Introduction
The federal income tax is a pay-as-you-go tax.
You must pay the tax as you earn or receive in-
come during the year. There are two ways to
pay as you go.
• Withholding. If you are an employee, your
employer probably withholds income tax
from your pay. In addition, tax may be with-
held from certain other income, such as
pensions, bonuses, commissions, and
gambling winnings. The amount withheld is
paid to the IRS in your name.
• Estimated tax. If you don’t pay your tax
through withholding or don’t pay enough
tax that way, you might have to pay estima-
ted tax. People who are in business for
themselves will generally have to pay their
tax this way. You may have to pay estima-
ted tax if you receive income such as divi-
dends, interest, capital gains, rents, and
royalties. Estimated tax is used to pay not
only income tax but other taxes such as
self-employment tax and alternative mini-
mum tax.
This publication explains both of these meth-
ods. It also explains how to take credit on your
return for the tax that was withheld and for your
estimated tax payments.
If you didn’t pay enough tax during the year,
either through withholding or by making estima-
ted tax payments, you may have to pay a pen-
alty. Generally, the IRS can figure this penalty
for you.
Nonresident aliens. Before completing
Form W-4, nonresident alien employees should
see Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 In-
structions for Nonresident Aliens (Rev. January
2020), which provides nonresident aliens who
are not exempt from withholding instructions for
completing Form W-4, and the Instructions for
Form 8233, Exemption From Withholding on
Compensation for Independent (and Certain
Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident
Alien Individual. Also, see chapter 8 of Pub.
519.
Final regulations on income tax with-
holding. Final regulations on income tax with-
holding were published in the Federal Register
on October 6, 2020 (at 85 FR 63019). The regu-
lations implement changes made by the Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act and reflect the redesigned
withholding certificate (Form W-4). See the reg-
ulations for detailed information on income tax
withholding.
Comments and suggestions. We welcome
your comments about this publication and sug-
gestions for future editions.
You can send us comments through
IRS.gov/FormComments. Or, you can write to
the Internal Revenue Service, Tax Forms and
Publications, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW,
IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224.
Although we can’t respond individually to
each comment received, we do appreciate your
feedback and will consider your comments and
suggestions as we revise our tax forms, instruc-
tions, and publications. Don’t send tax ques-
tions, tax returns, or payments to the above ad-
dress.
Publication 505
Tax
Withholding
and Estimated
Tax
For use in 2026
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Publication 505 (2026) Catalog Number 15008E
Mar 31, 2026 Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov
Getting answers to your tax questions.
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at the end of this publication, go to the IRS In-
teractive Tax Assistant page at IRS.gov/
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tions faster online.
What’s New for 2026
Use your 2025 tax return as a guide in figuring
your 2026 estimated tax, but be sure to
consider the following.
Standard deduction amount increased. For
2026, the standard deduction amount has been
increased for all filers, and the amounts are as
follows.
• Single or Married filing sepa-
rately—$16,100.
• Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving
spouse—$32,200.
• Head of household—$24,150.
Retirement savings contribution credit in-
come limits increased. In order to claim this
credit for 2026, your MAGI must not be more
than $40,250 ($80,500 if Married filing jointly;
$60,375 if Head of household).
Adoption credit or exclusion. The maximum
adoption credit or exclusion for employer-provi-
ded adoption benefits has increased to
$17,670. In order to claim either the credit or ex-
clusion, your MAGI must be less than $305,080.
For 2026, up to $5,120 of the adoption credit is
now refundable. The refundable portion is de-
termined per child.
Changes to QBID. Recent legislation made
the qualified business income deduction (QBID)
permanent. In addition, beginning in 2026, if
you have a minimum of $1,000 in total qualified
business income from an active trade or busi-
ness, you may be able to claim a minimum
QBID of $400. Also, the phase-in range for tax-
payers who are married filing jointly will in-
crease to $150,000 and to $75,000 for all other
filing statuses.
Casualty loss deduction made permanent
and expanded. The deduction for certain per-
sonal casualty losses has been made perma-
nent. In addition, beginning in 2026, a personal
casualty loss deduction can also include losses
associated with a state-declared disaster. For
more information, see the Instructions for Form
4684 and Pub. 547.
Deduction for educator expenses. Begin-
ning in 2026, if you are an eligible educator with
qualifying expenses, you may be able to claim a
deduction for those expenses on Form 1040,
Schedule 1, as well as an itemized deduction
on Schedule A (Form 1040). You will take the
deduction on Schedule 1 (Form 1040) and then
determine the amount of any itemized deduc-
tion you can take on Schedule A. The type of
expenses that qualify for each deduction is
slightly different.
Mortgage insurance premiums. Beginning in
2026, the election to deduct qualified mortgage
insurance premiums paid under a mortgage in-
surance contract issued after December 31,
2006, in connection with a home acquisition
debt that was secured by a first or second home
has been made permanent.
Limit on itemized deductions. For 2026, your
overall itemized deductions may be reduced. If
your taxable income is more than the following
amounts, your itemized deductions will be re-
duced by 5.4% of the lesser of (1) your total
itemized deductions or (2) the amount your tax-
able income is more than the following
amounts.
• $768,700 if Married filing jointly or Qualify-
ing surviving spouse,
• $640,600 if Head of household or Single,
or
• $384,350 if Married filing separately.
The limitation will be applied after any other
applicable limitations on your itemized deduc-
tions and will not apply when figuring any QBID.
Moving expense deduction for members of
the intelligence community. Beginning in
2026, in addition to members of the Armed
Forces, members of the intelligence community
may be able to deduct their moving expenses
on Schedule 1 (Form 1040). For more informa-
tion, see the instructions for Schedule 1 (Form
1040).
Limitation on deductible gambling losses.
Beginning in 2026, your gambling loss deduc-
tion on Schedule A (Form 1040) will be limited
to lesser of (1) 90% of your gambling losses or
(2) your gambling winnings.
Changes to the child and dependent care
credit. For 2026, recent legislation has en-
hanced the credit for qualifying child and de-
pendent care expenses paid for the care of an
eligible child. The credit amount remains $3,000
($6,000 for two or more qualifying children) but
the maximum credit rate has increased from
35% to 50% of your qualifying expenses.
Charitable contribution deduction for
non-itemizers. Beginning in 2026, you can
claim a deduction for cash contributions made
to eligible tax-exempt organizations. You don’t
have to itemize to take the deduction. The maxi-
mum deduction is $1,000 ($2,000 for married
filing jointly) with certain other limitations.
Charitable contribution deduction floor for
itemized deductions. Beginning in 2026, if
you itemize, you can only deduct charitable
contributions that are more than 0.5% of your
adjusted gross income. Any amount that falls
under the 0.5% floor can’t be deducted in 2026.
This limitation is in addition to the overall limit on
itemized deductions.
Expiration of credits. The following credits
have expired and you can no longer claim them
on your return in 2026.
• Credit for energy efficient home improve-
ments.
• Credit for residential clean energy systems.
The credit for alternative refueling property
expires in 2026 for property acquired and
placed in service after June 30, 2026.
SSN required for education credits. Begin-
ning in 2026, a valid social security number is-
sued before the due date of the return (includ-
ing extensions) is required in order to be eligible
to claim the American Opportunity Credit and
Lifetime Learning Credit. If you are claiming the
American Opportunity Credit, you must include
the EIN of the institution to which you paid quali-
fied tuition and related expenses on Form 8863.
Changes to the premium tax credit. Begin-
ning in 2026, the following changes apply to the
premium tax credit.
• If your household income is more than
400% of the federal poverty line, you are
no longer eligible for the premium tax
credit.
• There is no longer a limit on the amount
you will have to pay back if you received
too much in advanced credit; this is true
even if your household income is less than
400% of the federal poverty line.
Changes to information returns for quali-
fied tips. If you received qualified tips in 2026,
these tips should be reported to you as follows.
• Form W-2, box 12, code “TP.”
• Form 1099-MISC, box 13a.
• Form 1099-NEC, box 1b.
• Form 1099-K, box 1c.
The Treasury Tipped Occupation Code(s)
for the occupation in which you earned the
qualified tips should be reported to you as fol-
lows.
• Form W-2, box 14b.
• Form 1099-MISC, box 13b.
• Form 1099-NEC, box 1c.
• Form 1099-K, box 1d.
You can use this information when figuring
your 2026 deduction for qualified tips on Sched-
ule 1-A (Form 1040). Also, see IRS.gov/
TippedOccupations.
Changes to information returns for quali-
fied overtime. If you received qualified over-
time in 2026, the amount should be reported to
you as follows.
• Form W-2, box 12, code “TT.”
• Form 1099-MISC, box 14.
• Form 1099-NEC, box 1d.
You can use this information when figuring
your 2026 deduction for qualified overtime on
Schedule 1-A (Form 1040).
Increase in threshold for backup withhold-
ing. Beginning in 2026, the amount of winnings
subject to backup withholding and information
reporting has increased. If you have winnings of
at least $2,000 from bingo or slot machines,
keno, and certain other gambling winnings, the
payer will withhold a flat 24%.
Reminders
Future developments. The IRS has created a
page on IRS.gov for information about Pub. 505
at IRS.gov/Pub505. Information about any fu-
ture developments affecting Pub. 505 (such as
legislation enacted after we release it) will be
posted on that page.
Social security tax. Generally, each employer
for whom you work during the tax year must
2 Publication 505 (2026)
withhold social security tax up to the annual
limit. The annual limit is $184,500 in 2026.
Form 1040-SS filers. The Estimated Tax
Worksheet for filers of Form 1040-SS is inclu-
ded on the Form 1040-ES. See Form 1040-ES
and its instructions for more information.
Trump account and new Form 4547. Recent
legislation allows parents, guardians, and other
authorized individuals to elect to establish a
new type of individual retirement account,
called a Trump account, for the exclusive benefit
of certain children. If the child was born after
2024 and before 2029, is a U.S. citizen, and
meets certain other requirements, the author-
ized individual may also elect to receive a
$1,000 pilot program contribution to the child’s
Trump account. Both elections can be made on
Form 4547, which can be filed at the same time
as the authorized individual’s 2026 income tax
return. For more information on Trump ac-
counts, and to learn how to make these elec-
tions, see Form 4547 and its instructions.
Expired individual taxpayer identification
number (ITIN) and renewal. If you have an
ITIN that you haven’t included on a tax return in
the last 3 consecutive years, it may be expired
and you may need to renew it. If your ITIN has
expired and you don’t have an SSN, you can
make estimated tax payments before you renew
your ITIN. To renew your ITIN, and for more in-
formation, see the Instructions for Form W-7.
Advance payments of the premium tax
credit. If you buy health insurance through the
Health Insurance Marketplace, you may be eli-
gible to have advance payments of the premium
tax credit paid on your behalf to the insurance
company. Receiving too little or too much in ad-
vance will affect your refund or balance due.
Promptly report changes in your income or fam-
ily size to your Marketplace. See Form 8962
and its instructions for more information.
No tax on tips. You may be eligible to take a
deduction for qualified tips paid to you in 2026.
You can’t deduct more than $25,000 of those
tips. Your deduction will be limited if your modi-
fied adjusted gross income is more than
$150,000 ($300,000 if married filing jointly). To
be eligible, you and/or your spouse who re-
ceived the tips must have a valid SSN. If you are
married, you must file a joint return.
No tax on overtime. If you earned qualified
overtime, you may be eligible to deduct up to
$12,500 ($25,000 if married filing jointly) of your
qualified overtime compensation. Your deduc-
tion will be limited if your modified adjusted
gross income is more than $150,000 ($300,000
if married filing jointly). To be eligible, you and/or
your spouse who received the overtime must
have a valid SSN. If you are married, you must
file a joint return.
No tax on car loan interest. If you paid or ac-
crued qualified passenger vehicle loan interest
in 2026 on a vehicle you purchased after 2024
for personal use, you may be eligible to deduct
up to $10,000 of that interest. Your deduction
will be limited if your modified adjusted gross in-
come is more than $100,000 ($200,000 if mar-
ried filing jointly).
Enhanced deduction for seniors. If you were
born before January 2, 1962, you may be eligi-
ble for an enhanced deduction for seniors. Your
deduction will be limited if your modified adjus-
ted gross income is more than $75,000
($150,000 if married filing jointly). To be eligible,
you and/or your spouse must have a valid SSN.
If you are married, you must file a joint return.
The maximum amount of the deduction is
$6,000 ($12,000 if both spouses are eligible).
State and local tax deduction increased.
The overall limit on the deduction for state and
local income, sales, and property taxes has in-
creased. For 2026, the limit is $40,400 ($20,200
if married filing separately) and the overall limit
is reduced if your modified adjusted gross in-
come is more than $505,000 ($252,500 if mar-
ried filing separately) but will not be reduced be-
low $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing
separately). For more information, see the In-
structions for Schedule A (Form 1040).
Changes to the child tax credit and addi-
tional child tax credit. To be eligible to claim
the child tax credit (CTC) or additional child tax
credit (ACTC), you must have a valid SSN,
which means it must be valid for employment
and issued before the due date of your return
(including extensions). If you are filing a joint re-
turn, only one spouse is required to have a valid
SSN in order to be eligible for the CTC and
ACTC. The other spouse must have either an
SSN or ITIN, and it must have been issued on
or before the due date of the return (including
extensions).
Changes to the adoption credit. In addition
to a portion of the adoption credit being refund-
able, Indian tribal governments now have parity
with state governments in determinations of
special needs adoptions.
Election to pay tax on farmland sale or ex-
change in installments. If you sold or ex-
changed qualified farmland to a qualified
farmer, you can elect to pay the net income tax
liability on the sale or exchange in four equal in-
stallments. For more information, see Form
1062 and its instructions.
Relief from additions to tax for underpay-
ments applicable to an election made under
section 1062. The IRS will waive the portion of
the estimated tax penalty attributable to a quali-
fied sale or exchange of qualified farmland to
qualified farmers for which an election under
section 1062(a) is properly made. Taxpayers
that make an election under section 1062 to de-
fer payment of tax may figure their required esti-
mated tax payments using the guidance in No-
tice 2026-3. See Notice 2026-3, 2026-02 I.R.B.
307, available at IRS.gov/irb/
2026-02_IRB#NOT-2026-3.
Additional Medicare Tax. Generally, a 0.9%
Additional Medicare Tax applies to Medicare
wages, Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensa-
tion, and self-employment income over
$200,000 if you are filing as Single, Head of
household, or Qualifying surviving spouse; over
$250,000 if you are Married filing jointly; and
over $125,000 if you are Married filing sepa-
rately. You may need to include this amount
when figuring your estimated tax. You may also
request that your employer deduct and withhold
an additional amount of income tax withholding
from your wages on Form W-4.
Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). You may
be subject to NIIT. NIIT is a 3.8% tax on the
lesser of net investment income or the excess of
your MAGI over $200,000 ($250,000 if Married
filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse;
$125,000 if Married filing separately). NIIT may
need to be included when figuring estimated
tax. You may also request that your employer
deduct and withhold an additional amount of in-
come tax withholding from your wages on Form
W-4.
Access your online account. Go to IRS.gov/
Account to securely access information about
your federal tax account.
• View the amount you owe and a break-
down by tax year.
• See payment plan details or apply for a
new payment plan.
• Make a payment and view 5 years of pay-
ment history and any pending or sched-
uled payments.
• Access your tax records, including key
data from your most recent tax return, your
economic impact payment amounts, and
transcripts.
• View digital copies of select notices from
the IRS.
• Approve or reject authorization requests
from tax professionals.
• Update your address or manage your com-
munication preferences.
Photographs of missing children. The IRS is
a proud partner with the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC). Pho-
tographs of missing children selected by the
Center may appear in this publication on pages
that would otherwise be blank. You can help
bring these children home by looking at the
photographs and calling 800-THE-LOST
(800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.
1.
Tax Withholding
for 2026
Introduction
This chapter discusses income tax withholding
on:
• Salaries and wages,
• Tips,
• Taxable fringe benefits,
• Sick pay,
• Pensions and annuities,
• Gambling winnings,
• Unemployment compensation, and
• Certain federal payments.
This chapter explains in detail the rules for with-
holding tax from each of these types of income.
The discussion of salaries and wages includes
an explanation of how to complete Form W-4.
This chapter also covers backup withholding
on interest, dividends, and other payments.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 3
Useful Items
You may want to see:
Form (and Instructions)
W-4 Employee’s Withholding Certificate
W-4P Withholding Certificate for Periodic
Pension or Annuity Payments
W-4R Withholding Certificate for
Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible
Rollover Distributions
W-4S Request for Federal Income Tax
Withholding From Sick Pay
W-4V Voluntary Withholding Request
See How To Get Tax Help at the end of this pub-
lication for information about getting these pub-
lications and forms.
Salaries and Wages
Income tax is withheld from the pay of most em-
ployees. Your pay includes your regular pay, bo-
nuses, commissions, and vacation allowances.
It also includes reimbursements and other ex-
pense allowances paid under a nonaccountable
plan. See Supplemental Wages, later, for defini-
tions of accountable and nonaccountable plans.
If your income is low enough that you won’t
have to pay income tax for the year, you may be
exempt from withholding. This is explained un-
der Exemption From Withholding, later.
You can ask your employer to withhold in-
come tax from noncash wages and other wages
not subject to withholding. If your employer
does not agree to withhold tax, or if not enough
is withheld, you may have to pay estimated tax,
as discussed in chapter 2.
Military retirees. Military retirement pay is
treated in the same manner as regular pay for
income tax withholding purposes, even though
it is treated as a pension or annuity for other tax
purposes.
Household workers. If you are a household
worker, you can ask your employer to withhold
income tax from your pay. A household worker
is an employee who performs household work
in a private home, local college club, or local fra-
ternity or sorority chapter.
Tax is withheld only if you want it withheld
and your employer agrees to withhold it. If you
don’t have enough income tax withheld, you
may have to pay estimated tax, as discussed in
chapter 2.
Farmworkers. Generally, income tax is with-
held from your cash wages for work on a farm
unless your employer both:
• Pays you cash wages of less than $150
during the year, and
• Has expenditures for agricultural labor to-
taling less than $2,500 during the year.
