Form 1040-ES Estimated Tax Worksheet: Line-by-Line Walkthrough

Updated 2026-10-18 · Not tax advice

Short answer

The Form 1040-ES Estimated Tax Worksheet has 15 lines. Lines 1 to 11c estimate your total tax for the year, including self-employment tax from a separate worksheet. Line 12c is the minimum you must prepay to avoid a penalty: the smaller of 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% if last year's AGI was over $150,000). Subtract withholding on line 13, and line 15 is one quarter of what's left: your payment for each due date.

Figures used: Line numbers, rates and limits come from the 2026 Form 1040-ES (the current revision on IRS.gov on October 15, 2026): $184,500 Social Security wage base, $16,100 single standard deduction and the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules. The IRS has not published the 2027 Form 1040-ES or 2027 brackets yet. 2027 standard deductions below are projections and are labeled that way.

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Free: the one-page Q4 2026 estimated tax worksheet (printable, Excel or Google Sheets) and the quarterly estimated tax calculator.

Form 1040-ES is the IRS package for paying estimated tax: tax on income with no withholding, like freelance, 1099 or gig work. Inside is the Estimated Tax Worksheet, the official way to work out how much to pay each quarter. This guide walks through the 2026 Form 1040-ES line by line with a freelancer example. For the bigger picture, start with how to calculate quarterly estimated taxes.

What you need before you start

Your expected profit for the year. For a sole proprietor that is your projected Schedule C line 31: income minus business expenses.
Last year’s tax return. Line 12b uses your 2025 tax and the AGI shown on it. Don’t just copy the total tax line: start from Form 1040 line 24 and make the adjustments under “Figuring your 2025 tax” in the Form 1040-ES instructions (for example, subtracting refundable credits and certain Schedule 2 taxes, and refiguring if your filing status changed). Adjusted gross income (AGI) is your total income minus adjustments like half of your self-employment tax.
Any withholding you expect, from a W-2 job or a spouse’s job if you file jointly.
The 2026 Tax Rate Schedules on page 9 of the package.

Step 1: the Self-Employment Tax and Deduction Worksheet

Self-employment (SE) tax is the Social Security and Medicare tax you pay as your own employer. Do this short worksheet first, because it feeds lines 1 and 9 of the main worksheet.

Line	What to enter	Note
1a, 2	Expected net profit subject to SE tax	Line 1b only applies to farm Conservation Reserve payments
3	Line 2 × 92.35%	Only 92.35% of profit counts as SE earnings
4	Line 3 × 2.9%	Medicare part, no cap
5	$184,500	2026 Social Security wage base
6, 7	Your own expected W-2 wages subject to Social Security (not your spouse’s); line 5 minus line 6	Your wages use up your cap first. The cap applies per person
8, 9	Smaller of line 3 or line 7; then × 12.4%	Social Security part
10	Line 4 + line 9	Your SE tax. Goes to line 9 of the main worksheet
11	Line 10 × 50%	Deductible half. Subtract it when you figure line 1

Married filing jointly? Fill in this worksheet only with the self-employed spouse’s own profit and wages. If both of you have self-employment income, each spouse does a separate worksheet and you add the two line 10 amounts, because each person has their own $184,500 wage base (Form 1040-ES instructions).

More on the rates and the cap: self-employment tax explained.

Step 2: the 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet, line by line

