The Q3 2026 federal estimated tax payment is due September 15, 2026 — it covers income you earned from June 1 through August 31. If you freelance, contract, or run a side business and expect to owe $1,000+ in tax for the year, the IRS expects a payment by that date, and most states with an income tax expect their own payment on the same day.
Here is exactly how to pay online — federal first, then your state.
Not sure how much to pay? Run our free estimated tax calculator first — it computes your federal + state quarterly amount from your income, deductions, and state.
How to Pay Federal Estimated Taxes Online
### Option 1: IRS Direct Pay (best for most people)
Free bank-account transfer, no registration required. Go to irs.gov/payments, choose "Direct Pay," and select:
- Reason for payment: Estimated tax
- Apply payment to: 1040-ES
- Tax period: 2026
Verify your identity with a prior-year return, enter your bank routing and account numbers, and you're done in about five minutes. You can schedule the payment up to 365 days ahead — worth doing now for the January 15, 2027 Q4 payment too.
### Option 2: EFTPS (best if you pay every quarter)
The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System is the IRS's full payment platform. Enrollment takes about a week (the IRS mails a PIN), but once set up you can schedule all four quarterly payments for the year in one sitting and get a payment history. If you plan to freelance long-term, enroll once and never think about it again.
### Option 3: Debit or credit card
The IRS's card processors charge roughly 1.8–2% per transaction. That's $18–$20 on a $1,000 payment — usually not worth it unless you're chasing a large sign-up bonus. Direct Pay is free.
### Option 4: IRS Online Account
If you've set up an account at irs.gov, you can pay from there and see your full payment history — useful for confirming a payment actually posted before the deadline.
How Much Should You Pay?
Two safe approaches:
- •Pay 25% of your expected annual tax each quarter, based on your projected 2026 net self-employment income. Our estimated tax calculator does this math, including self-employment tax and your state.
- •Use the safe harbor: pay 100% of last year's total tax (110% if your 2025 AGI was over $150k) split across the four payments. Even if you earn more this year, you avoid the underpayment penalty and settle the difference in April.
Miss the deadline and the IRS charges an interest-based underpayment penalty that accrues daily — see how the IRS underpayment penalty works for the math, and our complete quarterly tax guide for the full 2026 schedule.
Where to Pay State Estimated Taxes Online
State estimated taxes are separate from federal — paying the IRS does not cover your state. Most states follow the same September 15 deadline for Q3. Here's where the biggest freelancer states take online payments; each state name links to that state's version of our calculator, which shows your combined federal + state quarterly amount:
| State | Online payment portal | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | FTB Web Pay | 30% Q1 / 40% Q2 / 0% Q3 / 30% Q4 weighting — CA has no Q3 payment for most filers | |
| New York | Tax Department Online Services | Also covers NYC and Yonkers local tax | |
| New Jersey | Division of Taxation online payment | NJ-1040-ES; required if you'll owe $400+ | |
| Maryland | Comptroller of Maryland online services | Combined state + county rate in one payment | |
| Illinois | MyTax Illinois | IL-1040-ES; flat 4.95% rate makes the math easy | |
| Pennsylvania | myPATH | Flat 3.07%; local wage taxes are separate | |
| Massachusetts | MassTaxConnect | Required if you'll owe $400+ | |
| Virginia | Virginia Tax online services | Form 760ES | |
| Ohio | OH | TAX eServices | Municipal income taxes are separate |
| Georgia | Georgia Tax Center | Form 500-ES | |
| North Carolina | NCDOR online payments | Form NC-40 | |
| Michigan | Michigan e-Payments | MI-1040ES | |
| Colorado | Revenue Online | Form DR 0104EP | |
| Arizona | AZTaxes.gov | Form 140ES | |
| Wisconsin | My Tax Account | Form 1-ES | |
| Minnesota | Minnesota e-Services | — | |
| Connecticut | myconneCT | Form CT-1040ES | |
| Oregon | Revenue Online | — | |
| South Carolina | MyDORWAY | Form SC1040ES | |
| Indiana | INTIME | Form ES-40 | |
| Missouri | MyTax Missouri | Form MO-1040ES |
Don't see your state? Every state with an income tax has a page in our estimated tax calculator — select your state there for your quarterly amount, then search "[your state] department of revenue estimated tax payment" to reach the official portal. Always confirm you're on a .gov domain before entering bank details.
### States with no estimated income tax payment
If you live in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming, there's no state income tax on wages or self-employment income — you only make the federal payment. (New Hampshire and Washington tax certain investment income; that's separate from freelance earnings.)
A 10-Minute Deadline Checklist
- Run the estimated tax calculator with your June–August income → get your federal + state amounts.
- Pay federal via IRS Direct Pay (reason: estimated tax → 1040-ES → 2026).
- Pay your state through its portal (table above).
- Save both confirmation numbers with your tax records.
- Optional: schedule Q4 (due January 15, 2027) while you're in there.
Ten minutes now beats an underpayment penalty in April.