Differential wage payments. When employ-
ees are on leave from employment for military
duty, some employers make up the difference
between the military pay and civilian pay. Pay-
ments to an employee who is on active duty for
W-4
W-4P
W-4R
W-4S
W-4V
a period of more than 30 days will be subject to
income tax withholding but not subject to social
security or Medicare taxes. The wages and
withholding will be reported on Form W-2,
Wage and Tax Statement.
Determining Amount of Tax
Withheld Using Form W-4
The amount of income tax your employer with-
holds from your regular pay depends on three
things.
• The amount you earn in each payroll pe-
riod.
• Your payroll period.
• The information you give your employer on
Form W-4.
Form W-4 includes four steps that will give
information to your employer to figure your with-
holding. Complete Steps 2 through 4 only if they
apply to you.
Step 1. Enter your personal information, in-
cluding your anticipated filing status. Your antici-
pated filing status will determine the standard
deduction and tax rates used to figure your
withholding.
Step 2. Complete this step if you (1) hold more
than one job at a time or (2) are married and
plan to file a joint return and your spouse also
works.
If you or your spouse has another job,
complete Steps 3 through 4(b) on only
one Form W-4. Your withholding will be
most accurate if you do this on the Form W-4 for
the highest paying job.
Step 3. Complete this step if you have depend-
ents and think you may be eligible to claim the
child tax credit or credit for other dependents on
your tax return. Also, complete this step if you
want to include an estimate of your other tax
credits (for example, an education credit or the
foreign tax credit).
Step 4. Complete this optional step to make
other adjustments.
• Other income (not from jobs).
• Deductions (other than the basic standard
deduction). Enter amounts on this step if
you want to reduce your withholding to ac-
count for the additional standard deduction
for those age 65 and over, your itemized
deductions, as well as (for example) the
deductions for qualified tips, qualified over-
time compensation, qualified passenger
vehicle loan interest, and/or the enhanced
deduction for seniors.
• Any additional amounts you want to with-
hold from each check.
New Job
When you start a new job, you must fill out a
Form W-4 and give it to your employer. Your
employer should have copies of the form. If you
need to change the information later, you must
fill out a new form.
If you work only part of the year (for exam-
ple, you start working after the beginning of theCAUTION
!
year), too much tax may be withheld. You may
be able to avoid overwithholding if your em-
ployer agrees to use the part-year method. See
Part-Year Method, later, for more information.
Employee also receiving pension income. If
you receive pension or annuity income and be-
gin a new job, you will need to file Form W-4
with your new employer. You should also con-
sider furnishing a new Form W-4P.
Changing Your Withholding
During the year, changes may occur to your
marital status, adjustments, deductions, or
credits you expect to claim on your tax return.
When this happens, you may need to give your
employer a new Form W-4 to change your with-
holding.
If a change in personal circumstances re-
duces the amount of withholding you are enti-
tled to claim, you are required to give your em-
ployer a new Form W-4 within 10 days after the
change occurs.
The following rules apply in determining
whether you are required to furnish a new Form
W-4 to your employer.
Change of status resulting in withholding
less than your tax liability. If you have one of
the changes in the following bullet list and you
won’t have enough tax withheld for the remain-
der of 2026 to cover your income tax liability for
2026, you are required to furnish a new Form
W-4 to your employer within 10 days after the
date of the change.
• Your filing status changes from Married fil-
ing jointly (or Qualifying surviving spouse)
to Head of household or Single (or Married
filing separately) or from Head of house-
hold to Single (or Married filing separately).
• You or your spouse start another job, and
you chose to use the Multiple Jobs Work-
sheet or the Tax Withholding Estimator to
account for your other job in determining
your withholding.
• You or your spouse start another job, and
as a result file a new 2026 Form W-4, and
you or your spouse select the checkbox in
Step 2(c) (in this case, you must furnish a
new Form W-4 for your first job and select
the checkbox in Step 2(c)).
• You or your spouse expect a raise of more
than $10,000 in regular wages (not a bo-
nus) at a second or third job, and the Form
W-4, Step 2(c), checkbox is not selected
on your Forms W-4.
• You no longer expect to be able to claim a
Child Tax Credit you took into account on a
previously furnished Form W-4.
• Your other credits you took into account on
a previously furnished Form W-4 decrease
by more than $500.
• Your deductions decrease by more than
$2,300 from the amount you took into ac-
count on a previously furnished Form W-4.
• You no longer reasonably expect to claim
exemption from withholding.
Change of status resulting in withholding
that will cover your tax liability. If you have a
change of status listed in the previous section,
4 Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
you don’t have to furnish a new Form W-4 for
2026 if after the change you will have enough
tax withheld for the remainder of 2026 to cover
your income tax liability. However, if you will
have enough tax withheld for 2026 to cover your
income tax liability after a change or changes in
status, but your filing status changes from Mar-
ried filing jointly (or Qualifying surviving spouse)
to Head of household or to Single (or Married
filing separately) or from Head of household to
Single (or Married filing separately) during
2026, you are required to furnish your employer
a new Form W-4 for 2027 by December 1,
2026, or, if later, 10 days after the date of the
change in filing status, to take effect in 2027.
Otherwise, if you want to change your with-
holding for any other reason, you can generally
do that whenever you wish. See Table 1-1 for
examples of personal and financial changes
you should consider.
Personal and Financial
Changes
Table 1-1.
Factor Examples
Lifestyle
change
Marriage
Divorce
Birth or adoption of child
Purchase of a new home
Retirement
Filing chapter 11 bankruptcy
Wage income You or your spouse start or
stop working or start or stop a
second job
Change in the
amount of
taxable
income not
subject to
withholding
Interest income
Dividends
Capital gains
Self-employment income
IRA (including certain Roth
IRA) distributions
Change in the
amount of
adjustments to
income
IRA deduction
Student loan interest
deduction
Alimony expense
Change in the
amount of
itemized
deductions or
tax credits
Medical expenses
Taxes
Interest expense
Gifts to charity
Dependent care expenses
Education credit
Child tax credit
Earned income credit
If you change the amount of your withhold-
ing, you can request that your employer with-
hold using the Cumulative Wage Method, later.
Checking Your Withholding
After you have given your employer a Form
W-4, you can check to see whether the amount
of tax withheld from your pay is too much or too
little. If too much or too little tax is being with-
held, you should give your employer a new
Form W-4 to change your withholding. You can
get a blank Form W-4 from your employer or
print the form from IRS.gov.
You can use the Tax Withholding Esti-
mator at IRS.gov/W4App instead of the
worksheets in this publication or inclu-
ded with Form W-4 to determine whether you
need to have your withholding increased or de-
creased.
You should try to have your withholding
match your actual tax liability. If not enough tax
is withheld, you will owe tax at the end of the
year and may have to pay interest and a pen-
alty. If too much tax is withheld, you will lose the
use of that money until you get your refund. Al-
ways check your withholding if there are per-
sonal or financial changes in your life or
changes in the law that might change your tax li-
ability. See Table 1-1 for examples.
Note: You can’t give your employer a pay-
ment to cover federal income tax withholding on
salaries and wages for past pay periods or a
payment for estimated tax.
When Should You Check Your
Withholding?
The earlier in the year you check your withhold-
ing, the easier it is to get the right amount of tax
withheld.
You should check your withholding when
any of the following situations occur.
1. You receive a paycheck stub (statement)
covering a full pay period in 2026 showing
tax withheld based on 2026 tax rates.
2. You prepare your 2025 tax return and get
a:
a. Big refund, or
b. Balance due that is:
i. More than you can comfortably
pay, or
ii. Subject to a penalty.
3. There are changes in your life or financial
situation that affect your tax liability. See
Table 1-1.
4. There are changes in the tax law that af-
fect your tax liability.
How Do You Check Your
Withholding?
You can use the worksheets and tables in this
publication to see if you are having the right
amount of tax withheld. You can also use the
Tax Withholding Estimator at IRS.gov/W4App. If
you use the worksheets and tables in this publi-
cation, follow these steps.
1. Fill out Worksheet 1-3 to project your total
federal income tax liability for 2026.
2. Fill out Worksheet 1-5 to project your total
federal withholding for 2026 and compare
that with your projected tax liability from
Worksheet 1-3.
If you are not having the correct amount of
tax withheld, line 6 of Worksheet 1-5 will show
you how to adjust the amount withheld each
payday. For ways to increase the amount of taxTIP
withheld, see How Do You Increase Your With-
holding, later.
If line 5 of Worksheet 1-5 shows that you are
having more tax withheld than necessary, see
How Do You Decrease Your Withholding, later,
for ways to decrease the amount of tax you
have withheld each payday.
Detailed instructions for completing a new
Form W-4 to adjust your withholding follow
Worksheet 1-5.
How Do You Increase Your
Withholding?
You can increase your withholding by entering
an additional amount that you want withheld
from each paycheck on Form W-4.
Requesting an additional amount be with-
held. You can request that an additional
amount be withheld from each paycheck by en-
tering the additional amount in Step 4(c) of
Form W-4. To see if you should request an addi-
tional amount be withheld, complete Work-
sheets 1-3 and 1-5. Complete a new Form W-4
if the amount on Worksheet 1-5, line 5:
1. Is more than you want to pay with your tax
return or in estimated tax payments
throughout the year, or
2. Would cause you to pay a penalty when
you file your tax return for 2026.
What if I have more than one job or my
spouse also has a job? You are more likely to
need to increase your withholding if you have
more than one job or if you are married filing
jointly and your spouse also works. If this is the
case, you can increase your withholding for one
or more of the jobs.
You can apply the amount on Worksheet
1-5, line 5, to only one job or divide it between
the jobs any way you wish. For each job, deter-
mine the extra amount that you want to apply to
that job and divide that amount by the number
of paydays remaining in 2026 for that job. This
will give you the additional amount to enter on
the Form W-4 you will file for that job. You need
to give your employer a new Form W-4 for each
job for which you are changing your withhold-
ing.
Example. You work in a store and earn
$46,000 a year. Your spouse works in a factory,
earns $68,000 a year, and has 49 pay periods
left. In 2026, you will also have $184 in taxable
interest and $1,000 of other taxable income.
You expect to file a joint income tax return. You
and your spouse complete Worksheets 1-3,
1-4, and 1-5. Line 5 of Worksheet 1-5 shows
that you will owe an additional $4,459 after sub-
tracting your withholding for the year. You can
divide the $4,459 any way you want. You can
enter an additional amount on either of your
Forms W-4 or divide it between the two of you.
You decide to have the additional amount with-
held from your spouse’s wages, so your spouse
enters $91 ($4,459 ÷ 49 remaining paydays) on
their Form W-4 in Step 4(c).
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 5
How Do You Decrease Your
Withholding?
If your completed Worksheets 1-3 and 1-5 show
that you may have more tax withheld than your
projected tax liability for 2026, you may be able
to decrease your withholding by following the in-
structions in Worksheet 1-5.
Tax Credits
Table 1-2 shows many of the tax credits you
may be able to use to decrease your withhold-
ing. For a complete list of credits you may be
able to claim, see the 2025 Instructions for
Form 1040.
Step 3 of Form W-4 provides instructions for
determining the amount of the child tax credit
and the credit for other dependents. You can
also include other tax credits in Step 3 of Form
W-4. To do so, complete Worksheet 1-6 and
add the amount from line 11 of that worksheet
to the amount you are entering for other de-
pendents in Step 3 of Form W-4. Including
these credits will increase your paycheck and
reduce the amount of any refund you may re-
ceive when you file your tax return.
When Will Your New Form W-4 Go
Into Effect?
If the change is for the current year, your em-
ployer must put your new Form W-4 into effect
no later than the start of the first payroll period
ending on or after the 30th day after the day on
which you give your employer your revised
Form W-4.
If the change is for next year, your new Form
W-4 won’t take effect until next year.
Form W-4P
When you first began receiving your pension,
you told the payer how much tax to withhold, if
any, by completing Form W-4P, Withholding
Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments (or
similar form). However, if your retirement pay is
from the military or certain deferred compensa-
tion plans, you completed Form W-4 instead of
Form W-4P. You completed either form based
on your projected income at that time. If you are
returning to the workforce, your new Form W-4
(given to your employer) and your Form W-4 or
W-4P (on file with your pension plan) must work
together to determine the correct amount of
withholding for your new amount of income.
Form W-4P includes four steps that will give
information to the payer of your pension or an-
nuity for how to figure your withholding. Com-
plete Steps 2 through 4 only if they apply to you.
Step 1. Enter your personal information, in-
cluding your anticipated filing status. Your antici-
pated filing status will determine the standard
deduction and tax rates used to figure your
withholding.
Step 2. Complete this step if you (1) have in-
come from a job or more than one pension/
annuity and/or (2) are married filing jointly and
your spouse receives income from a job or a
pension/annuity.
If you (or if married filing jointly, you
and/or your spouse) have a job(s),
don’t complete Steps 3 through 4b on
Form W-4P. Instead, complete Steps 3 through
4b on the Form W-4 for the job. If you (or if mar-
ried filing jointly, you and your spouse) don’t
have a job, complete Steps 3 through 4b on
Form W-4P for only the pension or annuity that
pays the most annually. Leave those steps
blank for the other pensions or annuities.CAUTION
!
Step 3. Complete this step if you have depend-
ents and think you may be eligible to claim the
child tax credit or credit for other dependents on
your tax return. Also, complete this step if you
want to include an estimate of your other tax
credits (for example, an education credit or the
foreign tax credit).
Step 4. Complete this step to make other ad-
justments.
• Other estimated income (Step 4a).
• Deductions (other than the basic standard
deduction) you expect to claim. Enter
amounts on this step if you want to reduce
your withholding to account for the addi-
tional standard deduction for those age 65
and over, your itemized deductions, as well
as (for example) the deductions for quali-
fied tips, qualified overtime compensation,
qualified passenger vehicle loan interest,
the enhanced deduction for seniors. Use
the Step 4(b)—Deductions Worksheet in
the instructions for Form W-4P to help you
determine the amount to enter on line 4b.
• Any additional amounts you want to with-
hold from each payment (Step 4c).
Note: If you don’t give Form W-4P to your
payer, you don’t provide an SSN, or the IRS no-
tifies the payer that you gave an incorrect SSN,
then the payer will withhold tax from your pay-
ments as if your filing status is Single with no
adjustments in Steps 2 through 4. For payments
that began before 2026, your current withhold-
ing election (or your default rate) remains in ef-
fect unless you submit a new Form W-4P.
And remember, this isn’t a final decision. If
you don’t get the correct amount of withholding
with the first Forms W-4 and W-4P you submit,
you should refigure your withholding using the
information and worksheets in this publication
or the resources mentioned above.
You should go through this same process
each time your life situation changes, whether it
Table 1-2. Tax Credits for 2026
For more information about the... See...
Adoption credit, including the refundable portion Instructions for Form 8839
Credit for child and dependent care expenses Pub. 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses
Child tax credit (including the additional child tax credit) 2025 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040)
Credit for other dependents 2025 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040)
Earned income credit Pub. 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC)
Education credits Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education
Credit for the elderly or the disabled Pub. 524, Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled
Foreign tax credit (except any credit that applies to wages not subject to
U.S. income tax withholding because they are subject to income tax
withholding by a foreign country)
Pub. 514, Foreign Tax Credit for Individuals
General business credit Form 3800, General Business Credit
Mortgage interest credit Pub. 530, Tax Information for Homeowners
Qualified electric vehicle credit Form 8834
Credit for prior year minimum tax (if you paid alternative minimum tax in an
earlier year)
Instructions for Form 8801
Retirement savings contributions credit (saver’s credit) Pub. 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
Credit to holders of tax credit bonds Instructions for Form 8912
Premium tax credit Pub. 974, Premium Tax Credit (PTC)
6 Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
be for personal or financial reasons. You may
need more tax withheld, or you may need less.
Getting the Right Amount
of Tax Withheld
In most situations, the tax withheld from your
pay will be close to the tax you figure on your re-
turn if you follow these two rules.
• You accurately complete all the Form W-4
worksheets that apply to you.
• You give your employer a new Form W-4
when changes occur.
But because the worksheets and withhold-
ing methods don’t account for all possible situa-
tions, you may not be getting the right amount
withheld. This is most likely to happen in the fol-
lowing situations.
• You are married and both you and your
spouse work.
• You have more than one job at a time.
• You have nonwage income, such as inter-
est, dividends, alimony, or unemployment
compensation.
• You will owe additional amounts with your
return.
• Your withholding is based on obsolete
Form W-4 information for a substantial part
of the year.
• You work only part of the year.
• You change the amount of your withholding
during the year.
• You are subject to Additional Medicare Tax
or NIIT. If you anticipate liability for Addi-
tional Medicare Tax or NIIT, you may re-
quest that your employer withhold an addi-
tional amount of income tax withholding on
Form W-4.
If any of these situations apply to you, you
can use the Tax Withholding Estimator at
IRS.gov/W4App to see if you need to change
your withholding.
If you have self-employment income or owe
self-employment tax, you should use the work-
sheets in this publication to determine if you
should pay estimated tax.
Part-Year Method
If you work only part of the year and your em-
ployer agrees to use the part-year withholding
method, less tax will be withheld from each
wage payment than would be withheld if you
worked all year. To be eligible for the part-year
method, you must meet both of the following re-
quirements.
• You must use the calendar year (the 12
months from January 1 through December
31) as your tax year. You can’t use a fiscal
year.
• You must not expect to be employed for
more than 245 days during the year. To fig-
ure this limit, count all calendar days that
you are employed (including weekends,
vacations, and sick days) beginning with
the first day you are on the job for pay and
ending with your last day of work. If you are
temporarily laid off for 30 days or less,
count those days too. If you are laid off for
more than 30 days, don’t count those days.
You won’t meet this requirement if you
begin working before May 1 and expect to
work for the rest of the year.
How to apply for the part-year method. You
must ask your employer in writing to use this
method. The request must state all three of the
following.
• The date of your last day of work for any
prior employer during the current calendar
year.
• That you don’t expect to be employed
more than 245 days during the current cal-
endar year.
• That you use the calendar year as your tax
year.
