Glossary · Content creators
Form 1040-ES
Form 1040-ES is the IRS form individuals use to figure and pay estimated tax on income that has no tax withheld.
Updated · Sources
Estimated tax for 2026
- $1,000
- of tax still owed after withholding and refundable credits is where the duty to pay estimated tax generally begins.
- Four
- payments are due for 2026, on April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, then January 15, 2027.
- Feb. 1
- is the 2027 date by which you can file your 2026 return and pay in full, and skip the January payment.
A creator platform usually withholds nothing once it has your W-9, so you prepay the tax on your payouts yourself. Self-employment tax counts toward the estimate, along with income tax. A nonresident alien uses Form 1040-ES (NR) instead.
The form holds a worksheet for estimating the year’s tax, plus four payment vouchers. You send a voucher only when you pay by check or money order, and a payment made online needs none. If your income changes during the year, you refigure the estimate on the worksheet and adjust the payments still to come.
You can pay the year’s estimate in four equal amounts, all of it by April 15, or in more than four payments.
If your income arrives late in the year, the annualized income installment method bases each payment on the income earned by then. You file Form 2210 with Schedule AI to use it.
Sources
- IRS, Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals
- 26 U.S.C. § 6654, Failure by individual to pay estimated income tax
Reviewed and updated September 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.