Quarterly estimated taxes for consultants and freelancers: the 2027 dates

When clients pay you directly, nobody withholds anything. Every invoice arrives whole, and part of it belongs to the IRS and your state. The tax system expects that part during the year, in four installments, and charges a penalty when they're late or short. The dates are fixed well in advance, which makes them one of the few parts of self-employed income you can plan exactly.

Here are the 2027 dates, what each one covers, a monthly set-aside that funds them without a scramble, and the safe harbor that keeps you clear of the penalty even when this year's income is hard to predict.

The 2027 dates

Estimated tax for a year is due in four installments: April 15, June 15 and September 15 of the year, and January 15 of the next. When a date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, a payment made on the next business day is on time. (IRS Form 1040-ES; IRS Publication 505)

For 2027 that gives:

• Thursday, April 15, 2027: income from January through March.
• Tuesday, June 15, 2027: income from April and May.
• Wednesday, September 15, 2027: income from June through August.
• Tuesday, January 18, 2028: income from September through December. January 15, 2028 is a Saturday and Monday the 17th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, so the payment moves to the 18th. (OPM: federal holidays; US Tax Tools, 2027 estimated tax dates)

April 15, 2027 is also the filing deadline for 2026 returns, so the first installment of the new year lands on the same day as last year's balance due. That one date can be the largest tax day of your year.

The quarters aren't quarters

The four periods aren't equal. The second covers two months, the fourth covers four:

That's why June feels early and January feels heavy. If you set aside the same share of every payment, January's installment is twice June's.

One number a month

The habit that works: every time a client pays you, move a fixed share to a separate savings account that you don't spend from. Each due date then becomes a transfer from that account, not a search for cash.

The share has three parts:

• Self-employment tax. 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of your net earnings. The Social Security part stops at the year's wage base, $192,300 for 2027. (IRS Topic 554, Self-employment tax; SSA: contribution and benefit base)
• Federal income tax at your bracket, after half of the self-employment tax is deducted.
• State income tax, if your state has one. Most states with an income tax also expect estimated payments.

For a high-earning consultant, RichDue's starting suggestion is 28% of each payment before state tax: in Texas, which has no income tax, 28%; in New York, 35%. It's a planning figure, not a filing figure. Business expenses, retirement contributions such as a SEP-IRA or solo 401(k), and deductions all bring it down.

A New York consultant's 2027

Here's what that looks like for a consultant billing $16,000 a month in New York, computed with the same code RichDue uses for its tax reserve.

Worked example

A New York consultant’s 2027

$16,000 a month from clients, no withholding

35% of each payment set aside: RichDue’s suggestion for New York

April 15, 2027 · Jan–Mar, 3 months

$16,800

June 15, 2027 · Apr–May, 2 months

$11,200

September 15, 2027 · Jun–Aug, 3 months

$16,800

January 18, 2028 · Sep–Dec, 4 months

$22,400

Set aside over the year

$67,200

An example, computed with the tax and plan code RichDue runs on your own numbers. Each payment is the monthly set-aside times the months it covers.

Each month $5,600 moves to the tax account and $10,400 is yours to spend. The installments follow the uneven periods: $11,200 in June, $22,400 on January 18, 2028. In Texas the same income sets aside $4,480 a month.

Real self-employed income isn't $16,000 every month. A percentage of each payment adjusts on its own: a big month sets aside more, a thin month less. What it doesn't tell you is whether the account will hold enough on the due date. If January's installment covers four months and one of them was slow, the reserve can come up short. Check the account against the next payment two weeks before each date.

See your monthly set-aside and the next four payments in the quarterly tax calculator.

The safe harbor

You don't have to predict this year's tax exactly. The IRS doesn't charge the underpayment penalty if your withholding and estimated payments, paid on time, add up to at least the smaller of:

• 90% of this year's tax, or
• 100% of last year's tax, or 110% if last year's adjusted gross income was over $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately).

(IRS: underpayment of estimated tax by individuals)

In a year when income is rising, the prior-year rule is usually the easier target, because you already know the number. Last year's total tax is on your return.

Worked example

The prior-year safe harbor

Last year’s total federal tax: $62,000

Last year’s adjusted gross income over $150,000, so the target is 110%

110% of last year’s tax

$68,200

On each of the four dates

$17,050

An example, computed with the tax and plan code RichDue runs on your own numbers. Paid on time, this keeps the underpayment penalty away; April settles the rest.

Pay $17,050 on each of the four dates and the penalty doesn't apply, whatever this year turns out to be. You'll owe the rest when you file in April 2028, but the monthly set-aside means it's already sitting in the tax account.

In a year when income is falling, the 90%-of-this-year rule may be lower. It takes an estimate of this year's tax, which is harder for lumpy income; a projection of the rest of the year helps.

How to pay

• IRS Direct Pay from a checking or savings account, free, with a confirmation number for each payment.
• Your IRS online account, which also shows the payments you've made for the year.
• EFTPS, the Treasury's payment system, if you schedule payments in advance.
• A check with a Form 1040-ES voucher, postmarked by the due date.

Pay your state separately through its own tax site. Keep a note of every payment's date and amount: you'll enter the total on your return.

The year in one page

• January 18, 2028 is the last 2027 installment. Mark it now; it's easy to miss after the holidays.
• April 15, 2027 holds both 2026's balance and 2027's first installment. Plan the cash for both.
• Set aside a fixed share of every payment, in a separate account, the day it arrives.
• If last year's AGI was over $150,000, 110% of last year's tax divided by four is a safe installment.
• Check the tax account against the next installment two weeks ahead.
• Revisit the share mid-year if your income moved a lot either way.

Where RichDue fits

A percentage and four dates are the whole system. What makes it hard is lumpy income: knowing, in May, whether the account will cover September. RichDue keeps your tax reserve apart from what you can spend, puts each due date on your 12-month projection, and shows a shortfall in the low case before the date arrives, so you can top up the account from a good month.

Sources

Checked October 30, 2026.

• IRS, About Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals, and Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax: the four installments and the weekend and holiday rule.
• IRS, Underpayment of estimated tax by individuals penalty: the 90%, 100% and 110% safe harbor.
• IRS, Topic 554, Self-employment tax.
• Social Security Administration, Contribution and benefit base: $192,300 for 2027.
• OPM, Federal holidays, and US Tax Tools on January 18, 2028. The IRS's 2027 Form 1040-ES, which prints the dates, comes out around the turn of the year.
• The set-aside rates are RichDue's default suggestions (28% plus the state's rate), editable in the app.

Not tax advice. This is general information about estimated taxes; your own return and a tax professional are the authority on what you owe.