Cumulative Wage Method
If you change your withholding during the year,
too much or too little tax may have been with-
held for the period before you made the change.
You may be able to compensate for this if your
employer agrees to use the cumulative wage
withholding method for the rest of the year. You
must ask your employer in writing to use this
method.
To be eligible, your payroll periods (weekly,
biweekly, etc.) must have been the same since
the beginning of the year.
Aids for Figuring Your Withholding
Tax Withholding Estimator. If you are con-
cerned that you may be having too much or too
little income tax withheld from your pay, the IRS
provides a withholding estimator on its website.
Go to IRS.gov/W4App. It can help you deter-
mine the correct amount to be withheld any time
during the year.
Rules Your Employer
Must Follow
It may be helpful for you to know some of the
withholding rules your employer must follow.
These rules can affect how to fill out your Form
W-4 and how to handle problems that may
arise.
New Form W-4. When you start a new job,
your employer should give you a Form W-4 to fill
out. Beginning with your first payday, your em-
ployer will use the information you give on the
form to figure your withholding.
If you later fill out a new Form W-4, your em-
ployer can put it into effect as soon as possible.
The deadline for putting it into effect is the start
of the first payroll period ending 30 or more
days after you turn it in.
No Form W-4. If you don’t give your employer
a Form W-4, your employer should treat you as
though you checked the box for “Single” or
“Married filing separately” in Step 1(c) and
made no entries in Step 2, Step 3, or Step 4 of
the 2026 Form W-4.
Repaying withheld tax. If you find you are
having too much tax withheld because you
didn’t account for all your dependents or deduc-
tions you are entitled to, you should give your
employer a new Form W-4. Your employer can’t
repay any of the tax previously withheld. In-
stead, claim the full amount withheld when you
file your tax return.
However, if your employer has withheld
more than the correct amount of tax for the
Form W-4 you have in effect, you don’t have to
fill out a new Form W-4 to have your withholding
lowered to the correct amount. Your employer
can repay the amount that was withheld incor-
rectly. If you are not repaid, your Form W-2 will
reflect the full amount actually withheld, which
you would claim when you file your tax return.
IRS review of your withholding. Your with-
holding or any claim for a complete exemption
from withholding is subject to review by the IRS.
Your employer may be required to send a copy
of the Form W-4 to the IRS. There is a penalty
for supplying false information on Form W-4.
See Penalties, later.
If the IRS determines that you have oversta-
ted your withholding or can’t claim a complete
exemption from withholding, the IRS will issue a
notice that specifies the withholding arrange-
ment permitted for the employee (commonly re-
ferred to as a “lock-in letter”) to both you and
your employer.
The IRS will provide a period of time during
which you can dispute the determination before
your employer adjusts your withholding. If you
believe that you are entitled to claim complete
exemption from withholding or that the IRS de-
termination was otherwise incorrect, you must
submit a new Form W-4 and a written statement
to support your claims made on Form W-4 that
would decrease federal income tax withholding
to the IRS. Contact information (a toll-free num-
ber and an IRS office address) will be provided
in the lock-in letter. At the end of this period, if
you haven’t responded or if your response isn’t
adequate, your employer will be required to
withhold based on the original lock-in letter.
After the lock-in letter takes effect, your em-
ployer must withhold tax on the basis of the
withholding rate (marital status) and maximum
withholding specified in that letter.
If you later believe that you are entitled to
claim exemption from withholding or otherwise
adjust your withholding, you can complete a
new Form W-4 and a written statement to sup-
port the claims made on the Form W-4 and
send them directly to the IRS address shown on
the lock-in letter. Your employer must continue
to figure your withholding on the basis previ-
ously determined by the IRS until the IRS advi-
ses your employer otherwise.
At any time, either before or after the lock-in
letter becomes effective, you may give your em-
ployer a new Form W-4 that does not claim
complete exemption from withholding and re-
sults in more income tax withheld than specified
in the lock-in letter. Your employer must then
withhold tax based on this new Form W-4.
Additional information is available at
IRS.gov. Enter ‘withholding compliance
questions’ in the search box.
Exemption From Withholding
If you claim exemption from withholding, your
employer won’t withhold federal income tax
from your wages. The exemption applies only to
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 7
income tax, not to social security or Medicare
tax.
You can claim exemption from withholding
for 2026 only if both of the following situations
apply.
• For 2025, you had a right to a refund of all
federal income tax withheld because you
had no tax liability.
• For 2026, you expect a refund of all federal
income tax withheld because you expect to
have no tax liability.
Use Figure 1-A to help you decide whether
you can claim exemption from withholding.
Don’t use Figure 1-A if you:
• Are 65 or older,
• Are blind,
• Will itemize deductions on your 2026 re-
turn, or
• Will claim any tax credits on your 2026 re-
turn.
These situations are discussed later.
Students. If you are a student, you are not au-
tomatically exempt. If you work only part time or
during the summer, you may qualify for exemp-
tion from withholding.
Example 1. You are a high school student
and expect to earn $2,500 from a summer job.
You don’t expect to have any other income dur-
ing the year, and your parents will be able to
claim you as a dependent on their tax return.
You worked last summer and had $375 federal
income tax withheld from your pay. The entire
$375 was refunded when you filed your 2025 re-
turn. Using Figure 1-A, you find that you can
claim exemption from withholding.
Example 2. The facts are the same as in
Example 1, except that you also have a savings
account and expect to have $475 interest in-
come during the year. Using Figure 1-A, you
find that you can’t claim exemption from with-
holding because your unearned income will be
more than $450 and your total income will be
more than $1,350.
You may have to file a tax return, even if
you are exempt from withholding. See
Pub. 501 to see whether you must file a
return.CAUTION
!Figure 1-A. Exemption From Withholding on Form W-4
For 2025, did you have a
right to a refund of ALL
federal income tax withheld
because you had NO tax
liability?
For 2026, will
someone (such as
your parent) be able
to claim you as a
dependent?
Will your 2026 income
be more than $1,350?
Will your 2026 income
include more than $450
of unearned income
(interest, dividends, etc.)?
You CAN’T claim
exemption from
withholding.
You CAN claim
exemption from
withholding.
You CAN’T claim
exemption from
withholding.
Will your 2026 total income be more than the amount shown below for
your filing status?
Single
Head of household
Married filing separately for
Other married status (include BOTH
spouses’ income whether filing
separately or jointly)
Qualifying surviving spouse
$16,100
Note: Don’t use this chart if you are 65 or older or blind, or if you will itemize your deductions or claim tax credits. Instead, see
the discussions in this chapter under Exemption From Withholding. If none of these situations apply to you, but you have
adjustments to income, use the 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet.
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
Start Here
Will your 2026 total income be
$16,100 or less? Yes
No
24,150
16,100
32,200
32,200
BOTH 2025 and 2026
8 Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Age 65 or older or blind. If you are 65
or older or blind, use Worksheet 1-1 or
Worksheet 1-2 to help you decide
whether you can claim exemption from with-
holding. Don’t use either worksheet if you will
itemize deductions or claim tax credits on your
2026 return. Instead, see Itemizing deductions
or claiming credits next.
Itemizing deductions or claiming credits. If
you had no tax liability for 2025, and you will:
• Itemize deductions, or
• Claim a tax credit,
use Worksheet 2-1 (also, see chapter 2) to fig-
ure your 2026 expected tax liability. You can
claim exemption from withholding only if your to-
tal expected tax liability (line 11c of the work-
sheet) is zero.
Claiming exemption from withholding. To
claim exemption, you must give your employer a
Form W-4. Check the box on the form in the
space marked “Exempt from withholding” below
Step 4(c) and complete Steps 1(a), 1(b), and 5.
Don’t complete any other steps.
If you claim exemption but later your situa-
tion changes so that you will have to pay in-
come tax after all, you must file a new Form W-4
within 10 days after the change. If you claim ex-
emption in 2026 but you expect to owe income
tax for 2027, you must file a new Form W-4 by
December 1, 2026.
Your claim of exempt status may be re-
viewed by the IRS. See IRS review of your with-
holding, earlier.
An exemption is good for only 1 year.
You must give your employer a new Form W-4
by February 15 each year to continue your ex-
emption.
Supplemental Wages
Supplemental wages include bonuses, commis-
sions, overtime pay, vacation allowances, cer-
tain sick pay, and expense allowances under
certain plans. The payer can figure withholding
on supplemental wages using the same method
used for your regular wages. However, if these
payments are identified separately from regular
wages, your employer or other payer of supple-
mental wages can withhold income tax from
these wages at a 22% flat rate under certain cir-
cumstances, as explained in the section on sup-
plemental wages in Pub. 15.
Expense allowances. Reimbursements or
other expense allowances paid by your em-
ployer under a nonaccountable plan are treated
as supplemental wages. A nonaccountable plan
is a reimbursement arrangement that does not
require you to account for or prove your busi-
ness expenses to your employer or does not re-
quire you to return your employer’s payments
that are more than your proven expenses.
Reimbursements or other expense allowan-
ces paid under an accountable plan that are
more than your proven expenses are treated as
paid under a nonaccountable plan if you don’t
return the excess payments within a reasonable
period of time.
Accountable plan. To be an accountable plan,
your employer’s reimbursement or allowance ar-
rangement must include all three of the follow-
ing rules.
• Your expenses must have a business con-
nection. That is, you must have paid or in-
curred deductible expenses while perform-
ing services as an employee of your
employer.
• You must adequately account to your em-
ployer for these expenses within a reason-
able period of time.
• You must return any excess reimbursement
or allowance within a reasonable period of
time.
An excess reimbursement or allowance is
any amount you are paid that is more than the
business-related expenses that you adequately
accounted for to your employer.
The definition of reasonable period of time
depends on the facts and circumstances of your
situation. However, regardless of those facts
and circumstances, actions that take place
within the times specified in the following list will
be treated as taking place within a reasonable
period of time.
• You receive an advance within 30 days of
the time you have an expense.
• You adequately account for your expenses
within 60 days after they were paid or in-
curred.
• You return any excess reimbursement
within 120 days after the expense was paid
or incurred.
• You are given a periodic statement (at least
quarterly) that asks you to either return or
adequately account for outstanding advan-
ces and you comply within 120 days of the
statement.
Nonaccountable plan. Any plan that does not
meet the definition of an accountable plan is
considered a nonaccountable plan.
For more information about accountable and
nonaccountable plans, see chapter 6 of Pub.
463.
Penalties
You may have to pay a penalty of $500 if both of
the following apply.
• You make statements on your Form W-4
that reduce the amount of tax withheld.
• You have no reasonable basis for those
statements at the time you prepare your
Form W-4.
There is also a criminal penalty for willfully
supplying false or fraudulent information on your
Form W-4 or for willfully failing to supply infor-
mation that would increase the amount with-
held. The penalty upon conviction can be either
a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to
1 year or both.
These penalties will apply if you deliberately
and knowingly falsify your Form W-4 in an at-
tempt to reduce or eliminate the proper with-
holding of taxes. A simple error or an honest
mistake won’t result in one of these penalties.
Tips
The tips you receive while working on your job
are considered part of your pay. You must in-
clude your tips on your tax return on the same
line as your regular pay. However, tax isn’t with-
held directly from tip income, as it is from your
regular pay. Nevertheless, your employer will
take into account the tips you report when figur-
ing how much to withhold from your regular pay.
Beginning January 1, 2026, an em-
ployer will use an employee’s updated
2026 Form W-4, if one is submitted by
the employee, and the federal income tax with-
holding procedures in Pub. 15-T to allow em-
ployees to account for their expected deduction
and receive more money in each paycheck in-
stead of waiting until filing their Form 1040 or
1040-SR to receive the benefit of this deduc-
tion.
Reporting tips to your employer. If you re-
ceive tips of $20 or more in a month while work-
ing for any one employer, you must report to
your employer the total amount of tips you re-
ceive on the job during the month. The report is
due by the 10th day of the following month.
If you have more than one job, make a sepa-
rate report to each employer. Report only the
tips you received while working for that em-
ployer and only if they total $20 or more for the
month.
How employer figures amount to withhold.
The tips you report to your employer are coun-
ted as part of your income for the month you re-
port them. Your employer can figure your with-
holding in either of two ways.
• By withholding at the regular rate on the
sum of your pay plus your reported tips.
• By withholding at the regular rate on your
pay plus a percentage of your reported
tips.
Not enough pay to cover taxes. If your regu-
lar pay isn’t enough for your employer to with-
hold all the tax (including income tax and social
security and Medicare taxes (or the equivalent
railroad retirement tax)) due on your pay plus
your tips, you can give your employer money to
cover the shortage.
If you don’t give your employer money to
cover the shortage, your employer first with-
holds as much Medicare tax and social security
or railroad retirement tax as possible, up to the
proper amount, and then withholds income tax
up to the full amount of your pay. If not enough
tax is withheld, you may have to pay estimated
tax. When you file your return, you may also
have to pay any Medicare and social security
tax or railroad retirement tax your employer
could not withhold.
Tips not reported to your employer. On your
tax return, you must report all the tips you re-
ceive during the year, even tips you don’t report
to your employer (this includes the value of any
noncash tips you received, such as tickets,
passes, or other items of value). Make sure you
are having enough tax withheld or are payingTIP
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 9
enough estimated tax (see chapter 2), to cover
all your tip income.
Allocated tips. If you work in a large food or
beverage establishment, your employer may
have to report an allocated amount of tips on
your Form W-2.
Your employer should not withhold income
tax, Medicare tax, and social security or railroad
retirement tax on the allocated amount. With-
holding is based only on your pay plus your re-
ported tips. Your employer should refund to you
any incorrectly withheld tax.
How your tips are reported. Beginning in
2026, your Form(s) W-2 should have your quali-
fied tip income separately reported in box 12,
code TP. In addition, your Form(s) W-2, box 14b
should include the relevant Treasury Tipped Oc-
cupation Code for the occupation in which you
earned the tips. If you receive a Form
1099-MISC, tips should be reported in box 13a,
Form 1099-NEC, box 1b, and Form 1099-K,
box 1c.
More information. For more information on
the reporting and withholding rules for tip in-
come and on tip allocation, see Pub. 531.
Taxable Fringe Benefits
The value of certain noncash fringe benefits you
receive from your employer is considered part
of your pay. Your employer must generally with-
hold income tax on these benefits from your
regular pay.
Although the value of your personal use of
an employer-provided car, truck, or other high-
way motor vehicle is taxable, your employer can
choose not to withhold income tax on that
amount. Your employer must notify you if this
choice is made.
When benefits are considered paid. Your
employer can choose to treat a fringe benefit as
paid by the pay period, by the quarter, or on
some other basis as long as the benefit is con-
sidered paid at least once a year. Your employer
can treat the benefit as being paid on one or
more dates during the year, even if you get the
entire benefit at one time.
Special rule. Your employer can choose to
treat a benefit provided during November or De-
cember as paid in the next year. Your employer
must notify you if this rule is used.
Example. Your employer considers the
value of benefits paid from November 1, 2024,
through October 31, 2025, as paid to you in
2025. To determine the total value of benefits
paid to you in 2026, your employer will add the
value of any benefits paid in November and De-
cember of 2025 to the value of any benefits paid
in January through October of 2026.
Exceptions. Your employer can’t choose
when to withhold tax on the transfer of either
real property or personal property of a kind nor-
mally held for investment (such as stock). Your
employer must withhold tax on these benefits at
the time of the transfer.
How withholding is figured. Your employer
can either add the value of a fringe benefit to
your regular pay and figure income tax withhold-
ing on the total or withhold a flat 22% of the
benefit’s value.
If the benefit’s actual value can’t be deter-
mined when it is paid or treated as paid, your
employer can use a reasonable estimate. Your
employer must determine the actual value of the
benefit by January 31 of the next year. If the ac-
tual value is more than the estimate, your em-
ployer must pay the IRS any additional with-
holding tax required. Your employer has until
April 1 of that next year to recover from you the
additional income tax paid to the IRS for you.
How your employer reports your benefits.
Your employer must report on Form W-2 the to-
tal of the taxable fringe benefits paid or treated
as paid to you during the year and the tax with-
held for the benefits. These amounts can be
shown either on the Form W-2 for your regular
pay or on a separate Form W-2. If your em-
ployer provided you with a car, truck, or other
motor vehicle and chose to treat all of your use
of it as personal, its value must be either sepa-
rately shown on Form W-2 or reported to you on
a separate statement.
More information. For information on fringe
benefits, see Fringe Benefits under Employee
Compensation in Pub. 525.
Sick Pay
Sick pay is a payment to you to replace your
regular wages while you are temporarily absent
from work due to sickness or personal injury. To
qualify as sick pay, it must be paid under a plan
to which your employer is a party.
If you receive sick pay from your employer or
an agent of your employer, income tax must be
withheld. An agent who does not pay regular
wages to you may choose to withhold income
tax at a flat rate.
However, if you receive sick pay from a third
party who isn’t acting as an agent of your em-
ployer, income tax will be withheld only if you
choose to have it withheld. See Form W-4S,
later.
If you receive payments under a plan in
which your employer does not participate (such
as an accident or health plan where you paid all
the premiums), the payments are not sick pay
and are usually not taxable.
Union agreements. If you receive sick pay un-
der a collective bargaining agreement between
your union and your employer, the agreement
may determine the amount of income tax with-
holding. See your union representative or your
employer for more information.
Form W-4S. If you choose to have income tax
withheld from sick pay paid by a third party,
such as an insurance company, you must fill out
Form W-4S. Its instructions contain a worksheet
you can use to figure the amount you want with-
held. They also explain restrictions that may ap-
ply.
Give the completed form to the payer of your
sick pay. The payer must withhold according to
your directions on the form.
Form W-4S remains in effect until you
change or cancel it, or stop receiving payments.
You can change your withholding by giving a
new Form W-4S or a written notice to the payer
of your sick pay.
Estimated tax. If you don’t request withholding
on Form W-4S or if you don’t have enough tax
withheld, you may have to pay estimated tax. If
you don’t pay enough tax, either through esti-
mated tax or withholding, or a combination of
both, you may have to pay a penalty. See chap-
ter 2.
