Guide
Quarterly estimated taxes for stylists
Quarterly estimated taxes are the payments you send the IRS during the year when you work for yourself, because nobody withholds tax from your income. They cover income tax and self-employment tax. The 2026 due dates are April 15, June 15, and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. You can pay online for free.
Danny Poledna, founder of ChairBooks ·
Why doesn't anyone take taxes out of my pay?
When you work for a salon as an employee, the salon withholds income tax, Social Security, and Medicare from each paycheck and sends it to the IRS for you. When you rent a booth or a suite, you are the business. Clients pay you directly, nobody withholds anything, and the IRS still expects the tax during the year instead of all at once in April.
The IRS threshold: if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal tax when you file, you generally need to make estimated payments. If your state has an income tax, it probably expects estimated payments of its own.
What is self-employment tax, in plain words?
Self-employment tax is Social Security and Medicare for people who work for themselves. An employee pays half of those taxes and the employer pays the other half. A booth renter is both, so you pay both halves: 15.3 percent, made up of 12.4 percent for Social Security and 2.9 percent for Medicare.
It starts once your net earnings from self-employment reach $400 for the year, and it applies to most of your profit, meaning what's left after business expenses. The Social Security part stops at a yearly earnings cap; the Medicare part has no cap. You deduct half of your self-employment tax when you figure your income tax, and income tax comes on top, at your regular rates.
How much should I set aside for taxes?
A common rule of thumb for self-employed people is to set aside 25 to 30 percent of profit, meaning what's left after business expenses, for federal income tax and self-employment tax together. Set aside more if your state has an income tax. Your real number depends on your total income, your deductions, and your household, so start from the rule of thumb and ask your tax preparer for your figure.
Move the set-aside into a separate savings account every time you get paid, or once a week, so you don't spend it by accident. When a due date arrives, the payment is already sitting there.
When are quarterly taxes due in 2026?
| Payment | Covers income earned | Due |
|---|---|---|
| First | January 1 through March 31, 2026 | April 15, 2026 |
| Second | April 1 through May 31, 2026 | June 15, 2026 |
| Third | June 1 through August 31, 2026 | September 15, 2026 |
| Fourth | September 1 through December 31, 2026 | January 15, 2027 |
The four periods aren't equal: the second covers two months and the fourth covers four. A due date that lands on a weekend or a federal holiday moves to the next business day, and none of the 2026 dates do. You can also pay weekly or monthly, as long as enough has gone in by each due date.
How do I actually pay estimated taxes?
The IRS takes estimated payments several ways. These four are the usual ones, and the three online ones are free:
- IRS Direct Pay. Pay from your checking or savings account on IRS.gov without enrolling. Choose estimated tax as the reason for the payment and 2026 as the tax year.
- Your IRS Online Account. Sign in, make a payment, and see the payments you've already sent in one place.
- EFTPS, the Treasury's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Enrolling takes about a week because the PIN arrives by mail. After that, you can schedule all four payments ahead of time.
- By mail. Send a check with the payment voucher from Form 1040-ES.
Save the confirmation number and the date of each payment. Your tax preparer needs every one of them when you file.
What happens if I miss a quarterly payment?
The IRS charges an underpayment penalty, and it works like interest: a rate the IRS sets each quarter, charged on the amount you were short, for the days it stayed unpaid. Each quarter counts on its own, so a big payment in January doesn't cancel a missed payment from June. If you missed one, pay what you can as soon as you can. The penalty stops growing on whatever you pay.
You generally owe no penalty if you owe less than $1,000 after withholding and credits, or if your payments add up to at least 90 percent of this year's tax or 100 percent of last year's, whichever is smaller. The last-year figure rises to 110 percent if last year's adjusted gross income was more than $150,000. If your income arrives unevenly through the year, your preparer can use the annualized income method on Form 2210 to lower the penalty or remove it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay quarterly taxes in my first year as a booth renter?
Usually, if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year. Two protections help in a first year. If you had no tax liability at all for the previous full year, the IRS doesn't charge an underpayment penalty for this one. And if you worked a W-2 job last year, paying at least 100 percent of last year's tax during this year, or 110 percent at higher incomes, avoids the penalty even if you owe more when you file.
What if I can't pay the full amount by the due date?
Pay what you can by the date, then pay the rest as soon as you can. The penalty applies only to the amount you were short and only for the days it stayed unpaid, so a partial payment on time costs less than a full payment late. Then raise your set-aside so the next quarter isn't short too. If you still owe a balance when you file, the IRS offers payment plans.
Do I pay estimated taxes on tips?
Yes. Tips are part of your self-employment income, so they count toward income tax and self-employment tax, and your estimated payments should cover them. A federal deduction for qualified tips applies to tax years 2025 through 2028 and can lower the income tax on tips, but it doesn't reduce self-employment tax. Record tips separately from service prices so your tax preparer can work out whether yours qualify.
Can I pay estimated taxes monthly instead of quarterly?
Yes. The IRS lets you pay weekly, every two weeks, or monthly, as long as enough has gone in by each quarterly due date. Smaller payments can be easier to keep up with, because each one comes out of a single month's income instead of three. IRS Direct Pay takes a payment whenever you make one, and EFTPS lets you schedule a series of payments ahead of time.
Do I owe state estimated taxes too?
If your state has an income tax, probably. Most states with an income tax expect self-employed people to make estimated payments as well, often on or near the federal dates, though a few set their own schedule and threshold. Your state department of revenue's website lists its form and its dates. States with no personal income tax don't collect estimated income tax from you at all.
What happens to my estimated payments when I file my return?
Your tax preparer adds up every estimated payment you made for the year and subtracts the total from the tax on your return. If you paid more than the tax, you can take the difference as a refund or apply it to next year's first estimated payment. If you paid less, you pay the balance by the April filing deadline. Keep each payment's date, amount, and confirmation number so your totals match the IRS record.
It is a planning guide, not tax advice. ChairBooks does not file anything and does not tell you what you owe — confirm every figure with your tax preparer.