Missed a quarterly tax payment? What to do now

Estimate only, not tax advice. Check IRS.gov or a tax professional before you pay.

Missing an estimated tax due date is common, and it's fixable. The penalty grows with time, so the most useful thing you can do is pay soon.

1. Pay the missed amount as soon as you can

There's no special form for a late payment. Make a normal estimated payment for tax year 2026 through IRS Direct Pay or your IRS Online Account. The penalty is figured separately for each installment and for how long it stayed unpaid, so paying sooner keeps it smaller.

2. Keep making the next payments on time

Don't skip the next due date to make up the last one. The 2026 dates are April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027, so after mid-September the only one left is January 15, 2027. A larger later payment doesn't erase the penalty for an earlier shortfall, but it does stop it from growing.

3. Understand the penalty

The IRS underpayment penalty works like interest: it's based on how much you were short, how many days it was late, and the underpayment interest rate the IRS sets each quarter. Check the current rate on IRS.gov. It isn't a flat fine, and for a small, brief shortfall it's often modest.

4. Check whether you owe a penalty at all

• You generally owe none if your total tax after withholding is under $1,000.
• Or if withholding plus on-time payments covered the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax (110% if 2025 AGI was over $150,000). See the safe harbor rules.
• If you have no 2025 tax liability and were a U.S. citizen or resident all year, you generally don't owe estimated tax for 2026.

5. If you have a W-2 job, raise withholding

The IRS treats tax withheld from wages as paid evenly through the year unless you choose otherwise, even if it was withheld in December. Increasing your W-4 withholding for the rest of the year can therefore help cover earlier missed quarters in a way a late estimated payment can't. See freelance plus W-2: withholding vs estimated payments.

6. Options when you file

• Annualized income method: if your income came mostly later in the year, Form 2210 Schedule AI can lower the required early installments.
• Waiver: the IRS may waive the penalty for a casualty, disaster or other unusual circumstance, or if you retired after 62 or became disabled with reasonable cause.
• You can also let the IRS figure the penalty and send you a bill.

Use the calculator below to see what's left for the year and what to pay by the next due date.

Run your own numbers

Estimate only, not tax advice. Figures are for tax year 2026 from IRS sources (Form 1040-ES, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the pages listed under Sources) and the SSA. Confirm with IRS.gov or a tax professional.

Sources: IRS: Underpayment of estimated tax penalty · IRS Publication 505 · IRS Form 1040-ES (2026)

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