Pensions and Annuities
Income tax will usually be withheld from your
pension or annuity distributions unless you
choose not to have it withheld. This rule applies
to distributions from:
• An IRA;
• A life insurance company under an endow-
ment, annuity, or life insurance contract;
• A pension, annuity, or profit-sharing plan;
• A stock bonus plan; and
• Any other plan that defers the time you re-
ceive compensation.
The amount withheld depends on whether
you receive payments spread out over more
than 1 year (periodic payments), within 1 year
(nonperiodic payments), or as an eligible roll-
over distribution (ERD). Income tax withholding
from an ERD is mandatory. ERDs are discussed
under Eligible Rollover Distributions, later.
Nontaxable part. The part of your pension or
annuity that is a return of your investment in
your retirement plan (the amount you paid into
the plan or its cost to you) isn’t taxable. Income
tax won’t be withheld from the part of your pen-
sion or annuity that isn’t taxable. The tax with-
held will be figured on, and can’t be more than,
the taxable part.
For information about figuring the part of
your pension or annuity that isn’t taxable, see
Pub. 575.
Periodic Payments
Withholding from periodic payments of a pen-
sion or annuity is figured similarly to withholding
from certain salaries and wages. To tell the
payer of your pension or annuity how much you
want withheld, fill out Form W-4P or a similar
form provided by the payer. Follow instructions
for Form W-4P and the rules discussed under
Form W-4P, earlier, to fill out your 2026 Form
W-4P.
Note: Use Form W-4, not Form W-4P, if you
receive any of the following.
• Military retirement pay.
• Payments from certain nonqualified defer-
red compensation plans. These are em-
ployer plans that pay part of your compen-
sation at a later time but are not
tax-qualified deferred compensation plans.
See Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
and Section 457 Plans in Pub. 957.
10 Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Withholding rules. The withholding rules for
pensions and annuities differ from those for sal-
aries and wages in the following ways.
• If a 2026 Form W-4P is used for withhold-
ing for payments beginning in 2026, and
you don’t fill out a withholding certificate,
tax will be withheld as if your filing status is
Single with no adjustments made in Steps
2 through 4.
• You can choose not to have tax withheld,
regardless of how much tax you owed last
year or expect to owe this year. You don’t
have to qualify for exemption. See Choos-
ing Not To Have Income Tax Withheld,
later.
• If a 2026 Form W-4P is used for withhold-
ing for payments beginning in 2026, and
you don’t give the payer your SSN in the
required manner or the IRS notifies the
payer before any payment or distribution is
made that you gave an incorrect SSN, tax
will be withheld as if your filing status is
Single with no adjustments in Steps 2
through 4. For payments that began before
2026, your current withholding election (or
your default rate) remains in effect unless
you submit a new Form W-4P.
Effective date of withholding certificate. If
you give your withholding certificate (Form
W-4P or a similar form) to the payer on or before
the date your payments start, it will be put into
effect by the first payment made more than 30
days after you submit the certificate.
If you give the payer your certificate after
your payments start, it will be put into effect with
the first payment, which is at least 30 days after
you submit it. However, the payer can elect to
put it into effect earlier.
Nonperiodic Payments
Tax will be withheld at a flat 10% rate on any
nonperiodic payments you receive, unless you
choose a different withholding rate.
Use Form W-4R, line 2, to choose a with-
holding rate other than the default 10% rate.
You can choose a rate between 0% and 100%.
You can choose to have no federal income tax
withheld by entering “-0-” on line 2. Generally,
you can’t choose less than 10% for payments to
be delivered outside of the United States and its
territories. If you want to revoke a choice not to
have tax withheld, see Choosing Not To Have
Income Tax Withheld, later.
You may need to use Form W-4R to
ask for additional withholding. If you
don’t have enough tax withheld, you
may need to pay estimated tax, as explained in
chapter 2.
Eligible Rollover
Distributions
Distributions you receive from qualified retire-
ment plans (for example, 401(k) plans and sec-
tion 457(b) plans maintained by a governmental
employer) or tax-sheltered annuities that are eli-
gible to be rolled over to an IRA or qualified plan
are subject to a 20% default rate of withholding
on the taxable amount of the distribution. YouCAUTION
!
can’t choose withholding at a rate of less than
20% (including “-0-”). Note that the default rate
of withholding may be too low for your tax situa-
tion. You may choose to enter a rate higher than
20% on Form W-4R, line 2. Don’t give Form
W-4R to your payer unless you want more than
20% withheld.
Note that the following payments are not eli-
gible rollover distributions for purposes of these
withholding rules:
• Qualifying “hardship” distributions;
• Distributions required by federal law, such
as required minimum distributions;
• Generally, distributions from a pen-
sion-linked emergency savings account;
• Eligible distributions to a domestic abuse
victim;
• Qualified disaster recovery distributions;
• Qualified birth or adoption distributions;
and
• Emergency personal expense distribu-
tions.
Choosing Not To Have
Income Tax Withheld
For payments other than eligible rollover distri-
butions, you can choose not to have income tax
withheld. The payer will tell you how to make
this choice. If you use Form W-4R, enter “-0-”
on line 2 to choose not to have withholding. This
choice will remain in effect until you decide you
want withholding and inform the payer. See Re-
voking a choice not to have tax withheld, later.
The payer must withhold if either of the fol-
lowing applies.
• You don’t give the payer your SSN in the
required manner.
• The IRS notifies the payer, before any pay-
ment or distribution is made, that you gave
it an incorrect SSN.
If you don’t have any income tax withheld
from your pension or annuity, or if you don’t
have enough withheld, you may have to pay es-
timated tax. See chapter 2.
If you don’t pay enough tax, either through
estimated tax or withholding, or a combination
of both, you may have to pay a penalty.
Payments delivered outside the United
States. You must generally have tax withheld
from pension or annuity benefits delivered out-
side the United States. However, if you are a
U.S. citizen or resident alien, you can choose
not to have tax withheld if you give the payer of
the benefits a home address in the United
States or in a U.S. territory. The payer must
withhold tax if you provide a U.S. address for a
nominee, trustee, or agent to whom the benefits
are to be delivered, but don’t provide your own
home address in the United States or in a U.S.
territory.
Notice required of payer. The payer of your
pension or annuity must send you a notice tell-
ing you about your right to choose not to have
tax withheld.
Generally, the payer won’t send a notice to
you if it is reasonable to believe that the entire
amount you will be paid isn’t taxable.
Revoking a choice not to have tax withheld.
The payer of your pension or annuity will tell you
how to revoke your choice not to have income
tax withheld from periodic or nonperiodic pay-
ments. You can tell the payer exactly how much
to withhold by completing a new Form W-4P for
periodic payments or Form W-4R for nonperi-
odic payments.
Gambling Winnings
Income tax is withheld at a flat 24% rate from
certain kinds of gambling winnings.
Gambling winnings of more than $5,000
from the following sources are subject to in-
come tax withholding.
• Any sweepstakes; wagering pool, including
payments made to winners of poker tour-
naments; or lottery.
• Any other wager if the proceeds are at
least 300 times the amount of the bet.
It does not matter whether your winnings are
paid in cash, in property, or as an annuity. Win-
nings not paid in cash are taken into account at
their fair market value.
Exception. Gambling winnings from bingo,
keno, and slot machines are generally not sub-
ject to income tax withholding. However, you
may need to provide the payer with an SSN to
avoid withholding. See Backup withholding on
gambling winnings, later. If you receive gam-
bling winnings not subject to withholding, you
may need to pay estimated tax. See chapter 2.
If you don’t pay enough tax, either through
withholding or estimated tax, or a combination
of both, you may have to pay a penalty.
Form W-2G. If a payer withholds income tax
from your gambling winnings, you should re-
ceive a Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Win-
nings, showing the amount you won and the
amount withheld.
Report the tax withheld on your 2026 Form
1040 or 1040-SR, along with all other federal in-
come tax withheld, as shown on Forms W-2
and 1099.
Information to give payer. If the payer asks,
you must give the payer all the following infor-
mation.
• Your name, address, and SSN.
• Whether you made identical wagers (ex-
plained below).
• Whether someone else is entitled to any
part of the winnings subject to withholding.
If so, you must complete Form 5754, State-
ment by Person(s) Receiving Gambling
Winnings, and return it to the payer. The
payer will use it to prepare a Form W-2G
for each of the winners.
Identical wagers. You may have to give the
payer a statement of the amount of your win-
nings, if any, from identical wagers. If this state-
ment is required, the payer will ask you for it.
You provide this statement by signing Form
W-2G or, if required, Form 5754.
Identical wagers include two bets placed in
a pari-mutuel pool on one horse to win a partic-
ular race. However, the bets are not identical if
one bet is “to win” and one bet is “to place.” In
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 11
addition, they are not identical if the bets were
placed in different pari-mutuel pools. For exam-
ple, a bet in a pool conducted by the racetrack
and a bet in a separate pool conducted by an
offtrack betting establishment in which the bets
are not pooled with those placed at the track
are not identical wagers.
Backup withholding on gambling winnings.
If you have any kind of gambling winnings and
don’t give the payer your SSN, the payer may
have to withhold income tax at a flat 24% rate.
This rule also applies to winnings of at least
$2,000 from bingo, slot machines, keno, and
certain other gambling winnings.
Unemployment
Compensation
You can choose to have income tax withheld
from unemployment compensation. To make
this choice, fill out Form W-4V (or a similar form
provided by the payer) and give it to the payer.
All unemployment compensation is taxable.
So, if you don’t have income tax withheld, you
may have to pay estimated tax. See chapter 2.
If you don’t pay enough tax, either through
withholding or estimated tax or a combination of
both, you may have to pay a penalty.
Form 1099-G. If you receive $10 or more in un-
employment compensation, you will receive a
Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments.
Box 1 will show the amount of unemployment
compensation you got for the year. Box 4 will
show the amount of federal income tax with-
held, if any.
Federal Payments
You can choose to have income tax withheld
from certain federal payments you receive.
These payments are the following.
1. Social security benefits.
2. Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.
3. Commodity credit corporation loans you
choose to include in your gross income.
4. Payments under the Agricultural Act of
1949 (7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.), as amen-
ded, or title II of the Disaster Assistance
Act of 1988 that are treated as insurance
proceeds and that you received because:
a. Your crops were destroyed or dam-
aged by drought, flood, or any other
natural disaster; or
b. You were unable to plant crops be-
cause of a natural disaster described
in (a).
5. Dividends and other distributions from
Alaska Native Corporations to their share-
holders.
6. Any other payment under federal law as
determined by the Secretary.
To make this choice, fill out Form W-4V (or a
similar form provided by the payer) and give it to
the payer.
If you don’t choose to have income tax with-
held, you may have to pay estimated tax. See
chapter 2.
If you don’t pay enough tax, either through
withholding or estimated tax or a combination of
both, you may have to pay a penalty.
More information. For more information about
the tax treatment of social security and railroad
retirement benefits, see Pub. 915. Get Pub. 225
for information about the tax treatment of com-
modity credit corporation loans or crop disaster
payments.
Payment to shareholders of Alaska Native
Corporations (ANCs). If you are a share-
holder of an ANC, you can request to have in-
come tax withheld from dividends and other dis-
tributions you receive from the ANC. To make
this request, fill out Form W-4V (or a similar
form provided by the payer) and give it to the
payer. A request for withholding isn’t effective
until the ANC indicates in writing that it accepts
the request or begins withholding. Contact the
payer if it isn’t clear that the payer has accepted
your Form W-4V.
If you don’t choose to have income tax with-
held or the ANC doesn’t accept your request,
you may have to pay estimated tax. See chap-
ter 2.
If you don’t pay enough tax, either through
withholding or estimated tax, or a combination
of both, you may have to pay a penalty.
Backup Withholding
Banks or other businesses that pay you certain
kinds of income must file an information return
(Form 1099) with the IRS. The information re-
turn shows how much you were paid during the
year. It also includes your name and taxpayer
identification number (TIN). TINs are explained
later in this discussion.
These payments are generally not subject to
withholding. However, “backup” withholding is
required in certain situations.
Payments subject to backup withholding.
Backup withholding can apply to most kinds of
payments that are reported on Form 1099.
These include:
• Interest payments (Form 1099-INT);
• Government payments (Form 1099-G);
• Dividends (Form 1099-DIV);
• Patronage dividends, but only if at least
half the payment is in money (Form
1099-PATR);
• Rents, profits, or other gains (Form
1099-MISC);
• Commissions, fees, or other payments for
work you do as an independent contractor
(Form 1099-NEC);
• Payments by brokers (Form 1099-B);
• Payments by fishing boat operators, but
only the part that is in money and that rep-
resents a share of the proceeds of the
catch (Form 1099-MISC); and
• Royalty payments (Form 1099-MISC).
Backup withholding may also apply to gambling
winnings. See Backup withholding on gambling
winnings under Gambling Winnings, earlier.
Payments not subject to backup withhold-
ing. Backup withholding does not apply to pay-
ments reported on Form 1099-MISC (other than
payments by fishing boat operators and royalty
payments) unless at least one of the following
three situations applies.
• The amount you receive from any one
payer is $2,000 or more.
• The payer had to give you a Form 1099 last
year.
• The payer made payments to you last year
that were subject to backup withholding.
Form 1099 and backup withholding are gen-
erally not required for a payment of less than
$10.
Withholding rules. When you open a new ac-
count, make an investment, or begin to receive
payments reported on Form 1099, the bank or
other business will give you Form W-9, Request
for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certifi-
cation, or a similar form. You must enter your
TIN on the form and, if your account or invest-
ment will earn interest or dividends, you must
also certify (under penalties of perjury) that your
TIN is correct and that you are not subject to
backup withholding.
The payer must withhold at a flat 24% rate in
the following situations.
• You don’t give the payer your TIN in the re-
quired manner.
• The IRS notifies the payer that the TIN you
gave is incorrect.
• You are required but fail to certify that you
are not subject to backup withholding.
• The IRS notifies the payer to start withhold-
ing on interest or dividends because you
have underreported interest or dividends
on your income tax return. The IRS will do
this only after it has mailed you four notices
over at least a 210-day period.
Taxpayer identification number (TIN).
Your TIN is one of the following three numbers.
• An SSN.
• An employer identification number (EIN).
• An IRS individual taxpayer identification
number (ITIN). Aliens who don’t have an
SSN and are not eligible to get one should
get an ITIN. Use Form W-7 to apply for an
ITIN.
An ITIN is for federal tax use only. It does not
entitle you to social security benefits or change
your employment or immigration status under
U.S. law. For more information on ITINs, see
Pub. 1915.
If you have an ITIN that you haven’t in-
cluded on a tax return in the last 3 con-
secutive years, it may be expired and
you may need to renew it. If your ITIN has ex-
pired and you don’t have an SSN, you can make
estimated tax payments before you renew your
ITIN. To renew your ITIN, and for more informa-
tion, see the Instructions for Form W-7.
How to prevent or stop backup withholding.
If you have been notified by a payer that the TIN
you gave is incorrect, you can usually prevent
backup withholding from starting or stop backup
withholding once it has begun by giving the
payer your correct name and TIN. You must cer-
tify that the TIN you give is correct.CAUTION
!
12 Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
However, the payer will provide additional in-
structions if the TIN you gave needs to be vali-
dated by the Social Security Administration or
by the IRS. This may happen if both the follow-
ing conditions exist.
1. The IRS notifies the payer twice within 3
calendar years that a TIN you gave for the
same account is incorrect.
2. The incorrect TIN is still being used on the
account when the payer receives the sec-
ond notice.
Underreported interest or dividends. If
you have been notified that you underreported
interest or dividends, you must request and re-
ceive a determination from the IRS to prevent
backup withholding from starting or to stop
backup withholding once it has begun. Your re-
quest must show that at least one of the follow-
ing situations applies.
• No underreporting occurred.
• You have a bona fide dispute with the IRS
about whether an underreporting occurred.
• Backup withholding will cause or is caus-
ing an undue hardship and it is unlikely that
you will underreport interest and dividends
in the future.
• You have corrected the underreporting by
filing an original return if you didn’t previ-
ously file one or by filing an amended re-
turn and by paying all taxes, penalties, and
interest due for any underreported interest
or dividend payments.
If the IRS determines that backup withhold-
ing should stop, it will provide you with certifica-
tion and will notify the payers who were sent no-
tices earlier.
Penalties. There are civil and criminal penal-
ties for giving false information to avoid backup
withholding. The civil penalty is $500. The crimi-
nal penalty, upon conviction, is a fine of up to
$1,000 or imprisonment of up to 1 year, or both.
Worksheets for Chapter 1
Use the following worksheets to figure your correct withholding and adjustments.
Use... To...
Worksheet 1-1 and
Worksheet 1-2
Exemption From Withholding for
Persons/Dependents Age 65 or
Older or Blind
Figure your total expected income for 2026 to determine if you are exempt from withholding. Use Worksheet
1-1 if, in 2025, you had a right to a refund of all federal income tax withheld because of no tax liability. Use
Worksheet 1-2 if you are a dependent for 2026 and, for 2025, you had a refund of all federal income tax
withheld because of no tax liability.
Worksheet 1-3
Projected Tax for 2026
Project the taxable income you will have for 2026 and figure the amount of tax you will have to pay on that
income.
Worksheet 1-4
Tax Computation Worksheets for
2026
Figure the amount of tax on your projected taxable income.
Worksheet 1-5
Projected Withholding for 2026
Project the amount of federal income tax that you will have withheld in 2026, compare your projected
withholding with your projected tax, and determine whether the amount withheld each payday should be
adjusted.
Worksheet 1-6
Tax Credits for 2026 Form W-4 or
Form W-4P
Figure any extra amount to include in Step 3 of Form W-4 or Form W-4P to account for your projected tax
credits that are not otherwise taken into consideration.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 13
Exemption From Withholding for Persons Age 65 or Older or Blind
Use this worksheet only if, for 2025, you had a right to a refund of all federal income tax withheld because you had no tax liability.
Caution: This worksheet does not apply if you can be claimed as a dependent. See Worksheet 1-2 instead.
