helps you set a rate that leaves room for tax after expenses.

Income rises push the payment up faster than the income itself. With $100,000 income and the same $12,000 expenses, the quarterly payment is $6,220.10. If you have already paid some tax, the payment still due changes too. With $5,000 already paid and 2 payments left, the remaining payment is ($17,366.41 - $5,000) / 2 = $6,183.20 each. Our paycheck calculator shows how withholding works if you also have a W-2 job.

The most common mistake is forgetting self-employment tax altogether. New freelancers often work out income tax only, then get a shock when 15.3 percent on 92.35 percent of net profit is added. In the worked example it is $9,608.09, more than the $5,403.51 of federal income tax.

A second mistake is using gross income instead of net profit. Tax is figured on income after business expenses, so $80,000 of billings is taxed on $68,000. A third mistake is paying the whole year in January. Each quarter is tested on its own, so a January lump sum still leaves three earlier shortfalls that can carry a penalty.

A fourth mistake is trusting the 25 to 30 percent rule instead of running real numbers. Setting aside 25 percent of the $68,000 net profit gives $17,000 a year, close to the $17,366.41 true total, but at other incomes the rule can be far out. A fifth mistake is ignoring state tax or forgetting what you already paid. Set the money aside as each invoice is paid, and track it in our budget calculator.