Quarterly estimated tax payments go to one of two IRS processing centers if you pay by mail, or through IRS.gov if you pay electronically. Paper checks and Form 1040-ES vouchers are routed to either Charlotte, North Carolina or Louisville, Kentucky based on the state you live in. Online payments through Direct Pay or your IRS Online Account work from anywhere and clear the same day.
Mailing Addresses by State
The IRS uses just two P.O. boxes for all individual Form 1040-ES payments. The addresses below reflect the correction the IRS issued after the 2026 Form 1040-ES was printed, so use these even if the voucher you downloaded lists something different.1Internal Revenue Service. Correction to the Mailing Addresses in the 2026 Form 1040-ES
Charlotte, NC
Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1300, Charlotte, NC 28201-1300
Use this address if you live in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming.1Internal Revenue Service. Correction to the Mailing Addresses in the 2026 Form 1040-ES
Louisville, KY
Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931100, Louisville, KY 40293-1100
Use this address if you live in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin.1Internal Revenue Service. Correction to the Mailing Addresses in the 2026 Form 1040-ES
Put only the voucher and the check in the envelope. A mailing service with tracking or delivery confirmation is worth the small extra cost, because the postmark date is the date the IRS treats as your payment date even if the envelope arrives later.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 7502 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing and Paying
Preparing the Check and Voucher
Form 1040-ES contains four tear-off vouchers, one for each due date.3Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals Send the voucher pre-labeled for the quarter you’re paying, and print your full legal name, current mailing address, and Social Security number on it exactly as they appear on your return. A transposed digit in the SSN can route your payment to someone else’s account, and correcting that takes months.
Make the check or money order payable to “U.S. Treasury.” Do not write “Internal Revenue Service” or “IRS.” On the check itself, write your Social Security number, the tax year, and “Form 1040-ES” so the payment can be matched to your account if it gets separated from the voucher. Use blue or black ink, confirm the numeric amount matches the written-out amount, and do not staple or paper-clip the check to the voucher; staples jam the IRS sorting equipment.4Internal Revenue Service. Pay by Check or Money Order
Where to Pay Online
Electronic payments are free through the IRS’s own channels, clear immediately, and produce a confirmation number you can save. Your state does not matter.
IRS Direct Pay
Direct Pay moves money straight from your checking or savings account to the IRS at no cost, and no registration is required.5Internal Revenue Service. Direct Pay With Bank Account On the Direct Pay page, choose “Estimated Tax” as the reason, “1040-ES” as the form, and the correct tax year. You can schedule up to 365 days ahead and submit as many as five payments in a 24-hour period, each under $10 million.6Internal Revenue Service. Direct Pay Help Save the confirmation number that appears after you submit.
IRS Online Account
Signing in at IRS.gov lets you pay from the same bank-transfer system Direct Pay uses, and adds a dashboard that shows your balance, past payments, and any scheduled future payments.7Internal Revenue Service. Payments Scheduling runs up to 365 days out, the same as Direct Pay.
EFTPS
The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System is being phased out for individuals. As of October 2025, new individual enrollments are no longer accepted, and starting in 2026 individual taxpayers are directed to Direct Pay or IRS Online Account instead.8EFTPS. Welcome to EFTPS Online If you already have an active EFTPS account, you can keep paying by phone at 1-800-555-3453. Business taxpayers continue to use EFTPS normally.9Internal Revenue Service. EFTPS: The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
Card or Digital Wallet
Two third-party processors accept credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets for IRS payments, and both charge a fee that goes entirely to the processor:
- Pay1040: 1.75% of the payment amount, minimum $2.50
- ACI Payments, Inc.: 1.85% of the payment amount, minimum $2.50
On a $5,000 payment, that runs roughly $88 to $93.10Internal Revenue Service. Pay Your Taxes by Debit or Credit Card or Digital Wallet Direct Pay is free.
IRS2Go
The IRS2Go mobile app is a phone-based entry point to Direct Pay and the card processors.11Internal Revenue Service. IRS2Go Mobile App It is not a separate payment channel.
2026 Quarterly Deadlines
Send the payment in time for the deadline that covers the income period you’re paying on:
- April 15, 2026 for income earned January 1 through March 31
- June 15, 2026 for income earned April 1 through May 31
- September 15, 2026 for income earned June 1 through August 31
- January 15, 2027 for income earned September 1 through December 31
If a due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the payment is due the next business day.12Internal Revenue Service. When to File You can skip the January 15 payment if you file your full 2026 return and pay any remaining balance by January 31, 2027.3Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals
Confirming the Payment Arrived
Electronic payments produce a confirmation number the moment the transaction completes. Save it. The payment will also appear in your IRS Online Account under payment history within a week or two.7Internal Revenue Service. Payments
For a mailed payment, watch your bank account for the check to clear. If it hasn’t cleared within three weeks of the deadline, call the IRS to confirm receipt. Photocopy the signed check and the completed voucher before you mail anything; that paper trail is your backup if the payment goes missing.
When you file your annual return you’ll need the exact total of your estimated payments for the year. Your IRS Online Account shows it, and you can also request a tax account transcript, which lists every payment posted to your account.13Internal Revenue Service. Transcript Types for Individuals and Ways to Order Them Cross-check that transcript against your own records before you file, so any missing payment surfaces before it turns into a notice.