Line	What it asks	Plain English
1	Adjusted gross income you expect	Profit plus other income, minus the line 11 SE deduction and other adjustments
2a	Deductions	Base standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household for 2026), or your itemized total. It’s higher if you’re 65 or older or blind, lower if someone can claim you as a dependent, and zero if you file separately and your spouse itemizes, or you’re a dual-status alien who doesn’t elect to be treated as a resident: use the line 2a worksheet in the instructions. Non-itemizers can add up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint) of cash gifts to charity
2b	Qualified business income deduction	Generally up to 20% of business income, limited to 20% of taxable income before this deduction. From 2026 there’s a $400 minimum if you have at least $1,000 of qualified business income in total from businesses you materially participate in
2c	Schedule 1-A deductions	New 2026 deductions such as tips, overtime, car loan interest and the senior deduction. Example for tipped gig work: DoorDash quarterly taxes
2d, 3	Add 2a to 2c; subtract from line 1	Your expected taxable income
4	Tax on line 3	Use the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules, not last year’s tables. If line 3 includes qualified dividends or net capital gain, or you exclude foreign earned income or exclude or deduct foreign housing costs, use the Pub. 505 worksheet the line 4 instructions point to instead
5	Alternative minimum tax	Rare for freelancers
6 to 8	Add other income taxes, subtract credits	Don’t count withholding as a credit here
9	Self-employment tax	From line 10 of Step 1
10	Other taxes	For example the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on high earnings
11a to 11c	Add lines 8 to 10, minus refundable credits	Your total 2026 estimated tax
12a	Line 11c × 90%	The “90% of this year” safe harbor
12b	Required payment based on last year	100% of your 2025 tax, or 110% if your 2025 AGI was over $150,000 ($75,000 married filing separately)
12c	Smaller of 12a or 12b	The minimum to prepay to avoid a penalty
13	Withholding you expect	W-2 withholding counts as paid evenly through the year
14a, 14b	12c minus 13; 11c minus 13	If 14a is zero or less, or 14b is under $1,000, you don’t have to pay estimated tax
15	One quarter of line 14a	Your payment for each due date. Subtract a 2025 overpayment only from the payment it is applied to; any credit left over goes to the next payment, not to all four

The safe-harbor rules on lines 12a to 12c are explained in more depth in the safe-harbor guide. Missing the line 12c amount is what triggers the underpayment penalty.

Worked example: a freelance developer, 2026

Fictional numbers. Jordan is single, has no W-2 job, takes the standard deduction and expects $80,000 of Schedule C profit in 2026. Jordan’s 2025 return covered the full year, showed AGI under $150,000, and its tax after the Form 1040-ES “Figuring your 2025 tax” adjustments is $13,000 (no refundable credits or excluded Schedule 2 taxes, so it equals the total tax line). Amounts are rounded to whole dollars.

Self-employment tax worksheet

Line	Calculation	Amount
3	$80,000 × 92.35%	$73,880
4	$73,880 × 2.9%	$2,143
8, 9	$73,880 (under the $184,500 cap) × 12.4%	$9,161
10	SE tax	$11,304
11	Half of SE tax	$5,652

Estimated Tax Worksheet

Line	Calculation	Amount
1	$80,000 − $5,652	$74,348
2a	Standard deduction, single	$16,100
2b	QBI deduction: smaller of 20% × $74,348 or 20% × ($74,348 − $16,100)	$11,650
2d	$16,100 + $11,650	$27,750
3	$74,348 − $27,750	$46,598
4	$1,240 + 12% × ($46,598 − $12,400)	$5,344
9	SE tax from above	$11,304
11c	$5,344 + $11,304	$16,648
12a	90% × $16,648	$14,983
12b	100% of 2025 tax	$13,000
12c	Smaller of 12a or 12b	$13,000
13	No withholding	$0
14a	$13,000 − $0	$13,000
14b	$16,648 − $0, at least $1,000	$16,648
15	$13,000 ÷ 4	$3,250 per payment

Paying $3,250 on each due date keeps Jordan clear of the penalty. It does not cover the full bill. Jordan will still owe about $3,648 ($16,648 − $13,000) with the 2026 return in April 2027, so it pays to save that as the year goes. State tax is extra.

The QBI rule above is simplified: the deduction is figured on business income after the deductible half of SE tax. Above $201,750 of taxable income ($403,500 married filing jointly) in 2026, extra limits apply, so check Publication 505 or a tax professional.

