Estimated Tax Payment Due Jan. 15, 2027: Q4 Rules and Farmer Date

The fourth-quarter 2026 estimated tax payment is due Friday, Jan. 15, 2027, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publication 505. Taxpayers who file their 2026 Form 1040 by Jan. 31, 2027 and pay all the tax they owe do not need to make it, and farmers and fishers follow a separate March 1 rule. Below: who has to pay, how much, what a late payment costs and a one-page checklist to print.

Who has to make the Jan. 15, 2027 payment?

The IRS says individuals “generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed” (IRS Estimated taxes page, updated Sept. 25, 2026). Publication 505 sets the amount to pay across the year as the smaller of two figures.

Test	What Publication 505 says
Owe $1,000 or more	Estimated payments are generally required
90% of 2026 tax	Pay at least 90% of the tax shown on the 2026 return
100% of 2025 tax	Or pay 100% of the tax shown on the 2025 return, whichever is smaller
110% of 2025 tax	If 2025 adjusted gross income (AGI) was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately for 2026), use 110% instead of 100%
Farmers and fishers	At least 66 2/3% of the 2026 tax

What are the four 2026 payment due dates?

Publication 505 lists the periods and due dates for 2026. The fourth is the Jan. 15, 2027 date this story covers.

Income period	Due date	2026 due date
Jan. 1 – March 31	April 15	April 15, 2026
April 1 – May 31	June 15	June 15, 2026
June 1 – Aug. 31	Sept. 15	Sept. 15, 2026
Sept. 1 – Dec. 31	Jan. 15, next year	Jan. 15, 2027

Jan. 15, 2027 is a Friday, and the next federal holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is Monday, Jan. 18. The IRS says that if a due date lands on a weekend or holiday, “the payment will be on time if you make it on the next day that isn’t a Saturday, Sunday or holiday,” which does not come into play for this payment. The 2027 tax calendar lists the other 2027 estimated dates. The IRS had not posted 2027 quarterly dates, and About Form 1040-ES showed only the 2026 form as of Nov. 13, 2026.

Can you skip the fourth payment by filing early?

Publication 505 says: “If you file your 2026 Form 1040 or 1040-SR by January 31, 2027, and pay the rest of the tax you owe, you don’t need to make the payment due on January 15, 2027.”

Jan. 31, 2027 is a Sunday. Publication 505 has a weekend and holiday rule that moves a due date on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday to the next business day, and that rule covers payments due on a weekend. Readers who want certainty can file and pay by Friday, Jan. 29, 2027. For the 2027 filing season, see when tax season starts.

What do farmers and fishers do differently?

If at least two-thirds of gross income for 2025 or 2026 is from farming or fishing, Publication 505 says “you have only one payment due date for your 2026 estimated tax: January 15, 2027.” The required amount is 66 2/3% of the 2026 tax, and farmers are excluded from the 110% rule.

They have a second option: “If you file your 2026 Form 1040 or 1040-SR by March 1, 2027, and pay all the tax you owe at that time, you don’t need to make an estimated tax payment.” March 1, 2027 is a Monday.

Three ways to handle the fourth quarter

Option	Who	Date	Weekday
Pay the fourth payment	Anyone who owes estimated tax	Jan. 15, 2027	Friday
File and pay everything owed	Anyone, per Publication 505	Jan. 31, 2027	Sunday
File and pay everything owed	Farmers and fishers	March 1, 2027	Monday

How to pay

The IRS Payments page, reviewed Oct. 13, 2026, lists these ways to pay:

• Bank account (Direct Pay)
• Pay in your IRS Account
• Debit or credit card (fees apply)
• Digital wallet
• Same-day wire
• Check or money order, which can be mailed with Form 1040-ES
• Cash
• Business tax payment through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)

What does an underpayment cost?

In IR-2026-98 (Aug. 21, 2026), the IRS said the rate for individual underpayments is 7% per year, compounded daily, for the fourth quarter of 2026. The first-quarter 2027 rate is not yet announced.

Our calculation, approximate, assumes 7% throughout for $2,000 left unpaid after the due date:

Days unpaid	Interest on $2,000
30	about $11.54
60	about $23.14
90	about $34.82

The IRS sets the actual amount, and a different rate for 2027 would change it.

What do states say?

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance lists “4th payment: January 15, 2027.” Other states set their own dates, and this story does not cover them.

Print the fourth-quarter estimated tax checklist

The one-page sheet lists the three dates above with a Done box for each. Mark them on the January 2027 printable calendar or the 2027 printable yearly calendar. Anyone in a disaster area should check the IRS Tax relief in disaster situations page, updated Oct. 27, 2026, for postponements.