How much do I have to pay in 2026 to avoid an underpayment penalty?
Enough to satisfy any one of three tests for tax year 2026: 90% of what you end up owing this year, 100% of last year’s total tax, or 110% of last year’s tax if your prior-year AGI was above $150,000 ($75,000 filing separately). And no penalty applies at all if the balance left at filing is under $1,000.
United States · federal · tax year 2026 · every figure from an open dataset with its source
The figures
| Test | Amount |
|---|---|
| Of this year’s tax | 90% |
| Of last year’s tax | 100% |
| Of last year’s tax, higher incomes | 110% |
| Prior-year AGI that triggers the higher figure | $150,000 |
| …the same line, filing separately | $75,000 |
| No penalty if the balance left is under | $1,000 |
The prior-year tests are the useful ones, because they are knowable in advance: last year’s tax is a fixed number and this year’s is a guess. Pay 100% of it — or 110% if you are over the income line — in equal instalments by the four due dates, and the penalty cannot apply however much better the year turns out to be.
Two traps sit in one sentence. The AGI that decides between 100% and 110% is last year’s, while the filing status that decides which line you are measured against, $150,000 or $75,000, is this year’s. And a safe harbour protects you from the penalty, not from the bill: meeting it can still leave a large amount to pay in April.
Where these figures come from
Each row below is one line of our open dataset: the primary document the figure was read out of, the date it was read, and a link to the document itself. Nothing here was copied from a summary of a summary.
| constant | basis | source document | verified on |
|---|---|---|---|
est_90_pct_current_year |
statutory | Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals, General Rule 2a | ✓ verified |
est_100_pct_prior_year |
statutory | Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals, General Rule 2b | ✓ verified |
est_110_pct_high_agi |
statutory | Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals, 'Higher income taxpayers' | ✓ verified |
est_de_minimis |
statutory | Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals, General Rule 1 | ✓ verified |
Work out your own
Knowing the limit is half of it. These calculators apply the same figures to your numbers, in your browser, and show the working line by line.
The whole dataset
Every figure on this page, and everything around it, as a table you can read and as CSV and JSON you can download. Public domain, no attribution required.
Nearby answers
This is a reference table, not tax advice. Verify any figure against the linked primary document before relying on it.