1. Check the boxes below that apply to you.
65 or older Blind
2. Check the boxes below that apply to your spouse’s standard deduction.*
65 or older Blind
3. Add the number of boxes you checked in
1 and 2 above. Enter the result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
You can claim exemption from withholding if:
Your filing status is: and the number on line 3 above is:
and your 2026
total income will
be no more than:
Single 1 $18,150
2 20,200
Head of 1 $26,200
household 2 28,250
Married filing 1 $17,750
separately for 2 19,400
both 2025 and 3 21,050
2026 4 22,700
Other married 1 $33,850**
status 2 35,500**
3 37,150**
4 38,800**
** Include both spouses’ income whether you will file separately or jointly.
Qualifying 1 $33,850
surviving spouse 2 35,300
You can’t claim exemption from withholding if your total income will be more than the amount shown for your filing status.
* You can check the appropriate boxes for your spouse if your filing status is Married filing jointly. You can check the appropriate boxes for your spouse if your filing
status is Married filing separately and your spouse had no income, isn’t filing a return, and can’t be claimed as a dependent on another person’s return.
Worksheet 1-1.
Exemption From Withholding for Dependents Age 65 or Older or Blind
Use this worksheet only if, for 2026, you are a dependent and if, for 2025, you had a right to a refund of all federal income tax withheld because you
had no tax liability.
1. Enter your expected earned income plus $450 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Minimum amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. $ 1,350
3. Compare lines 1 and 2. Enter the larger amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 16,100
5. Compare lines 3 and 4. Enter the smaller amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Enter the appropriate amount from the following table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
Single
Either 65 or older or blind $2,050
Both 65 or older and blind 4,100
Married filing separately
Either 65 or older or blind 1,650
Both 65 or older and blind 3,300
7. Add lines 5 and 6. Enter the result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Enter your total expected income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
You can claim exemption from withholding if line 7 is equal to or more than line 8. You can’t claim exemption from withholding if line 8 is more than
line 7.
Worksheet 1-2.
14 Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Worksheet 1-3. Projected Tax for 2026 Keep for Your Records .
Use this worksheet to figure your projected tax for 2026. Note: Enter combined amounts if Married filing jointly.
1. Enter amount of adjusted gross income (AGI) you expect in 2026. (To determine this, you may want to start with
the AGI on your last year’s return, and add or subtract your expected changes. Also, take into account items listed
under What’s New for 2026 and the Reminders section, earlier.)
Note: If self-employed, first complete Worksheet 2-3 to figure your expected deduction for self-employment tax.
Subtract the amount from Worksheet 2-3, line 11, to figure the line 1 entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. If you:
• Don’t plan to itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), use Worksheet 2-4 to figure your expected
standard deduction plus up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married filing jointly) for charitable contributions made by cash
or check.
• Plan to itemize deductions, enter the amount of your estimated itemized deductions.
Caution: If you plan to itemize your deductions and claim a charitable contribution deduction, see Worksheet 2–
5 to figure the amount of your deduction.
Caution: If your expected taxable income will be more than $768,700 if married filing jointly or qualifying
widower; $640,600 if head of household or single; $384,350 if married filing separately, your itemized
deductions may be reduced. See Worksheet 2-6 to figure the amount of your deduction.
• Qualify for the deduction for qualified business income, enter the estimated amount of the deduction you are
allowed on your qualified business income from a qualified trade or business.
• Can take an additional deduction on Schedule 1-A, (Form 1040) enter the estimated amount you expect to enter
on Schedule 1-A (Form 1040), line 38. Add this amount to your expected standard deduction or estimated
itemized deductions and any expected deduction for qualified business income and enter the total here. . . . . . 2.
3. Expected taxable income. Subtract line 2 from line 1. (If zero or less, enter -0- here and on line 4,
then go to line 5.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. If the amount on line 1:
• Doesn’t include a net capital gain or qualified dividends and you didn’t exclude foreign earned income or
exclude or deduct foreign housing in arriving at the amount on line 1, use Worksheet 1-4 to figure the tax to enter
here.
• Includes a net capital gain or qualified dividends, use Worksheet 2-7 to figure the tax to enter here.
• Was figured by excluding foreign earned income or excluding or deducting foreign housing, use
Worksheet 2-8 to figure the tax to enter here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Enter any expected additional taxes from an election to report your child’s interest and dividends, lump-sum
distributions (Form 4972), and alternative minimum tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Add lines 4 and 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Enter the amount of any expected tax credits. See Table 1-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Subtract line 7 from line 6 (if zero or less, enter -0-) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Self-employment tax. Enter the amount from Worksheet 2-3, line 10. (If you expect to file jointly and both of you are
self-employed, figure the self-employment tax for each of you separately and enter the total on line 9.) . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Enter the total of any other expected taxes* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
11. Projected tax for 2026. Add lines 8 through 10. Enter the total here and on Worksheet 1-5, line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . 11.
* Use the 2025 Instructions for Form 1040 to determine if you expect to owe, for 2026, any of the taxes that would have been entered on
your 2025 Schedule 2 (Form 1040), lines 7 through 17z and 19.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 15
Tax Computation Worksheets for 2026Worksheet 1-4. Keep for Your Records
Note: If you are figuring the tax on an amount from Worksheet 2-7 (line 1 or 14), or Worksheet 2-8 (line 2 or 3), enter the
amount from that worksheet in column (a) of the row that applies to that amount of income. Enter the result on the
appropriate line of the worksheet you are completing.
a. Single. Use this worksheet to figure the amount to enter on Worksheet 1-3, line 4, if you expect your filing status for 2026 to be Single.
Expected Taxable
Income
(a)
Enter amount
from
Worksheet 1-3,
line 3*
(b)
Multiplication amount
(c)
Multiply
(a) by (b)
(d)
Subtraction
amount
(e)
Subtract (d) from (c). Enter the result
here and on Worksheet 1-3, line 4*
If Worksheet 1-3,
line 3* is —
Over But not
over
$0 $12,400 × 10% (0.10) $0
12,400 50,400 × 12% (0.12) 248.00
50,400 105,700 × 22% (0.22) 5,288.00
105,700 201,775 × 24% (0.24) 7,402.00
201,775 256,225 × 32% (0.32) 23,544.00
256,225 640,600 × 35% (0.35) 31,230.75
640,600 - - - - - × 37% (0.37) 44,042.75
* If you are using Worksheet 2-7, for column (a) above, use the amount from line 1 or line 14 and enter the result (from column (e)) on line 37 or
line 39, as appropriate.
If you are using Worksheet 2-8, for column (a) above, use the amount from line 2 or line 3 and enter the result (from column (e)) on line 4 or line 5,
as appropriate.
b. Head of household. Use this worksheet to figure the amount to enter on Worksheet 1-3, line 4, if you expect your filing status for 2026 to
be Head of household.
Expected Taxable
Income
(a)
Enter amount
from
Worksheet 1-3,
line 3*
(b)
Multiplication
amount
(c)
Multiply
(a) by (b)
(d)
Subtraction
amount
(e)
Subtract (d) from (c). Enter the result
here and on Worksheet 1-3, line 4*
If Worksheet 1-3,
line 3* is —
Over But not
over
$0 $17,700 × 10% (0.10) $0
17,700 67,450 × 12% (0.12) 354.00
67,450 105,700 × 22% (0.22) 7,099.00
105,700 201,750 × 24% (0.24) 9,213.00
201,750 256,200 × 32% (0.32) 25,353.00
256,200 640,600 × 35% (0.35) 33,039.00
640,600 - - - - - × 37% (0.37) 45,851.00
* If you are using Worksheet 2-7, for column (a) above, use the amount from line 1 or line 14 and enter the result (from column (e)) on line 37
or line 39, as appropriate.
If you are using Worksheet 2-8, for column (a) above, use the amount from line 2 or line 3 and enter the result (from column (e)) on line 4 or
line 5, as appropriate.
16 Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Tax Computation Worksheet for 2026 (Continued)
c. Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse. Use this worksheet to figure the amount to enter on Worksheet 1-3, line 4, if you
expect your filing status for 2026 to be Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse.
Expected Taxable
Income
(a)
Enter amount
from
Worksheet 1-3,
line 3*
(b)
Multiplication
amount
(c)
Multiply
(a) by (b)
(d)
Subtraction
amount
(e)
Subtract (d) from (c). Enter the result
here and on Worksheet 1-3, line 4*
If Worksheet 1-3,
line 3* is —
Over But not
over
$0 $24,800 × 10% (0.10) $0
24,800 100,800 × 12% (0.12) 496.00
100,800 211,400 × 22% (0.22) 10,576.00
211,400 403,550 × 24% (0.24) 14,804.00
403,550 512,450 × 32% (0.32) 47,088.00
512,450 768,700 × 35% (0.35) 62,461.50
768,700 - - - - - × 37% (0.37) 77,835.50
* If you are using Worksheet 2-7, for column (a) above, use the amount from line 1 or line 14 and enter the result (from column (e)) on line 37
or line 39, as appropriate.
If you are using Worksheet 2-8, for column (a) above, use the amount from line 2 or line 3 and enter the result (from column (e)) on line 4 or
line 5, as appropriate.
d. Married filing separately. Use this worksheet to figure the amount to enter on Worksheet 1-3, line 4, if you expect your filing status for 2026 to
be Married filing separately.
Expected Taxable
Income
(a)
Enter amount from
Worksheet 1-3,
line 3*
(b)
Multiplication amount
(c)
Multiply
(a) by (b)
(d)
Subtraction
amount
(e)
Subtract (d) from (c). Enter the result
here and on Worksheet 1-3, line 4*
If Worksheet 1-3,
line 3* is —
Over But not
over
$0 $12,400 × 10% (0.10) $0
12,400 50,400 × 12% (0.12) 248.00
50,400 105,700 × 22% (0.22) 5,288.00
105,700 201,775 × 24% (0.24) 7,402.00
201,775 256,225 × 32% (0.32) 23,544.00
256,225 384,350 × 35% (0.35) 31,230.75
384,350 - - - - - × 37% (0.37) 38,917.75
* If you are using Worksheet 2-7, for column (a) above, use the amount from line 1 or line 14 and enter the result (from column (e)) on line 37 or
line 39, as appropriate.
If you are using Worksheet 2-8, for column (a) above, use the amount from line 2 or line 3 and enter the result (from column (e)) on line 4 or line 5,
as appropriate.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 17
Worksheet 1-5. Projected Withholding for 2026 Keep for Your Records .
Use this worksheet to figure the amount of your projected withholding for 2026, compare it to your projected tax for 2026, and, if necessary, figure
any adjustment to the amount you have withheld each payday.
Note: If Married filing jointly, enter combined amounts.
1. Enter your projected tax for 2026 from Worksheet 1-3, line 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter your total federal income tax withheld to date in 2026 from all sources of income. (For wages, you should be
able to find the withholding-to-date on your last pay slip or statement.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Enter the federal tax withholding you expect for the rest of 2026.
a. For each source of wages, multiply the amount of federal income tax now being withheld each payday by the
number of paydays remaining in the year and enter the combined amount for all jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3a.
b. For all other sources of recurring taxable income, multiply the withholding amount by the remaining number of
times the income is expected. For example, if you have federal income tax withheld from your monthly pension and
you will receive nine more payments this year, multiply your monthly withholding amount by 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3b.
4. Add lines 2, 3a, and 3b. This is your projected withholding for 2026 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Compare the amounts on lines 1 and 4.
• If line 1 is more than line 4, subtract line 4 from line 1. You need to increase your withholding. Enter the result here
and go to line 6.
• If line 4 is more than line 1, subtract line 1 from line 4. You may want to decrease your withholding. Enter the
result here and go to line 6. 5.
6. Divide line 5 by the number of paydays (or other withholding events) remaining in 2026 and enter the result. This is the
additional amount you should use to either increase or decrease the amount you have withheld from each remaining
payday (or other withholding event). Follow the instructions for line 6 for your situation for completing a 2026 Form
W-4. The instructions are different if your withholding so far this year was based on a 2019 (or earlier) Form W-4 or a
2026 Form W-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
Instructions for line 6—If your
withholding to date was figured
based on a 2019 (or earlier) Form
W-4.
Use the following instructions to
increase your withholding.
How do you increase your withholding? Follow
these steps to increase your withholding by completing
a 2026 Form W-4.
Step 1: • If your filing status was "Single" or
"Married, but withhold at higher
Single rate," check "Single."
• If your filing status was "Married,"
check "Married filing jointly."
Note: Head of household filing status
was not a choice on the 2019 (or
earlier) Form(s) W-4.
Step 4(a): • If your filing status was "Single" or
"Married, but withhold at higher
Single rate," enter $10,600 (the
equivalent of 2 allowances) on
Step 4(a).
• If your filing status was "Married,"
enter $15,900 (the equivalent of 3
allowances) on Step 4(a).
Step 4(b): • If there was an entry on line 5
(number of allowances), multiply
each claimed allowance by
$5,300 and enter the result on
Step 4(b).
Step 4(c): • If there is an amount on line 6,
add it to the amount on line 6 of
Worksheet 1-5 above and enter
the result on Step 4(c).
Instructions for line 6—If your
withholding to date was figured
based on a 2019 (or earlier) Form
W-4.
Use the following instructions to
decrease your withholding.
How do you decrease your withholding? Follow
these steps to decrease your withholding by completing
a 2026 Form W-4.
Step 1: • If your filing status was "Single" or
"Married, but withhold at higher
Single rate," check "Single."
• If your filing status was "Married,"
check "Married filing jointly."
Note: Head of household filing status was
not a choice on the 2019 (or earlier)
Form(s) W-4.
Step 3: Multiply the amount on line 6 of
Worksheet 1-5 by the number of paydays
in 2026 and enter this amount on Step 3.
Step 4(a): • If your filing status was "Single" or
"Married, but withhold at higher
Single rate," enter $10,600 (the
equivalent of 2 allowances) on Step
4(a).
• If your filing status was "Married,"
enter $15,900 (the equivalent of 3
allowances) on Step 4(a).
Step 4(b): • If there was an entry on line 5
(number of allowances), multiply
each claimed allowance by $5,300
and enter the result on Step 4(b).
Step 4(c): • If there was an amount on line 6,
add it to the amount on Step 4(c).
Instructions for line 6—If your
withholding to date was figured
based on a 2026 Form W-4.
Use the following instructions to either
increase or decrease your
withholding.
How do you increase your withholding? Follow
these steps to increase your withholding by completing
a 2026 Form W-4.
• Complete your new 2026 Form W-4
through Step 4(b) in the same way you
completed your previous Form W-4.
• Add the amount, if any, on Step 4(c) of
your previous Form W-4 to the amount
on line 6 of Worksheet 1-5 above and
enter the result on Step 4(c) of your
new Form W-4.
How do you decrease your withholding?
• Complete Steps 1, 2(c), 4(a), 4(b),
and 4(c) in the same way as you
completed your previous Form W-4.
• Add the amount, if any, on Step 3 of
your previous Form W-4 to the product
of line 6 of Worksheet 1-5 multiplied
by the total number of paydays in 2026
and enter the result on Step 3 of your
new Form W-4.
If you make a mid-year change to your
withholding, you should complete and
give to your employer a new Form W-4
in January. The later in the year you change
your Form W-4, the more important it is that you
submit a new form the following January.CAUTION
!
18 Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Tax Credits for 2026 Form W-4 or Form W-4PWorksheet 1-6. Keep for Your Records
Use this worksheet to figure any extra amount to enter in Step 3 of Form W-4 or Form W-4P. For more information on these credits, see Tax
Credits, earlier.
Caution: The child tax credit and the credit for other dependents are already figured in Step 3 of Form W-4 or Form W-4P.
Enter the projected amount for each credit you expect to take (other than the child tax credit or credit for other
dependents).
1. Credit for the elderly or the disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Credit for child and dependent care expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Education credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Adoption credit (including the refundable portion) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Foreign tax credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Retirement savings contributions credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Earned income credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Premium tax credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Other credits (see Table 1-2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Add lines 1 through 9. This is your total estimated tax credits. Include this amount in the total entered on Form W-4,
Step 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 1 Tax Withholding for 2026 19
2.
Estimated Tax
for 2026
Introduction
Estimated tax is the method used to pay tax on
income that isn’t subject to withholding. This in-
cludes income from self-employment, interest,
dividends, rent, gains from the sale of assets,
prizes, and awards. You may also have to pay
estimated tax if the amount of income tax being
withheld from your salary, pension, or other in-
come isn’t enough.
Estimated tax is used to pay both income
tax and self-employment tax, as well as other
taxes and amounts reported on your tax return.
If you don’t pay enough tax, either through with-
holding or estimated tax, or a combination of
both, you may have to pay a penalty. If you don’t
pay enough by the due date of each payment
period (see When To Pay Estimated Tax, later),
you may be charged a penalty even if you are
due a refund when you file your tax return. For
information on when the penalty applies, see
the Instructions for Form 2210.
It would be helpful for you to have a
copy of your 2025 tax return and an es-
timate of your 2026 income nearby
while reading this chapter. Also, keep in mind
the items under What’s New for 2026 and the
Reminders section, earlier.
Topics
This chapter discusses:
• Who must pay estimated tax,
• How to figure estimated tax (including
illustrated examples),
• When to pay estimated tax,
• How to figure each payment, and
• How to pay estimated tax.
Useful Items
You may want to see:
Form (and Instructions)
1040-ES Estimated Tax for Individuals
See How To Get Tax Help at the end of this pub-
lication for information about how to get this
publication and form.TIP
1040-ES
Worksheets. You may need to use several of
the blank worksheets included in this chapter.
See Worksheets for Chapter 2 to locate what
you need.
Who Does Not Have To
Pay Estimated Tax
If you receive salaries and wages, you may be
able to avoid paying estimated tax by asking
your employer to take more tax out of your earn-
ings. To do this, file a new Form W-4 with your
employer. See chapter 1.
Estimated tax not required. You don’t have to
pay estimated tax for 2026 if you meet all three
of the following conditions.
• You had no tax liability for 2025.
• You were a U.S. citizen or resident alien for
the whole year.
• Your 2025 tax year covered a 12-month pe-
riod.
You had no tax liability for 2025 if your total
tax (defined later under Total tax for
2025—line 12b) was zero or you didn’t have to
file an income tax return.
