If you earn 1099 income, you generally pay federal taxes four times a year through estimated quarterly payments, then file an annual return by April 15. For the 2026 tax year, the quarterly deadlines are April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. That pay-as-you-go schedule is the short answer to when 1099 employees pay taxes, but a few rules decide whether you actually have to send all four payments and how much each one should be.
The Four Quarterly Deadlines
The IRS splits the tax year into four periods that don’t match calendar quarters. Each period has its own due date:
- Payment 1 covers income earned January 1 through March 31, due April 15, 2026.
- Payment 2 covers April 1 through May 31, due June 15, 2026.
- Payment 3 covers June 1 through August 31, due September 15, 2026.
- Payment 4 covers September 1 through December 31, due January 15, 2027.
When a due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, it shifts to the next business day.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 509 (2026), Tax Calendars The second period is only two months long, so income earned in April and May comes due faster than the other quarters would suggest.
There is one useful shortcut on the January payment. If you file your full 2026 return by February 1, 2027, and pay the full balance with it, you can skip the January 15 deadline entirely.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-ES (2026)
Do You Actually Have to Pay Quarterly
Not every 1099 worker has to send four payments. Two thresholds decide it.
First, self-employment tax kicks in once your net earnings from self-employment reach $400 for the year.3Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes) Net earnings means your 1099 income minus allowable business expenses. Even under $400, you can still owe regular income tax if your total income from all sources exceeds the standard deduction for your filing status, which for 2026 is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household.4Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
Second, the $1,000 safe harbor. If you expect to owe less than $1,000 in total tax after subtracting any withholding and credits, the IRS will not penalize you for skipping estimated payments.5Internal Revenue Service. Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals Penalty This is the common escape hatch for people who freelance on the side of a W-2 job where enough is already being withheld.
Prior-Year Safe Harbors
If you owe more than $1,000, you can still avoid penalties by hitting one of two payment targets. You’re safe if your total payments during the year equal at least 90% of what you end up owing for the current year, or 100% of last year’s total tax, whichever is smaller. If your adjusted gross income in 2025 was above $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately), the prior-year figure rises to 110%.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-ES (2026)
Most contractors use the prior-year number because it’s fixed and easy: take last year’s total tax, divide by four, send that in each quarter, and reconcile at filing.
How Much to Send Each Quarter
Form 1040-ES is the IRS worksheet for projecting your annual tax and splitting it into four payments.6Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals You plug in expected gross 1099 income, business expenses, other income, deductions, and filing status, arrive at a total estimated tax, and divide by four.
If you are in your first year of self-employment, honest estimates matter more than precise ones. You will not be penalized for guessing wrong as long as you meet one of the safe harbors above. Contractors who prefer to skip the projection altogether pay 100% (or 110% for higher earners) of last year’s tax in four equal installments and true up on the annual return.
When Income Is Uneven
Equal quarterly payments work when income is steady, but many contractors don’t earn that way. The IRS lets you size each payment to the income you actually earned during the period covered, using a fresh Form 1040-ES worksheet each quarter.7Internal Revenue Service. Estimated Taxes To document unequal payments and head off penalties on the smaller early ones, file Form 2210 with Schedule AI, the annualized income installment method, which recalculates the required payment for each period based on what you actually received in it.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2210
What Happens If You Pay Late or Short
The IRS charges a penalty on any underpaid amount for each quarter you fall short, running from the due date until you pay or until the annual filing deadline, whichever comes first. The rate resets quarterly and compounds daily. For the first quarter of 2026, it is 7%, set at the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points.9Internal Revenue Service. Quarterly Interest Rates
Because interest compounds, an early miss costs more than a late one. Missing April 15 accrues charges for months longer than missing January 15. The IRS computes the penalty automatically when you file, though you can figure it yourself on Form 2210.
Waivers exist but are narrow. If you retired after age 62 or became disabled during 2025 or 2026 and the underpayment stemmed from that, you can request relief. The same applies to a casualty, disaster, or other unusual circumstance.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2210 Taxpayers in federally declared disaster areas generally get automatic relief without filing Form 2210.
How to Send the Payment
IRS Direct Pay is the fastest route. It debits your bank account with no fee, requires no account setup, and confirms the payment on the spot.10Internal Revenue Service. EFTPS: The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) lets you schedule payments up to 365 days in advance and uses a PIN-based login after enrollment. It is more common among business taxpayers who make several types of federal payments.11U.S. Department of the Treasury. Welcome to EFTPS Online
Credit and debit card payments go through IRS-authorized processors and carry convenience fees. Credit card fees typically run 2.49% to 2.95% of the payment, so a $5,000 payment costs $125 to $148 extra.12Internal Revenue Service. Pay by Debit or Credit Card When You E-File
If you mail a check or money order, include the payment voucher from the Form 1040-ES package and write your Social Security number, the tax year, and the form number on the payment. The postmark date counts as the payment date, so certified mail is worth it if a deadline is close.13Internal Revenue Service. Pay by Check or Money Order
The Annual Return Closes the Cycle
By April 15, 2026, for the 2025 tax year, you file Form 1040 with Schedule C for business income and Schedule SE for self-employment tax.14Internal Revenue Service. Individual Tax Filing The return reconciles the estimated payments you already made against your actual total tax. Any shortfall is due with the return; any overpayment comes back as a refund or can be applied to next year’s estimated payments.
Form 4868 gets you an automatic six-month extension to file, pushing the paperwork deadline to October 15.15Internal Revenue Service. Get an Extension to File Your Tax Return The extension covers filing only. Any unpaid balance after April 15 still accrues interest.
State Payments Are Separate
Federal quarterly payments do not cover state tax. Most states with an income tax run their own estimated payment schedule, with thresholds that trigger the requirement ranging from about $100 to $1,000 or more in expected state liability. A few states don’t require estimated payments at all, and some use dates that differ from the federal ones. Your state department of revenue publishes the specifics.