Do this worksheet in a spreadsheet instead of on paper

The Keelsheet Calculator Spreadsheet runs these same steps (SE tax, income tax, QBI estimate and the prior-year safe harbor) from your year-to-date profit, and logs all four payments. Update it each quarter in Excel or Google Sheets. One-time price.

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Mistakes that throw off the worksheet

Using full profit for SE tax. Multiply by 92.35% first (line 3), or SE tax comes out about 8% too high.
Skipping the line 11 deduction. Half of SE tax comes off your AGI on line 1. Leaving it out overstates income tax.
Using last year’s brackets or standard deduction. Line 4 must use the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules printed in the package.
Forgetting the 110% rule. If your 2025 AGI was over $150,000 ($75,000 married filing separately), line 12b is 110% of your 2025 tax, not 100%.
Treating line 15 as your full tax bill. It is the minimum to avoid a penalty. If your income is rising, save the gap between lines 11c and 12c too.
Running it once and never again. If your income changes a lot, refigure and adjust the remaining payments.

When are the payments due?

For 2026: April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. You can skip the January payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the full balance. See the Q4 payment guide, the projected 2027 due dates and how to pay online.

What changes on the 2027 worksheet

The IRS hasn’t released the 2027 Form 1040-ES. Here is what is known as of October 15, 2026:

Item	2026 worksheet	2027 worksheet	Status
Social Security wage base (SE worksheet line 5)	$184,500	$192,300	Official, SSA
Standard deduction, single (line 2a)	$16,100	$16,600	Projected, Thomson Reuters Checkpoint
Standard deduction, married filing jointly	$32,200	$33,200	Projected
Standard deduction, head of household	$24,150	$24,900	Projected
Prior-year tax (line 12b)	Your 2025 tax	Your 2026 tax	Rule unchanged
110% safe-harbor AGI threshold	$150,000	$150,000	Set by law, not indexed

The official 2027 brackets and deductions are expected from the IRS in late October or November 2026. See 2027 tax numbers for the self-employed for the latest.

Worksheet, calculator or spreadsheet?

The paper worksheet is free and exact, but you redo it by hand each time your income changes. A free calculator is quicker for one estimate. A spreadsheet suits you if you want to update the numbers every quarter and keep a payment log. Compare options in the best quarterly estimated tax spreadsheet for freelancers, or see how much to set aside from each 1099 payment.

Sources

This guide is general information, not tax advice. Confirm figures with IRS.gov or a qualified tax professional.

FAQ

Where do I find the 1040-ES worksheet?

It is on page 11 of the Form 1040-ES package on IRS.gov (irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf), with its instructions on pages 6 and 7 and the Self-Employment Tax and Deduction Worksheet on page 8. The IRS says to keep the worksheet for your records. You only send the payment, or the voucher if you pay by check.

Do I have to fill out the 1040-ES worksheet?

No. The IRS never sees it. It is a tool for figuring your payments. You still have to pay enough on time to avoid the underpayment penalty, so you need the line 12c figure from somewhere: this worksheet, tax software or a spreadsheet that does the same math.

Is there a 1040-ES calculator?

The IRS publishes the worksheet, not an interactive 1040-ES calculator. Keelsheet has a free quarterly estimated tax calculator that follows the same steps for a single filer with one business, and a $14 spreadsheet version you can update each quarter.

What if I start paying late in the year?

Line 15 assumes your first payment is April 15. If you refigure mid-year, don't just split what's left evenly. Use the amended estimated tax worksheet in Pub. 505, chapter 2: the next payment has to catch up to the share of the year's required payment due by that date (50% by June 15, 75% by September 15, 100% by January 15), minus what you already paid. If your income only started after March, the annualized income installment method (Form 2210 Schedule AI) can lower the earlier payments.

Which worksheet do I use for 2027 payments?

Use the 2027 Form 1040-ES once the IRS publishes it. The 2026 package carries a February 12, 2026 date. Until the 2027 version is out, you can run the 2026 worksheet with your 2027 income as a rough estimate and redo it when the new figures arrive.