20 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Who Must Pay
Estimated Tax
If you owed additional tax for 2025, you may
have to pay estimated tax for 2026.
You can use the following general rule as a
guide during the year to see if you will have
enough withholding or should increase your
withholding or make estimated tax payments.
General Rule
In most cases, you must pay estimated tax for
2026 if both of the following apply.
1. You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for
2026 after subtracting your withholding
and tax credits.
2. You expect your withholding and tax cred-
its to be less than the smaller of:
a. 90% of the tax to be shown on your
2026 tax return, or
b. 100% of the tax shown on your 2025
tax return. Your 2025 tax return must
cover all 12 months.
Note: The percentages in (2a) or (2b) just listed
may be different if you have income from farm-
ing or fishing or are a higher income taxpayer.
See Special Rules, later.
If the result from using the general rule
above suggests that you won’t have
enough withholding, complete the
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet for a more ac-
curate calculation.CAUTION
!
Figure 2-A takes you through the general
rule. You may find this helpful in determining if
you must pay estimated tax.
If all your income will be subject to in-
come tax withholding, you probably
don’t need to pay estimated tax.
Married Taxpayers
If you qualify to make joint estimated tax pay-
ments, apply the rules discussed here to your
joint estimated income.
You and your spouse can make joint estima-
ted tax payments even if you are not living to-
gether.
However, you and your spouse can’t make
joint estimated tax payments if:
• You are legally separated under a decree
of divorce or separate maintenance,
• You and your spouse have different tax
years, or
• Either spouse is a nonresident alien (un-
less that spouse elected to be treated as a
resident alien for tax purposes). See
Choosing Resident Alien Status in Pub.
519.
Note: Individuals who are in registered do-
mestic partnerships, civil unions, or other simi-
lar formal relationships that are not marriages
under state law can’t make joint estimated tax
payments. These individuals can take credit
only for the estimated tax payments that he or
she made.
If you and your spouse can’t make joint esti-
mated tax payments, apply these rules to your
separate estimated income.TIP
Making joint or separate estimated tax pay-
ments won’t affect your choice of filing a joint
tax return or separate returns for 2026.
2025 separate returns and 2026 joint return.
If you plan to file a joint return with your spouse
for 2026, but you filed separate returns for 2025,
your 2025 tax is the total of the tax shown on
your separate returns. You filed a separate re-
turn if you filed as Single, Head of household, or
Married filing separately.
2025 joint return and 2026 separate returns.
If you plan to file a separate return for 2026 but
you filed a joint return for 2025, your 2025 tax is
your share of the tax on the joint return. You file
a separate return if you file as Single, Head of
household, or Married filing separately.
To figure your share of the tax on a joint re-
turn, first figure the tax both you and your
spouse would have paid had you filed separate
returns for 2025 using the same filing status for
2026. Then, multiply the tax on the joint return
by the following fraction.
The tax you would have paid
had you filed a separate
return
The total tax you and your
spouse would have paid
had you filed separate
returns
Special Rules
There are special rules for those who have in-
come from farming and fishing, for certain
household employers, and for certain higher in-
come taxpayers.
Figure 2-A: Do You Have To Pay Estimated Tax?Figure 2-A. Do You Have To Pay Estimated Tax?
1. Will you owe $1,000 or
more for 2026 after
subtracting income tax
withholding and refundable
credits* from your total
tax? (Don’t subtract any
estimated tax payments.)
2b. Will your income tax withholding
and refundable credits* be at
least 100%** of the tax shown
on your 2025 tax return?
Note: Your 2025 return must
have covered a 12-month
period.
No
Yes
Start Here
2a. Will your income
withholding and refundable
credits* be at least 90%
(662⁄3% for farming and fishing)
of the tax shown on your 2026
tax return?
You MUST make estimated
tax payment(s) by the
required due date(s).
You are NOT required to pay
estimated tax.
Yes
No
Yes
No
* Use the refundable credits shown on the 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet, line 11b.
See When To Pay
Estimated Tax.
** 110% if less than two-thirds of your gross income for 2025 or 2026 is from farming or fishing and your 2025 adjusted gross income was
more than $150,000 ($75,000 if your filing status for 2026 is married filing a separate return).
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 21
Farming and Fishing
If at least two-thirds of your gross income for
2025 or 2026 is from farming or fishing, substi-
tute 662/3% for 90% in (2a) under General Rule,
earlier.
Gross income. Your gross income is all in-
come you receive in the form of money, goods,
property, and services that isn’t exempt from
tax. To determine whether two-thirds of your
gross income for 2025 was from farming or fish-
ing, use as your gross income the total of the in-
come (not loss) amounts.
Joint returns. On a joint return, you must add
your spouse’s gross income to your gross in-
come to determine if at least two-thirds of your
total gross income is from farming or fishing.
Gross income from farming. This is income
from cultivating the soil or raising agricultural
commodities. It includes the following amounts.
• Income from operating a stock, dairy, poul-
try, bee, fruit, or truck farm.
• Income from a plantation, ranch, nursery,
range, orchard, or oyster bed.
• Crop shares for the use of your land.
• Gains from sales of draft, breeding, dairy,
or sporting livestock.
For 2025, gross income from farming is the
total of the following amounts.
• Schedule F (Form 1040), Profit or Loss
From Farming, line 9.
• Form 4835, Farm Rental Income and Ex-
penses, line 7.
• Your share of the gross farming income
from a partnership, S corporation, estate or
trust from Schedule K-1 (Form 1065),
Schedule K-1 (Form 1120-S), or Sched-
ule K-1 (Form 1041).
• Your gains from sales of draft, breeding,
dairy, or sporting livestock shown on Form
4797, Sales of Business Property.
Wages you receive as a farm employee and
wages you receive from a farm corporation are
not gross income from farming.
Gross income from fishing. This is income
from catching, taking, harvesting, cultivating, or
farming any kind of fish, shellfish (for example,
clams and mussels), crustaceans (for example,
lobsters, crabs, and shrimp), sponges, sea-
weeds, or other aquatic forms of animal and
vegetable life.
Gross income from fishing includes the fol-
lowing amounts.
• Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss
From Business, line 7.
• Income for services as an officer or crew
member of a vessel while the vessel is en-
gaged in fishing.
• Your share of the gross fishing income
from a partnership, S corporation, estate or
trust from Schedule K-1 (Form 1065),
Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S), or Sched-
ule K-1 (Form 1041).
• Certain taxable interest and punitive dam-
age awards received in connection with the
Exxon Valdez litigation.
• Income for services normally performed in
connection with fishing.
Services normally performed in connection with
fishing include:
• Shore service as an officer or crew mem-
ber of a vessel engaged in fishing; and
• Services that are necessary for the imme-
diate preservation of the catch, such as
cleaning, icing, and packing the catch.
Household Employers
When estimating the tax on your 2026 tax re-
turn, include your household employment taxes
if either of the following applies.
• You will have federal income tax withheld
from wages, pensions, annuities, gambling
winnings, or other income.
• You would be required to make estimated
tax payments to avoid a penalty even if you
didn’t include household employment
taxes when figuring your estimated tax.
Higher Income Taxpayers
If your AGI for 2025 was more than $150,000
($75,000 if your filing status for 2026 is Married
filing a separate return), substitute 110% for
100% in (2b) under General Rule, earlier.
For 2025, AGI is the amount shown on Form
1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b.
Note: If at least two-thirds of your gross in-
come for 2025 or 2026 is from farming or fish-
ing, this rule doesn’t apply.
Aliens
Resident and nonresident aliens may also have
to pay estimated tax. Resident aliens should fol-
low the rules in this publication, unless noted
otherwise. Nonresident aliens should get Form
1040-ES (NR), U.S. Estimated Tax for Nonresi-
dent Alien Individuals.
You are an alien if you are not a citizen or na-
tional of the United States. You are a resident
alien if you either have a green card or meet the
substantial presence test.
For more information about withholding, the
substantial presence test, and Form 1040-ES
(NR), see Pub. 519.
Estates and Trusts
Estates and trusts must also pay estimated tax.
However, estates (and certain grantor trusts
that receive the residue of the decedent’s estate
under the decedent’s will) are exempt from pay-
ing estimated tax for the first 2 years after the
decedent’s death.
Estates and trusts must use Form 1041-ES,
Estimated Income Tax for Estates and Trusts, to
figure and pay estimated tax.
How To Figure
Estimated Tax
To figure your estimated tax, you must figure
your expected AGI, taxable income, taxes, de-
ductions, and credits for the year.
When figuring your 2026 estimated tax, it
may be helpful to use your income, deductions,
and credits for 2025 as a starting point. Use
your 2025 federal tax return as a guide. You can
use Form 1040-ES to figure your estimated tax.
Nonresident aliens use Form 1040-ES (NR) to
figure estimated tax.
You must make adjustments both for
changes in your own situation and for recent
changes in the tax law. Some of these changes
are discussed earlier under What’s New for
2026 and the Reminders section. For informa-
tion about these and other changes in the law,
visit the IRS website at IRS.gov.
The instructions for Form 1040-ES include a
worksheet to help you figure your estimated tax.
Keep the worksheet for your records.
2026 Estimated Tax
Worksheet
If you file Form 1040-SS use the Esti-
mated Tax Worksheet for Filers of Form
1040-SS, in Form 1040-ES to figure
your estimated tax.
Use Worksheet 2-1 to help guide you
through the information about completing the
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet. You can also
find a copy of the worksheet in the instructions
for Form 1040-ES.
Expected AGI—Line 1
Your expected AGI for 2026 (line 1) is your ex-
pected total income minus your expected ad-
justments to income.
Total income. Include in your total income all
the income you expect to receive during the
year, even income that is subject to withholding.
However, don’t include income that is tax ex-
empt.
Total income includes all income and loss
for 2026 that, if you had received it in 2025,
would have been included on your 2025 tax re-
turn in the total on line 9 of Form 1040 or
1040-SR.
Social security and railroad retire-
ment benefits. If you expect to receive
social security or tier 1 railroad retire-
ment benefits during 2026, use Worksheet 2-2
to figure the amount of expected taxable bene-
fits you should include on line 1.
Adjustments to income. Be sure to subtract
from your expected total income all of the ad-
justments you expect to take on your 2026 tax
return.
Self-employed. If you expect to have
income from self-employment, use
Worksheet 2-3 to figure your expected
self-employment tax and your allowable deduc-
tion for self-employment tax. Include the
amount from Worksheet 2-3 in your expected
adjustments to income. If you file a joint return
and both you and your spouse have net earn-
ings from self-employment, each of you must
complete a separate worksheet.CAUTION
!
22 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Expected Taxable Income—
Line 2
Reduce your expected AGI for 2026 (line 1) by
either your expected itemized deductions or
your standard deduction.
Itemized deductions—line 2a. If you expect
to claim itemized deductions on your 2026 tax
return, enter the estimated amount on line 2a.
Itemized deductions are the deductions that
can be claimed on Schedule A (Form 1040).
For 2026, if you plan to take an item-
ized deduction for a charitable contri-
bution, you can only deduct charitable
contributions that are more than 0.5% of your
AGI. Use Worksheet 2-5 to figure your expected
charitable contribution deduction. Also, see
Worksheet 2-6.
For 2026, your total itemized deduc-
tions may be reduced if your taxable in-
come is more than the amount shown
next for your filing status.
Married filing jointly or Qualifying
surviving spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . $768,700
Head of household or Single . . . . . . . $640,600
Married filing separately . . . . . . . . . $384,350
If you expect your taxable income to be more
than this amount, use Worksheet 2-6. Also, see
Worksheet 2-5 if you plan to take an itemized
deduction for a charitable contribution.
Standard deduction—line 2a. If you expect
to claim the standard deduction on your 2026
tax return, enter the amount on line 2a. Use
Worksheet 2-4 to figure your standard deduc-
tion.
Charitable contribution deduction for
non-itemizers. If you expect to take the stand-
ard deduction on your 2026 tax return, you (or
you and your spouse if filing jointly) may be able
to take a charitable contribution deduction of up
to $1,000 ($2,000 if married filing jointly) for
contributions made by cash or check. Add this
amount to the standard deduction amount en-
tered on line 2a.
Generally, this includes contributions made
to organizations that are religious, charitable,
educational, scientific, or literary in purpose.
See Pub. 526 for more information on the types
of organizations that qualify.
No standard deduction. The standard de-
duction for some individuals is zero. Your stand-
ard deduction will be zero if you:
• File a separate return and your spouse
itemizes deductions,
• Are a dual-status alien, or
• File a return for a period of less than 12
months because you change your ac-
counting period.
Expected Taxes and Credits—
Lines 4–11c
After you have figured your expected taxable in-
come (line 3), follow the steps next to figure
your expected taxes, credits, and total tax for
2026. Most people will have entries for only aCAUTION
!CAUTION
!
few of these steps. However, you should check
every step to be sure you don’t overlook any-
thing.
Step 1. Figure your expected income tax
(line 4). Generally, you will use the 2026 Tax
Rate Schedules to figure your expected income
tax.
However, see below for situations where you
must use a different method to figure your esti-
mated tax.
Tax on child’s investment income. You
must use a special method to figure tax on the
income of the following children who have more
than $2,700 of investment income.
1. Children under age 18 at the end of 2026.
2. The following children if their earned in-
come isn’t more than half their support.
a. Children age 18 at the end of 2026.
b. Children who are full-time students at
least age 19 but under age 24 at the
end of 2026.
Tax on net capital gain. The regular in-
come tax rates for individuals don’t apply to a
net capital gain. Instead, your net capital gain is
taxed at a lower maximum rate.
The term “net capital gain” means the
amount by which your net long-term capital gain
for the year is more than your net short-term
capital loss.
Tax on capital gain and qualified
dividends. If the amount on line 1 in-
cludes a net capital gain or qualified
dividends, use Worksheet 2-7 to figure your tax.
Note: The tax rate on your capital gains and
dividends will depend on your income.
Tax if excluding foreign earned in-
come or excluding or deducting for-
eign housing. If you expect to claim
the foreign earned income exclusion or the
housing exclusion or deduction on Form 2555,
use Worksheet 2-8 to figure your estimated tax.
Step 2. Total your expected taxes (line 6). In-
clude on line 6 the sum of the following.
1. Your tax on line 6.
2. Your expected alternative minimum tax
(AMT) from Form 6251.
3. Your expected additional taxes from Form
8814, Parents’ Election To Report Child’s
Interest and Dividends, and Form 4972,
Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions.
4. Any recapture of education credits.
Step 3. Subtract your expected credits (line 7).
If you are using your 2025 return as a guide and
filed Form 1040 or 1040-SR, your total credits
for 2025 were shown on line 21.
If your credits on line 7 are more than your
taxes on line 6, enter -0- on line 8 and go to
Step 4.
When figuring your credits, keep in
mind the following credits can’t be
claimed in 2026.
• Credit for new clean vehicles.CAUTION
!
• Credit for previously owned clean vehicles.
• Credit for commercial clean vehicles.
• Credit for energy efficient home improve-
ments.
• Credit for residential clean energy systems.
The credit for alternative refueling property ex-
pires in 2026 for property acquired and placed
in service after June 30, 2026.
Step 4. Add your expected self-employment
tax (line 9). You should already have figured
your self-employment tax (see Self-employed
under Expected AGI—Line 1, earlier).
Step 5. Add your expected other taxes
(line 10).
Other taxes include the following. The total
of these taxes are entered on line 10.
1. Additional tax on early distributions from:
a. An IRA or other qualified retirement
plan,
b. A tax-sheltered annuity, or
c. A modified endowment contract en-
tered into after June 20, 1988.
2. Household employment taxes if:
a. You will have federal income tax with-
held from wages, pensions, annuities,
gambling winnings, or other income;
or
b. You would be required to make esti-
mated tax payments even if you didn’t
include household employment taxes
when figuring your estimated tax.
3. Amounts entered on Schedule 2 (Form
1040), lines 14 through 17z and 19. But
don’t include the following.
a. Line 17b, recapture of a federal mort-
gage subsidy;
b. Line 17k, tax on excess golden para-
chute payments;
c. Line 17m, excise tax on insider stock
compensation from an expatriated
corporation; or
d. Line 17n, look-back interest due un-
der section 167(g) or 460(b) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code.
4. Additional Medicare Tax. A 0.9% Addi-
tional Medicare Tax applies to your com-
bined Medicare wages and self-employ-
ment income and/or your RRTA
compensation that exceeds the amount
listed in the following chart, based on your
filing status.
Filing Status Threshold Amount
Married filing jointly $250,000
Married filing separately $125,000
Single $200,000
Head of household $200,000
Qualifying surviving spouse $200,000
Medicare wages and self-employment
income are combined to determine if your
income exceeds the threshold. A
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 23
self-employment loss should not be con-
sidered for purposes of this tax. RRTA
compensation should be separately com-
pared to the threshold. Your employer is
responsible for withholding the 0.9% Addi-
tional Medicare Tax on Medicare wages or
RRTA compensation it pays to you in ex-
cess of $200,000 in 2026. You should con-
sider this withholding, if applicable, in de-
termining whether you need to make an
estimated payment.
5. Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). The
NIIT is 3.8% of the lesser of your net in-
vestment income or the excess of your
MAGI over the amount listed in the follow-
ing chart, based on your filing status.
Filing Status Threshold Amount
Married filing jointly $250,000
Married filing separately $125,000
Single $200,000
Head of household $200,000
Qualifying surviving spouse $250,000
Step 6. Subtract your refundable credits
(line 11c). These include the earned income
credit, additional child tax credit, fuel tax credit,
net premium tax credit, refundable American
opportunity credit, refundable adoption credit,
and section 1341 credit.
To figure your expected fuel tax credit, don’t
include fuel tax for the first 3 quarters of the
year that you expect to have refunded to you.
The result of Steps 1 through 6 is your total
estimated tax for 2026 (line 11c).
Required Annual Payment—
Line 12c
On lines 12a through 12c, figure the total
amount you must pay for 2026, through with-
holding and estimated tax payments, to avoid
paying a penalty.
