Plainfield Media2027 Estimated Tax Due Dates for Self-Employed People
Here are the federal estimated tax due dates for the 2027 tax year, what each payment covers, and why the last one moves to January 18, 2028. If you are self-employed and pay on a calendar year, these are the four dates to put on your calendar.
The 2027 dates at a glance
| Payment | Income earned | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | January 1 to March 31, 2027 | Thursday, April 15, 2027 |
| 2nd | April 1 to May 31, 2027 | Tuesday, June 15, 2027 |
| 3rd | June 1 to August 31, 2027 | Wednesday, September 15, 2027 |
| 4th | September 1 to December 31, 2027 | Tuesday, January 18, 2028 |
These follow the general schedule in IRS Publication 505: April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the next year, moved to the next business day when a date lands on a weekend or legal holiday.
Why the fourth payment is January 18, 2028
The normal date is January 15. In 2028, January 15 is a Saturday. The IRS rule says that when a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, a payment is on time if you make it on the next day that is not one of those. Sunday, January 16 is out. Monday, January 17, 2028 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal legal holiday. That pushes the deadline to Tuesday, January 18, 2028.
Paying earlier is always fine. The weekend rule only tells you the last day a payment still counts as on time.
The "quarters" are not equal
People call these quarterly payments, but the periods are not three months each. The second period covers only two months (April and May), and the fourth covers four (September through December). This matters if you use the annualized income method on Form 2210, which looks at what you earned in each of these exact periods.
It also matters for cash flow. The June 15 payment comes only two months after the April payment. Freelancers who set aside money monthly tend to find June the tightest.
You can skip the January payment in one case
Publication 505 for 2026 says that if you file your 2026 return by January 31, 2027 and pay the rest of the tax you owe, you don't need to make the payment due January 15, 2027. If the same rule carries over for 2027, as it has in past years, filing your 2027 return by January 31, 2028 and paying in full would replace the fourth payment. Check the 2027 edition of Publication 505 before you count on it. Most freelancers do not have their paperwork ready that early, so the January payment is the usual route.
Mailed payments and the postmark
If you mail a payment, the IRS treats the U.S. postmark date as the payment date. The 2026 edition of Publication 505 adds a caution about this. Recent clarification to U.S. Postal Service postmark rules means the postmark is the date the mail is processed at a facility, and that may be later than the day you dropped it in the box. If you mail close to a deadline, consider paying online or mailing a few days early.
Ways to pay
- Your IRS Online Account at IRS.gov/account, where you can also see payment history
- IRS Direct Pay from a bank account
- EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System)
- Debit or credit card through an IRS-approved processor (these charge a fee)
- Check or money order with a Form 1040-ES payment voucher
The IRS also notes you can pay more often than four times a year, as long as enough is paid by each due date. Some freelancers pay a set amount every month to smooth things out.
What if you miss a date?
Pay as soon as you can. The underpayment penalty is figured separately for each payment period and grows with the amount and the number of days the payment is late, so a short delay costs less than a long one. You may owe it even if you end up with a refund when you file. Form 2210 is where the penalty is figured, and the IRS can waive it in limited cases, such as a casualty or disaster, or after retirement at 62 or later or a disability, when there was reasonable cause.
State due dates are separate
States with an income tax usually have their own estimated payment schedule. Many match the federal dates, but not all of them do. Check your state's revenue department for its 2027 dates.
Not on a calendar year?
If your tax year does not start on January 1, your due dates are different. Publication 505 has a section on fiscal-year taxpayers.
Figuring how much to pay
Dates are the easy part. The amount depends on your profit, self-employment tax and income tax. Our guide on how to calculate quarterly estimated taxes walks through the math with an example.
Track it in one spreadsheet
The 2027 Freelancer Tax & Profit Tracker has these four dates built in. Its dashboard shows the next payment due and a suggested amount based on the income and expenses you log.