Form 1040-ES at a glance
What it is: Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals, is the package to figure and pay your estimated tax for 2026.
Where and when to file: If paying by check or money order, mail your estimated tax payment voucher and check or money order to the address shown for the place where you live.
For the latest information about developments related to Form 1040-ES and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/Form1040ES. The estimated tax rules apply to U.S. citizens and resident aliens; residents of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
In most cases, you must pay estimated tax for 2026 if both of the following apply.
You expect to owe at least $1,000 (checked November 8, 2026) in tax for 2026, after subtracting your withholding and refundable credits.
You expect your withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of: 90% of the tax to be shown on your 2026 tax return, or 100% of the tax shown on your 2025 tax return. Your 2025 tax return must cover all 12 months.
These percentages may be different if you have income from farming or fishing or are a higher income taxpayer.
You don't have to pay estimated tax for 2026 if you were a U.S. citizen or resident alien for all of 2025 and you had no tax liability for the full 12-month 2025 tax year. You had no tax liability for 2025 if your total tax was zero or you didn't have to file an income tax return.
What to bring and attach to Form 1040-ES
Complete and send in the voucher only if you are making a payment by check or money order.
If you choose to mail in your payment, there is a separate estimated tax payment voucher for each due date. The due date is shown in the upper-right corner.
Make your check or money order payable to “United States Treasury.” Don't send cash.
To help process your payment accurately, enter the amount on the right side of the check like this: $ XXX.XX. Don't use dashes or lines (for example, don't enter “$ XXX-” or “$ XXX xx/100”).
Enter “2026 Form 1040-ES” and your SSN on your check or money order. If you are filing a joint estimated tax payment voucher, enter the SSN that you will show first on your joint return.
Enclose, but don't staple or attach, your payment with the estimated tax payment voucher.
A filled-in Form 1040-ES example: a freelancer mails the first voucher
How to fill out Form 1040-ES, box by box
Amount of estimated tax you are paying by check or money order
Enter in the box provided on the estimated tax payment voucher only the amount you are sending in by check or money order.
When making payments of estimated tax, be sure to take into account any 2025 overpayment that you choose to credit against your 2026 tax, but don't include the overpayment amount in this box.
Calendar year Due April 15, 2026: Amount of estimated tax you are paying by check or money order.
Your name, address and social security number
Enter Your first name and middle initial, Your last name and Your social security number.
Print or type your name, address, and SSN in the space provided on the estimated tax payment voucher: Address (number, street, and apt. no.), City, town, or post office, State and ZIP code.
Enter your SSN even if your SSN does not authorize employment or if you have been issued an SSN that authorizes employment and you lose your employment authorization.
If you have an ITIN, enter it wherever your SSN is requested.
If you received your SSN after previously using an ITIN, stop using your ITIN. Use your SSN instead.
If your name or SSN isn't correct, make the necessary changes on the vouchers. Cross out the name and SSN of a deceased or divorced spouse.
Spouse for joint payment
If joint payment, complete for spouse: Spouse's first name and middle initial, Spouse's last name and Spouse's social security number.
If filing a joint voucher, also enter your spouse's name and SSN. List the names and SSNs in the same order on the joint voucher as you will list them on your joint return.
If you and your spouse plan to file separate returns, file separate vouchers instead of a joint voucher.
You can't make joint estimated tax payments if you or your spouse is a nonresident alien, you are separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, or you and your spouse have different tax years.
Foreign address
If you have a foreign address, also complete the spaces for Foreign country name, Foreign province/county and Foreign postal code.
More rules for Form 1040-ES
Do not mail your tax return to the estimated tax payment address or send an estimated tax payment without a payment voucher. Also, do not mail your estimated tax payments to the address shown in the Form 1040 instructions.
Caution: Only the USPS can deliver to P.O. boxes. You can't use a private delivery service to make estimated tax payments required to be sent to a P.O. box. For proper delivery of your estimated tax payment to a P.O. box, you must include the box number in the address.
Don't send cash payments through the mail.
Send it to
If you live in
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, send it to Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 1300 Charlotte, NC 28201-1300. If you live in a foreign country, American Samoa, or Puerto Rico (or are excluding income under Internal Revenue Code 933), or use an APO or FPO address, or file Form 2555 or 4563, or are a dual-status alien or nonpermanent resident of Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands, send it to Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 1303 Charlotte, NC 28201-1303. If you live in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, 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, send it to Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 931100 Louisville, KY 40293-1100. Guam: Bona fide residents send it to Department of Revenue and Taxation Government of Guam P.O. Box 23607 GMF, GU 96921. U.S. Virgin Islands: Bona fide residents send it to Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue 6115 Estate Smith Bay Suite 225 St. Thomas, VI 00802. Bona fide residents must prepare separate vouchers for estimated income tax and self-employment tax payments. Send the income tax vouchers to the address for bona fide residents and the self-employment tax vouchers to the address for non-bona fide residents.
Common questions about Form 1040-ES
What is a 1040 form ES?
Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals, is the package to figure and pay your estimated tax for 2026. You can find most of the information you will need in Pub. 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, and in the 2025 Instructions for Form 1040.
Is there a deadline?
You can pay all of your estimated tax by April 15, 2026, or in four equal amounts by the dates: 1st payment April 15, 2026, 2nd payment June 15, 2026, 3rd payment Sept. 15, 2026, 4th payment Jan. 15, 2027. You don't have to make the payment due January 15, 2027, if you file your 2026 tax return by February 1, 2027, and pay the entire balance due with your return.
Are there fees?
For online transfers directly from your checking or savings account at no cost to you, go to IRS.gov/Payments. To pay by debit or credit card or digital wallet, go to IRS.gov/Payments. A fee is charged by these service providers. The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) allows you to pay your taxes online or by phone directly from your checking or savings account. There is no fee for this service, but you must be enrolled.
Is there a penalty?
If your payments are late or you didn't pay enough, you may be charged a penalty for underpaying your tax. The penalty is imposed on each underpayment for the number of days it remains unpaid. The penalty may be waived under certain conditions.
When is this form not the right one?
Nonresident aliens use Form 1040-ES (NR).
Sources
[1] Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals, Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service (the Official source link on this page).