General rule. The total amount you must pay
is the smaller of:
1. 90% of your total expected tax for 2026, or
2. 100% of the total tax shown on your 2025
return. Your 2025 tax return must cover all
12 months.
Special rules. There are special rules for
those who have income from farming and fish-
ing, for certain higher income taxpayers, and for
those who make a valid section 1062 election..
Higher income taxpayers. If your AGI for
2025 was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if your
filing status for 2026 is Married filing sepa-
rately), substitute 110% for 100% in (2) above. If
at least two-thirds of your gross income for 2025
or 2026 is from farming or fishing, this rule
doesn’t apply.
For 2025, AGI is the amount shown on Form
1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b.
Example. Your total tax on the 2025 return
was $42,581, and the expected tax for 2026 is
$71,253. Your 2025 AGI was $180,000. Be-
cause you had more than $150,000 of AGI in
2025, you figure the required annual payment
as follows. You determine that 90% of the ex-
pected tax for 2026 is $64,128 (90% (0.90) ×
$71,253). Next, you determine that 110% of the
tax shown on the 2025 return is $46,839 (110%
(1.10) x $42,581). Finally, you determine that
the required annual payment is $46,839, the
smaller of the two.
Farming and fishing. If at least two-thirds
of your gross income for 2025 or 2026 is from
farming or fishing, your required annual pay-
ment is the smaller of:
1. 662/3% (0.6667) of your total tax for 2026,
or
2. 100% of the total tax shown on your 2025
return. (Your 2025 tax return must cover all
12 months.)
For definitions of “gross income from farm-
ing” and “gross income from fishing,” see Farm-
ing and Fishing, earlier, under Special Rules.
Valid section 1062 election. If you sold or
exchanged qualified farmland to a qualified
farmer, and you properly made the election un-
der section 1062 to pay the net income tax lia-
bility on the sale or exchange in four equal in-
stallments, a limited waiver of the
underpayment penalty will apply to the deferred
amount of the applicable net income tax liability.
For the year of the sale, you may exclude
75% of the net applicable income tax liability
when you are figuring your required annual pay-
ment for the year. When figuring your required
annual payment, you must include the portion of
the applicable net income tax liability (25%) that
will be paid when you file your Form 1040 or
1040-SR for the year. For more information, see
Notice 2026-3.
Total tax for 2025—line 12b. Your 2025 total
tax is the amount on Form 1040 or 1040–SR,
line 24 reduced by the following.
1. Unreported social security and Medicare
tax or RRTA tax from Forms 4137 or 8919
included on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), lines
5 and 6.
2. Amounts from Form 5329, Parts III through
IX only.
3. The following amounts from Schedule 2
(Form 1040).
a. Excise tax on excess golden para-
chute payments (Schedule 2,
line 17k).
b. Excise tax on insider stock compen-
sation from an expatriated corporation
(Schedule 2, line 17m).
c. Look-back interest due under section
167(g) (Schedule 2, line 17n).
d. Look-back interest due under section
460(b) (Schedule 2, line 17n).
e. Recapture of federal mortgage sub-
sidy (Schedule 2, line 17b).
f. Uncollected social security and Medi-
care tax or RRTA tax on tips or
group-term life insurance (Schedule 2,
line 13).
4. Any refundable credit amounts on Form
1040 or 1040-SR, lines 27a, 28, 29, and
30; and Schedule 3 (Form 1040), lines 9
and 12.
Total Estimated Tax Payments
Needed—Line 14a
Use lines 13 and 14a to figure the total estima-
ted tax you may be required to pay for 2026.
Subtract your expected withholding from your
required annual payment (line 12c). You must
usually pay this difference in four equal install-
ments. See When To Pay Estimated Tax and
How To Figure Each Payment, later.
You don’t have to pay estimated tax if:
• Line 12c minus line 13 is zero or less, or
• Line 11c minus line 13 is less than $1,000.
Withholding—line 13. Your expected with-
holding for 2026 (line 13) includes the income
tax you expect to be withheld from all sources
(wages, pensions and annuities, etc.). It in-
cludes excess social security and tier 1 railroad
retirement tax you expect to be withheld from
your wages and compensation. For this pur-
pose, you will have excess social security or tier
1 railroad retirement tax withholding for 2026
only if your wages and compensation from two
or more employers are more than $184,500.
It also includes Additional Medicare Tax you
expect to be withheld from your wages or com-
pensation. Your employer is responsible for
withholding the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax
on Medicare wages or RRTA compensation it
pays to you in excess of $200,000.
When To Pay
Estimated Tax
For estimated tax purposes, the year is divided
into four payment periods. Each period has a
specific payment due date. If you don’t pay
enough tax by the due date of each of the pay-
ment periods, you may be charged a penalty
even if you are due a refund when you file your
income tax return.
If a payment is mailed, the date of the U.S.
postmark is considered the date of payment.
The general payment periods and due dates for
estimated tax payments are shown next. For ex-
ceptions to the dates listed, see Saturday, Sun-
day, holiday rule.
Recent clarification to the U.S. Postal
Service (USPS) postmark rules makes
clear that for purposes of the “timely
mailing treated as timely filing/paying” rule for
tax returns and payments, the postmarked date
of a return/payment is the date the return is pro-
cessed at a facility. This date may or may not be
the date you drop your payment off in the mail-
box or at a USPS location.CAUTION
!
24 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
For the period:
General due
date:
Tax year 2026
due date:
Jan. 11
– March 31 . . . . April 15 April 15, 2026
April 1
– May 31 . . . . . . June 15 June 15, 2026
June 1
– Aug. 31 . . . . . Sept. 15 Sept. 15, 2026
Sept. 1
– Dec. 31 . . . . . Jan. 15, next year2 Jan. 15, 2027
1 If your tax year does not begin on January 1, see
Fiscal-year taxpayers, later.
2 See January payment, later.
Saturday, Sunday, holiday rule. If the due
date for an estimated tax payment falls on a
Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the payment
will be on time if you make it on the next day
that isn’t a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday. See
Pub. 509 for a list of all legal holidays.
January payment. If you file your 2026 Form
1040 or 1040-SR by January 31, 2027, and pay
the rest of the tax you owe, you don’t need to
make the payment due on January 15, 2027.
Example. You do not pay any estimated tax
for 2026. You file the 2026 income tax return
and pay the balance due shown on the return
on January 26, 2027.
Your estimated tax for the fourth payment
period is considered to have been paid on time.
However, you may owe a penalty for not making
the first three estimated tax payments, if re-
quired. Any penalty for not making those pay-
ments will be figured up to January 26, 2027.
Fiscal-year taxpayers. If your tax year does
not start on January 1, your payment due dates
are:
1. The 15th day of the 4th month of your fis-
cal year,
2. The 15th day of the 6th month of your fis-
cal year,
3. The 15th day of the 9th month of your fis-
cal year, and
4. The 15th day of the 1st month after the
end of your fiscal year.
You don’t have to make the last payment lis-
ted above if you file your income tax return by
the last day of the first month after the end of
your fiscal year and pay all the tax you owe with
your return.
When To Start
You don’t have to make estimated tax payments
until you have income on which you will owe in-
come tax. If you have income subject to estima-
ted tax during the first payment period, you
must make your first payment by the due date
for the first payment period.
You have several options when paying esti-
mated taxes. You can:
• Apply an overpayment from the previous
tax year,
• Pay all your estimated tax by the due date
of your first payment, or
• Pay it in installments.
If you choose to pay in installments, make
your first payment by the due date for the first
payment period. Make your remaining install-
ment payments by the due dates for the later
periods.
To avoid any estimated tax penalties, all in-
stallments must be paid by their due date and
for the required amount.
No income subject to estimated tax during
first period. If you don’t have income subject
to estimated tax until a later payment period,
you must make your first payment by the due
date for that period. You can pay your entire es-
timated tax by the due date for that period or
you can pay it in installments by the due date for
that period and the due dates for the remaining
periods. Table 2-1 shows the general due dates
for making installment payments when the due
date does not fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or hol-
iday.
General Due Dates for
Estimated Tax
Installment Payments
Table 2-1.
If you first have
income on which
you must pay
estimated tax:
Make a
payment
by:*
Make later
installments
by:*
Before April 1 April 15 June 15
Sept. 15
Jan. 15 next year
April 1–May 31 June 15 Sept. 15
Jan. 15 next year
June 1–Aug. 31 Sept. 15 Jan. 15 next year
After Aug. 31 Jan. 15
next year
(None)
* See January payment and Saturday, Sunday,
holiday rule, earlier.
How much to pay to avoid penalty. To deter-
mine how much you should pay by each pay-
ment due date, see How To Figure Each Pay-
ment, later.
Farming and Fishing
If at least two-thirds of your gross income for
2025 or 2026 is from farming or fishing, you
have only one payment due date for your 2026
estimated tax: January 15, 2027. The due dates
for the first three payment periods, discussed
under When To Pay Estimated Tax, earlier, don’t
apply to you.
If you file your 2026 Form 1040 or 1040-SR
by March 1, 2027, and pay all the tax you owe
at that time, you don’t need to make an estima-
ted tax payment.
Fiscal year. If at least two-thirds of your gross
income for 2025 or 2026 is from farming or fish-
ing but your tax year does not start on January
1, you can either:
• Pay all your estimated tax by the 15th day
after the end of your tax year, or
• File your return and pay all the tax you owe
by the 1st day of the 3rd month after the
end of your tax year.
How To Figure
Each Payment
After you have figured your total estimated tax,
figure how much you must pay by the due date
of each payment period. You should pay
enough by each due date to avoid a penalty for
that period. If you don’t pay enough during any
payment period, you may be charged a penalty
even if you are due a refund when you file your
tax return. The penalty is discussed in the In-
structions for Form 2210.
Regular Installment Method
If your first estimated tax payment is due April
15, 2026, you can figure your required payment
for each period by dividing your annual estima-
ted tax due (line 14a of the 2026 Estimated Tax
Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1)) by 4. Enter this
amount on line 15. However, use this method
only if your income is basically the same
throughout the year.
Change in estimated tax. After you make an
estimated tax payment, changes in your in-
come, adjustments, deductions, or credits may
make it necessary for you to refigure your esti-
mated tax. Pay the unpaid balance of your
amended estimated tax by the next payment
due date after the change or in installments by
that date and the due dates for the remaining
payment periods.
If you don’t receive your income evenly
throughout the year, your required estimated tax
payments may not be the same for each period.
See Annualized Income Installment Method,
later.
Amended estimated tax. If you refig-
ure your estimated tax during the year
or if your first estimated tax payment is
due after April 15, 2026, figure your required
payment for each remaining payment period us-
ing Worksheet 2-12.
Example. Early in 2026, you figure estima-
ted tax due of $1,800. You make estimated tax
payments on April 15 and June 15 of $450 each
($1,800 ÷ 4).
On July 10, you sell investment property at a
gain. Your refigured estimated tax is $4,100.
The required estimated tax payment for the third
payment period is $2,175.
If your estimated tax does not change again,
the required estimated tax payment for the
fourth payment period will be $1,025.
Underpayment penalty. The penalty is fig-
ured separately for each payment period. If you
figure your payments using the regular install-
ment method and later refigure your payments
because of an increase in income, you may be
charged a penalty for underpayment of estima-
ted tax for the period(s) before you changed
your payments. To see how you may be able to
avoid or reduce this penalty, see Sched-
ule AI—Annualized Income Installment Method
in the Instructions for Form 2210.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 25
Amended Estimated Tax WorksheetWorksheet 2-12. Keep for Your Records
1. Amended total estimated tax due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Multiply line 1 by:
50% (0.50) if next payment is due June 15, 2026
75% (0.75) if next payment is due September 15, 2026
100% (1.00) if next payment is due January 15, 2027 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Estimated tax payments for all previous periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Next required payment: Subtract line 3 from line 2 and enter the result (but not
less than zero) here and on your payment voucher for your next required
payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
Note: If the payment on line 4 is due January 15, 2027, stop here. Otherwise,
go to line 5.
5. Add lines 3 and 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Subtract line 5 from line 1 and enter the result (but not less than zero) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Each following required payment: If the payment on line 4 is due June 15, 2026, enter one-half of the
amount on line 6 here and on the payment vouchers for your payments due September 15, 2026, and January
15, 2027. If the amount on line 4 is due September 15, 2026, enter the amount from line 6 here and on the
payment voucher for your payment due January 15, 2027 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
26 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Annualized Income
Installment Method
If you don’t receive your income evenly through-
out the year (for example, your income from a
repair shop you operate is much larger in the
summer than it is during the rest of the year),
your required estimated tax payment for one or
more periods may be less than the amount fig-
ured using the regular installment method.
The annualized income installment method
annualizes your tax at the end of each period
based on a reasonable estimate of your in-
come, deductions, and other items relating to
events that occurred from the beginning of the
tax year through the end of the period. To see
whether you can pay less for any period, com-
plete the 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Work-
sheet (Worksheet 2-9).
You first must complete the 2026 Esti-
mated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1)
through line 14b.
Use the result you figure on line 32 of Work-
sheet 2-9 to make your estimated tax payments
and complete your payment vouchers.
Note: If you use the annualized income in-
stallment method to figure your estimated tax
payments, you must file Form 2210 with your
2026 tax return. See Schedule AI—Annualized
Income Installment Method in the Instructions
for Form 2210 for more information.
Instructions for the 2026
Annualized Estimated Tax
Worksheet (Worksheet 2-9)
Use Worksheet 2-9 to help you follow
these instructions.
The purpose of this worksheet is to deter-
mine your estimated tax liability as your income
accumulates throughout the year, rather than di-
viding your entire year’s estimated tax liability by
4 as if your income was earned equally through-
out the year. The top of the worksheet shows
the dates for each payment period. The periods
build; that is, each period includes all previous
periods. After the end of each payment period,
complete the corresponding worksheet column
to figure the payment due for that period.
Line 1. Enter your AGI for the period. This is
your gross income for the period, including your
share of partnership or S corporation income or
loss, minus your adjustments to income for that
period. See Expected AGI—Line 1, earlier.
Self-employment income. If you had
self-employment income, first complete Sec-
tion B of this worksheet. Use the amounts on
line 41 when figuring your expected AGI to enter
in each column of Section A, line 1.
Line 4. Be sure to consider deduction limits fig-
ured on Schedule A (Form 1040), such as the
$40,400 ($20,200 for married individuals filing
separately) limit on state and local taxes. Figure
your deduction limits using your expected AGI
in the corresponding column of line 1 (2026 An-CAUTION
!TIP
nualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet
2-9)).
For 2026, if you plan to take an item-
ized deduction for a charitable contri-
bution, you can only deduct charitable
contributions that are more than 0.5% of your
AGI. Use Worksheet 2-5 to figure your expected
charitable contribution deduction. Also, see
Worksheet 2-6.
For 2026, your total itemized deduc-
tions may be reduced if your taxable in-
come is more than the amount shown
next for your filing status.
Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving
spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $768,700
Head of household or Single . . . . . . . . . $640,600
Married filing separately . . . . . . . . . . . $384,350
If you expect your taxable income to be than
this amount, use Worksheet 2-6. Also, see
Worksheet 2-5 if you plan to take an itemized
deduction for a charitable contribution.
Line 7. If you won’t itemize your deductions,
use Worksheet 2-4 to figure your standard de-
duction.
Line 12. Generally, you will use the Tax Rate
Schedules to figure the tax on your annualized
income. However, see below for situations
where you must use a different method to figure
your estimated tax.
Tax on child’s investment income. You
must use a special method to figure tax on the
income of the following children who have more
than $2,700 of investment income.
1. Children under age 18 at the end of 2026.
2. The following children if their earned in-
come isn’t more than half their support.
a. Children age 18 at the end of 2026.
b. Children who are full-time students at
least age 19 but under age 24 at the
end of 2026.
Tax on net capital gain. The regular in-
come tax rates for individuals don’t apply to a
net capital gain. Instead, your net capital gain is
taxed at a lower maximum rate.
The term “net capital gain” means the
amount by which your net long-term capital gain
for the year is more than your net short-term
capital loss.
Tax on qualified dividends and capital
gains. For 2026, your capital gain and divi-
dends rate will depend on your income.
Tax on capital gain or qualified divi-
dends. If the amount on line 1 includes
a net capital gain or qualified divi-
dends, use Worksheet 2-10 to figure the
amount to enter on line 12.
Tax if excluding foreign earned in-
come or excluding or deducting for-
eign housing. If you expect to claim
the foreign earned income exclusion or the
housing exclusion or deduction on Form 2555,
use Worksheet 2-11 to figure the amount to en-
ter on line 12.CAUTION
!CAUTION
!
Line 13. Add the tax from Forms 8814, 4972,
and 6251 for the period. Also, include any re-
capture of an education credit for each period.
You may owe this tax if you claimed an educa-
tion credit in an earlier year and you received ei-
ther tax-free educational assistance or a refund
of qualifying expenses for the same student af-
ter filing your 2025 return.
Use the 2025 forms or worksheets to see if
you will owe any of the taxes just discussed.
Figure the tax based on your income and de-
ductions during the period shown in the column
headings. Multiply this amount by the annuali-
zation amounts shown for each column on
line 2 of the 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax
Worksheet (Worksheet 2-9). Enter the result on
line 13 of this worksheet.
Line 15. Include all the nonrefundable credits
you expect to claim because of events that will
occur during the period.
Note: When figuring your credits for each
period, annualize any item of income or deduc-
tion to figure each credit. For example, if you
need to use your AGI to figure a credit, use
line 3 of Worksheet 2-9 to figure the credit for
each column.
Line 18. Add your expected other taxes.
Other taxes include the following.
1. Additional tax on early distributions from:
a. An IRA or other qualified retirement
plan,
b. A tax-sheltered annuity, or
c. A modified endowment contract en-
tered into after June 20, 1988.
2. Household employment taxes if:
a. You will have federal income tax with-
held from wages, pensions, annuities,
gambling winnings, or other income;
or
b. You would be required to make esti-
mated tax payments even if you didn’t
include household employment taxes
when figuring your estimated tax.
3. Amounts on Schedule 2 (Form 1040),
lines 14 through 16, and 17a, 17c through
17j, 17l, and 17o through 17z and 19.
