Nobody hands you a W-2 anymore, so nobody’s telling you what to send the IRS every quarter either. Plug your expected net profit into the tool below and get the real number, self-employment tax and the QBI deduction already worked in, not a flat percentage pulled out of thin air.
Quarterly Tax Estimator
See what you actually owe each quarter, self-employment tax and the QBI deduction included, not the flat 25% guess.
Your Numbers
Optional Details
Turn this on if you want the “safe harbor” option: the IRS won’t penalize you as long as you pay the smaller of this year’s estimate or last year’s total. This means your tax bill from last year, not your income, check Form 1040, Line 22 on last year’s return if you’re not sure. If you fill this in, the tool checks both and recommends whichever one is lower.
Turn this on if you’ve already sent the IRS a payment for 2026 (say, your Q1 check already went out). The tool subtracts what you’ve paid from the year’s target and spreads what’s left across your remaining quarters, instead of showing the full year as if nothing had been paid.
Your Payment Schedule
Rule of Thumb vs. Your Actual Estimate
Assumes 2026 federal brackets and the standard deduction, single Schedule C business, no other income, dependents, or credits. Above roughly $201,750 (single) or $403,500 (married), the QBI wage-limitation rules get more complex than this simplified estimate covers, talk to a tax preparer at that income level. This is an estimate to guide your own planning, not a substitute for a tax professional.
How This Estimate Is Built
Three pieces go into the number above. Self-employment tax runs 15.3% on 92.35% of your net profit, Social Security capped at the 2026 wage base of $184,500, Medicare uncapped. The QBI deduction, made permanent under the 2025 tax law, knocks up to 20% off your income-tax bill for most sole proprietors and single-member LLCs under the 2026 threshold. And the income tax itself runs through the actual 2026 brackets for your filing status, not a flat guess.
That combination is exactly why the tool's number usually comes in under the old "save 25%" advice, the QBI deduction alone is doing real work that a flat percentage can't account for.
What This Tool Doesn't Cover
State income tax isn't included, since it varies by state and some states don't have one at all. If you've elected S-Corp status, the mechanics change enough that this tool isn't the right one, the S-Corp vs. LLC guide covers that math separately. And above roughly $201,750 (single) or $403,500 (married), the QBI wage-limitation rules get more complex than a simplified tool can responsibly model, the estimator flags this automatically and it's worth a tax preparer's confirmation at that income level.
Want the Full Breakdown?
This tool gives you the number. The Quarterly Estimated Taxes guide covers the rest, the actual 2026 due dates, the safe harbor rule that protects you from a penalty, what happens if you miss a payment, and how to actually send the money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your numbers are saved only in your own browser, so they're still there next time you visit, and you can clear them any time with the button above the calculator. Nothing is transmitted anywhere or seen by anyone else.
No, this covers federal tax only. State income tax varies too much by state to build into one number, and nine states don't have one at all. Add your state's estimate on top of what this tool shows.
Come back and re-run the estimate with your updated expectation. If your income is genuinely lumpy by quarter rather than steady, the IRS also allows unequal payments based on what you actually earned each period, covered in the full guide linked above.
It compares two numbers, this year's estimate and last year's total tax, and recommends the smaller one for your quarterly payment. The IRS won't penalize you as long as you pay the lower of the two, so this option can lower what the tool recommends if last year was a smaller tax year than this one's shaping up to be.
If you've already sent the IRS money toward 2026 (a Q1 payment, for example), this subtracts that from your target for the year and spreads what's left evenly across your remaining quarters, so the number you see is what's still owed, not the full year as if you were starting from zero.
It's built on the real 2026 tax brackets, the actual QBI mechanics, and the correct self-employment tax formula, not a simplified rule of thumb. It assumes a single Schedule C business with no other income, dependents, or credits, so your real number may shift somewhat with a more complex return.
The tool will flag this and give you a reasonable starting estimate, but the wage-limitation rules that kick in above the threshold are genuinely more complex than this simplified version covers. Worth confirming the exact figure with a tax preparer at that income level.
For a straightforward situation, this estimate should be close. If your situation involves multiple income sources, significant deductions beyond the standard deduction, or income near the QBI threshold, a tax preparer can confirm the exact number.
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