Quarterly estimated taxes for online sellers (2026)
Tools that keep the books and the paperwork clean
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Reviewed by Vincent Wesley Couey, CeoCult Editorial Team
Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Shopify, none of them withhold income tax or self-employment tax from your payouts. If you sell online and earn a profit, the IRS expects you to pay taxes four times per year. Miss a payment and you'll owe penalties. Here are the 2026 due dates, how to calculate what you owe, and exactly how to pay.
Related guides: Etsy seller taxes · Amazon FBA taxes · Shopify seller taxes · 1099-K explained · Quarterly tax deadline dashboard
Why online sellers owe quarterly taxes
No selling platform withholds income or self-employment tax. When you're self-employed, the IRS expects you to pay as you earn through Form 1040-ES. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal taxes for the year, quarterly payments are required. Skip them and you'll face underpayment penalties, even if you pay everything at filing time.
2026 quarterly due dates
| Quarter | Income period | Payment due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | January 1 - March 31 | April 15, 2026 |
| Q2 | April 1 - May 31 | June 15, 2026 |
| Q3 | June 1 - August 31 | September 15, 2026 |
| Q4 | September 1 - December 31 | January 15, 2027 |
Note: Q2 covers only two months while Q3 covers three. If a due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
How much to pay: the simple method
Set aside 25-30% of your net profit (revenue minus COGS minus expenses) into a separate savings account. Pay that amount quarterly.
Your net profit is subject to two federal taxes:
- Self-employment tax: 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit (Social Security + Medicare)
- Federal income tax: depends on total income and filing status, most active sellers fall in the 12% or 22% bracket
Get the quarterly tax calendar + set-aside calculator (PDF)
All four due dates with a simple worksheet that calculates exactly how much to set aside each month based on your sales.
The safe harbor method
Per IRS estimated-tax guidance, the IRS won't charge penalties if you meet one of these:
- 100% of prior year's tax: Pay at least 100% of last year's total tax, split into four equal payments (110% if AGI exceeded $150,000).
- 90% of current year's tax: Pay at least 90% of what you'll owe this year.
The prior-year method is safest for variable-income sellers, you know the target in advance.
How to actually pay
- Go to IRS Direct Pay at irs.gov/payments, free, no account required
- Select "Estimated Tax" → Form 1040-ES
- Choose tax year 2026
- Enter your payment amount and bank account details
- Save your confirmation number
Alternatives: your IRS Online Account, credit/debit card (fees apply), or mail a check with a 1040-ES voucher. EFTPS stopped taking new individual enrollments on October 17, 2025.
State quarterly taxes
If your state has income tax, you likely owe state estimated payments too. Most follow the same quarterly schedule. States with no income tax, Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, don't require state estimated payments on business income.
What happens if you don't pay quarterly
The IRS charges an underpayment penalty: interest on the amount you should have paid, at the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points, figured as simple interest for each day a payment is late. That rate is 7% a year for Q4 2026 (6% in Q2 2026), per the IRS quarterly interest rates. It's assessed per quarter, so missing early quarters costs more.
Tips for managing quarterly payments
- Open a separate savings account. Transfer 25-30% of every payout immediately.
- Track deductions monthly. Your quarterly estimate should reflect net profit, not gross revenue.
- If you have a W-2 job, increase withholding instead. Submit a new W-4 requesting additional withholding to cover your selling income, eliminates quarterly payments entirely.
For sellers who want to understand their net profit before calculating quarterly taxes, the FBA profit calculator at Bag Engine helps Amazon sellers model their actual margins after COGS, fees, and advertising, giving you an accurate base number for quarterly estimates rather than guessing from gross revenue.
From our network
Selling on Amazon? Know your real profit first.
Bag Engine's FBA profit calculator helps you model true margins after all fees and costs, so your quarterly tax estimate is based on what you actually keep, not your gross payout.
Calculate your FBA profit →Rules and data behind this page
What a seller may claim, must disclose, and owes in tax is set by published federal rules rather than by any marketplace's seller handbook, and the sources below are the primary ones. They are linked so a reader can check a claim here without taking this page's word for it.
- FTC advertising and marketing guidance sets the federal standard for what a product claim must be able to substantiate.
- FTC Endorsement Guides governs how a review or recommendation must disclose a material connection.
- FTC Made in USA standard defines when origin claims may be used, one of the most commonly misapplied rules in ecommerce listings.
- SBA business guide is the federal reference for forming and running the business a seller account sits inside.
- SBA compliance guidance sets out the licences and filings an operating seller is expected to maintain.
- IRS small business and self-employed is the authority on what a seller owes and must report.
- IRS business structures documents how entity choice changes liability and tax treatment.
- USPTO trademarks governs brand registration, which decides who may enforce a listing takedown.
- Census retail trade data publishes the official retail and ecommerce sales figures market-size claims are checked against.
This page describes tools and the rules that apply to using them. A seller's own structure, state and marketplace agreements decide what applies to them.