4. Additional Medicare Tax. A 0.9% Addi-
tional Medicare Tax applies to your com-
bined Medicare wages and self-employ-
ment income and/or your RRTA
compensation that exceeds the amount
listed in the following chart, based on your
filing status.
Filing Status Threshold Amount
Married filing jointly $250,000
Married filing separately $125,000
Single $200,000
Head of household $200,000
Qualifying surviving spouse $200,000
Medicare wages and self-employment
income are combined to determine if your
income exceeds the threshold. A self-em-
ployment loss should not be considered
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 27
for purposes of this tax. RRTA compensa-
tion should be separately compared to the
threshold.
Your employer is responsible for with-
holding the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax
on Medicare wages or RRTA compensa-
tion it pays you in excess of $200,000 in
2026. You should consider this withhold-
ing, if applicable, in determining whether
you need to make an estimated payment.
5. Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). The
NIIT is 3.8% of the lesser of your net in-
vestment income or the excess of your
MAGI over a specified threshold amount.
Threshold amounts:
Filing Status Threshold Amount
Married filing jointly $250,000
Married filing separately $125,000
Single $200,000
Head of household $200,000
Qualifying surviving
spouse
$250,000
Line 20. Include all the refundable credits
(other than withholding credits) you can claim
because of events that occurred during the pe-
riod. These include the earned income credit,
additional child tax credit, fuel tax credit, net
premium tax credit, refundable adoption credit,
and refundable American opportunity credit.
Note: When figuring your refundable credits
for each period, annualize any item of income or
deduction used to figure each credit.
Line 29. If line 28 is smaller than line 25 and
you are not certain of the estimate of your 2026
tax, you can avoid a penalty by entering the
amount from line 25 on line 29.
Line 31. For each period, include estimated
tax payments made and any excess social se-
curity and railroad retirement tax.
Also, include estimated federal income tax
withholding. One-fourth of your estimated with-
holding is considered withheld on the due date
of each payment period. To figure the amount to
include on line 31 for each period, multiply your
total expected withholding for 2026 by:
• 25% (0.25) for the first period,
• 50% (0.50) for the second period,
• 75% (0.75) for the third period, and
• 100% (1.00) for the fourth period.
However, you may choose to include your
withholding according to the actual dates on
which the amounts will be withheld. For each
period, include withholding made from the be-
ginning of the period up to and including the
payment due date. You can make this choice
separately for the taxes withheld from your wa-
ges and all other withholding. For an explana-
tion of what to include in withholding, see Total
Estimated Tax Payments Needed—Line 14a,
earlier.
Nonresident aliens. If you will file Form
1040-NR and you don’t receive wages as an
employee subject to U.S. income tax withhold-
ing, the instructions for the worksheet are modi-
fied as follows.
1. Skip column (a).
2. On line 1, enter your income for the period
that is effectively connected with a U.S.
trade or business.
3. On line 21, increase your entry by the
amount determined by multiplying your in-
come for the period that isn’t effectively
connected with a U.S. trade or business by
the following.
a. 72% (0.72) for column (b).
b. 45% (0.45) for column (c).
c. 30% (0.30) for column (d).
However, if you can use a treaty rate
lower than 30%, use the percentages de-
termined by multiplying your treaty rate by
2.4, 1.5, and 1, respectively.
4. On line 26, enter one-half of the amount
from line 14c of the Form 1040-ES (NR)
2025 Estimated Tax Worksheet in column
(b) and one-fourth in columns (c) and (d)
of Worksheet 2-9.
5. On lines 24 and 27, skip column (b).
6. On line 31, if you don’t use the actual with-
holding method, include one-half of your
total expected withholding in column (b)
and one-fourth in columns (c) and (d).
See Pub. 519 for more information.
Estimated Tax
Payments Not Required
You don’t have to pay estimated tax if your with-
holding in each payment period is at least as
much as:
• One-fourth of your required annual pay-
ment, or
• Your required annualized income install-
ment for that period.
You also don’t have to pay estimated tax if
you will pay enough through withholding to keep
the amount you will owe with your return under
$1,000.
How To Pay
Estimated Tax
There are several ways to pay estimated tax.
• Credit an overpayment on your 2025 return
to your 2026 estimated tax.
• Pay by direct transfer from your bank ac-
count, or pay by debit or credit card using a
pay-by-phone system or the Internet.
• Send in your payment (check or money or-
der) with a payment voucher from Form
1040-ES.
Credit an Overpayment
If you show an overpayment of tax after com-
pleting your Form 1040 or 1040-SR for 2025,
you can apply part or all of it to your estimated
tax for 2026. On Form 1040 or 1040-SR, enter
the amount you want credited to your estimated
tax rather than refunded. Take the amount you
have credited into account when figuring your
estimated tax payments. If you timely file your
2025 return, treat the credit as a payment made
on April 15, 2026.
If you are a beneficiary of an estate or trust
and the trustee elects to credit 2026 trust pay-
ments of estimated tax to you, you can treat the
amount credited as paid by you on January 15,
2027.
If you choose to have an overpayment of tax
credited to your estimated tax, you can’t have
any of that amount refunded to you until you file
your tax return for the following year. You also
can’t use that overpayment in any other way.
Example. When you finished filling out the
2025 tax return, the result was an overpayment
of $750. You knew additional tax would be owed
in 2026. You credited $600 of the overpayment
to the 2026 estimated tax and had the remain-
ing $150 issued as a refund.
In September, you amended the 2025 return
by filing Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual
Income Tax Return. It turned out that you owed
$250 more in tax than was originally thought.
This reduced the 2025 overpayment from $750
to $500. Because the $750 had already been
applied to the 2026 estimated tax or refunded,
the IRS billed you for the additional $250 owed,
plus penalties and interest. You could not use
any of the $600 that had been credited to the
2026 estimated tax to pay this bill.
Pay Online
Paying online is convenient and secure and
helps make sure we get your payments on time.
To pay your taxes online or for more information,
go to IRS.gov/ModernPayments. Payments of
U.S. tax must be remitted to the IRS in U.S. dol-
lars. Digital assets are not accepted. You can
pay using any of the following methods.
• Your Online Account. You can make tax
payments through your online account, in-
cluding balance payments, estimated tax
payments, or other types. You can also see
your payment history and other tax records
there. Go to IRS.gov/Account.
• IRS Direct Pay. For online transfers di-
rectly from your checking or savings ac-
count at no cost to you, go to IRS.gov/
Payments.
• Debit Card, Credit Card, or Digital Wal-
let. To pay by debit or credit card or digital
wallet, go to IRS.gov/Payments. There is a
fee charged by these service providers.
You can also pay by phone with a debit or
credit card. See Debit or credit card under
Pay by Phone, later.
• Electronic Funds Withdrawal (EFW) is
an integrated e-file/e-pay option offered
when filing your federal taxes electronically
using tax preparation software, through a
tax professional, or the IRS at IRS.gov/
Payments.
• Online Payment Agreement. If you can’t
pay in full by the due date of your tax re-
turn, you can apply for an online monthly
installment agreement at IRS.gov/OPA.
Once you complete the online process,
you will receive immediate notification of
whether your agreement has been ap-
proved. A user fee is charged.
28 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Electronic Federal Tax
Payment System (EFTPS)
Allows you to pay your taxes online or by phone
directly from your checking or saving account.
There is no fee for this service but you must be
enrolled. See EFTPS under Pay by Phone, later.
Pay by Phone
Paying by phone is another safe and secure
method of paying electronically. Use one of the
following methods: (1) call one of the debit or
credit card service providers or (2) use the
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
(EFTPS) to pay directly from your checking or
savings account.
Debit or credit card. Call one of our service
providers. Each charges a fee that varies by
provider, card type, and payment amount.
ACI Payments, Inc.
888-UPAY-TAXTM (888-872-9829)
fed.acipayonline.com
Link2GOV Corporation
888-PAY-1040TM (888-729-1040)
www.PAY1040.com
EFTPS. To get more information about EFTPS,
visit EFTPS.gov or call 800-555-4477. To con-
tact EFTPS using Telecommunications Relay
Services (TRS) for people who are deaf, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability, dial 711
and then provide the TRS assistant the
800-555-4477 number above or 800-733-4829.
Additional information about EFTPS is also
available in Pub. 966.
Pay by Mobile Device
To pay through your mobile device, download
the IRS2Go application.
Pay by Cash
You can pay your taxes in cash. To find out
about the different cash payment methods, go
to IRS.gov/PayCash. Don’t send cash payments
through the mail.
Pay by Check or Money
Order Using the Estimated
Tax Payment Voucher
Before submitting a payment through the mail,
please consider alternative methods. One of
our safe, quick, and easy electronic payment
options might be right for you. Each payment of
estimated tax by check or money order must be
accompanied by a payment voucher from Form
1040-ES. If you use your own envelopes (and
not the window envelope that comes with the
1040-ES package), make sure you mail your
payment vouchers to the address shown in the
Form 1040-ES instructions for the place where
you live.
Don’t use the address shown in the In-
structions for Form 1040.
If you didn’t pay estimated tax last year, get
a copy of Form 1040-ES from the IRS (see How
To Get Tax Help, later). Follow the instructions
to make sure you use the vouchers correctly.CAUTION
!
Notice to taxpayers presenting checks.
When you provide a check as payment, you au-
thorize us either to use information from your
check to make a one-time electronic fund trans-
fer from your account or to process the payment
as a check transaction. When we use informa-
tion from your check to make an electronic fund
transfer, funds may be withdrawn from your ac-
count as soon as the same day we receive your
payment, and you will not receive your check
back from your financial institution.
No checks of $100 million or more accep-
ted. The IRS can’t accept a single check (in-
cluding a cashier’s check) for amounts of
$100,000,000 ($100 million) or more. If you are
sending $100 million or more by check, you’ll
need to spread the payment over two or more
checks with each check made out for an
amount less than $100 million. This limit doesn’t
apply to other methods of payment (such as
electronic payments). Please consider a
method of payment other than check if the
amount of the payment is over $100 million.
Joint estimated tax payments. If you file a
joint return and are making joint estimated tax
payments, enter the names and social security
numbers on the payment voucher in the same
order as they will appear on the joint return.
Change of address. You must notify the IRS if
you are making estimated tax payments and
you changed your address during the year.
Complete Form 8822 and mail it to the address
shown in the instructions for that form.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 29
Worksheets for Chapter 2
Use the following worksheets and tables to figure your correct estimated tax.
IF you need... THEN use...
2026 Tax Rate Schedules 2026 Tax Rate Schedules
the 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet Worksheet 2-1
to estimate your taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits—line 1 of ES Worksheet (or
Annualized ES Worksheet (Worksheet 2-9)) Worksheet 2-2
to estimate your self-employment (SE) tax and your deduction for SE tax—lines 1 and 11 of ES Worksheet
(lines 1 and 17 of Annualized ES Worksheet (Worksheet 2-9)) Worksheet 2-3
to estimate your standard deduction—line 2 of ES Worksheet (line 7 of Annualized ES Worksheet
(Worksheet 2-9)) Worksheet 2-4
to estimate your charitable contribution deduction based on 0.5% of your estimated AGI Worksheet 2-5
to reduce your itemized deductions because your estimated annualized taxable income is expected to be
more than $768,700 if married filing jointly or qualifying widower; $640,600 if head of household or single;
$384,350 if married filing separately
Worksheet 2-6
to estimate your income tax if line 1 of your ES Worksheet includes a net capital gain or qualified
dividends—line 4 of ES Worksheet Worksheet 2-7
to estimate your income tax if you expect to claim a foreign earned income exclusion or foreign housing
exclusion or deduction on Form 2555—line 4 of ES Worksheet Worksheet 2-8
the 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (Annualized ES Worksheet) Worksheet 2-9
to estimate your income tax if line 1 of your Annualized ES Worksheet includes a net capital gain or
qualified dividends—line 12 of Annualized ES Worksheet Worksheet 2-10
to estimate your income tax if you expect to claim a foreign earned income exclusion or foreign housing
exclusion or deduction on Form 2555—line 12 of Annualized ES Worksheet Worksheet 2-11
to refigure (amend) your estimated tax during the year Worksheet 2-12
30 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
2026 Tax Rate SchedulesCAUTION
!
Don’t use these Tax Rate Schedules to figure your 2025 taxes. Use them only to figure your 2026 estimated
taxes.
Schedule X—Use if your 2026 filing status is
Single
Schedule Z— Use if your 2026 filing status is
Head of household
If line 3 is: The tax is: If line 3 is: The tax is:
Over—
But not
over—
of the
amount
over— Over—
But not
over—
of the
amount
over—
$0 $12,400 10% $0 $0 $17,700 10% $0
12,400 50,400 $1,240.00 + 12% 12,400 17,700 67,450 $1,770.00 + 12% 17,700
50,400 105,700 5,800.00 + 22% 50,400 67,450 105,700 7,740.00 + 22% 67,450
105,700 201,775 17,966.00 + 24% 105,700 105,700 201,750 16,155.00 + 24% 105,700
201,775 256,225 41,024.00 + 32% 201,775 201,750 256,200 39,207.00 + 32% 201,750
256,225 640,600 58,448.00 + 35% 256,225 256,200 640,600 56,631.00 + 35% 256,200
640,600 - - - - - - 192,979.25 + 37% 640,600 640,600 - - - - - - 191,171.00 + 37% 640,600
Schedule Y-1— Use if your 2026 filing status is
Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse
Schedule Y-2— Use if your 2026 filing status is
Married filing separately
If line 3 is: The tax is: If line 3 is: The tax is:
Over—
But not
over—
of the
amount
over— Over—
But not
over—
of the
amount
over—
$0 $24,800 10% $0 $0 $12,400 10% $0
24,800 100,800 $2,480.00 + 12% 24,800 12,400 50,400 $1,240.00 + 12% 12,400
100,800 211,400 11,600.00 + 22% 100,800 50,400 105,700 5,800.00 + 22% 50,400
211,400 403,550 35,932.00 + 24% 211,400 105,700 201,775 17,966.00 + 24% 105,700
403,550 512,450 82,048.00 + 32% 403,550 201,775 256,225 41,024.00 + 32% 201,775
512,450 768,700 116,896.00 + 35% 512,450 256,225 384,350 58,448.00 + 35% 256,225
768,700 - - - - - - 206,583.50 + 37% 768,700 384,350 - - - - - - 103,291.75 + 37% 384,350
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 31
2026 Estimated Tax WorksheetWorksheet 2-1. Keep for Your RecordsCAUTION
!
When this worksheet refers you to instructions, you can find those instructions in the 2026 Form 1040-ES.
1. Adjusted gross income you expect in 2026 (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2a. Deductions
• If you plan to itemize deductions, enter the estimated total of your itemized deductions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Caution: If you plan to itemize your deductions and claim a charitable contribution deduction, see Worksheet 2-5 to
figure the amount of your deduction.
Caution: If your expected taxable income will be more than $768,700 if married filing jointly or qualifying widower;
$640,600 if head of household or single; $384,350 if married filing separately, your itemized deductions may be
reduced. See Worksheet 2-6 to figure the amount of your deduction.
• If you don’t plan to itemize deductions, enter your standard deduction plus up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married
filing jointly) for charitable contributions made by cash or check (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2a.
b. If you can take the qualified business income deduction, enter the estimated amount of the deduction . . . . . . . . . . 2b.
c. If you can take an additional deduction on Schedule 1-A (Form 1040), enter the estimated amount you expect to
enter on Schedule 1-A (Form 1040), line 38.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2c.
d. Add lines 2a, 2b, and 2c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2d.
3. Subtract line 2d from line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Tax. Figure your tax on the amount on line 3 by using the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules.
Caution: If you will have qualified dividends or a net capital gain or expect to exclude or deduct foreign earned
income or housing, see Worksheets 2-7 and 2-8 to figure the tax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Alternative minimum tax from Form 6251 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Add lines 4 and 5. Add to this amount any other taxes you expect to include in the total on Form 1040 or 1040-SR,
line 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Credits (see instructions). Don’t include any income tax withholding on this line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Subtract line 7 from line 6. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Self-employment tax (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Other taxes including, if applicable, Additional Medicare Tax and/or NIIT (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
11a. Add lines 8 through 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11a.
b. Earned income credit, additional child tax credit, fuel tax credit, net premium tax credit, refundable American
opportunity credit, refundable adoption credit, and section 1341 credit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11b.
c. Total 2026 estimated tax. Subtract line 11b from line 11a. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ▶ 11c.
12a. Multiply line 11c by 90% (0.90) (662/3% (0.6667) for farming and fishing) . . . . . 12a.
b. Required annual payment based on prior year’s tax (see instructions) . . . . . . . 12b.
c. Required annual payment to avoid a penalty. Enter the smaller of line 12a or 12b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ▶ 12c.
Caution: Generally, if you don’t prepay (through income tax withholding and estimated tax payments) at least the
amount on line 12c, you may owe a penalty for not paying enough estimated tax. To avoid a penalty, make sure your
estimate on line 11c is as accurate as possible. Even if you pay the required annual payment, you may still owe tax
when you file your return. If you prefer, you can pay the amount shown on line 11c.
13. Income tax withheld and estimated to be withheld during 2026 (including income tax withholding on pensions,
annuities, certain deferred income and Additional Medicare Tax withholding.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.
14a. Subtract line 13 from line 12c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14a.
Is the result zero or less?
Yes. Stop here. You are not required to make estimated tax payments.
No. Go to line 14b.
b. Subtract line 13 from line 11c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14b.
Is the result less than $1,000?
Yes. Stop here. You are not required to make estimated tax payments.
No. Go to line 15 to figure your required payment.
15. If the first payment you are required to make is due April 15, 2026, enter ¼ of line 14a (minus any 2025 overpayment
that you are applying to this installment) here and on your estimated tax payment voucher(s) if you are paying by
check or money order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.
32 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 1
Estimated Taxable Social Security and Railroad Retirement
Benefits
Worksheet 2-2.
Keep for Your Records
Note: If you are using this worksheet to estimate your taxable social security or railroad retirement benefits for Worksheet 2-9, 2026
Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet, multiply the expected amount of benefits for each period by the annualization amount shown on
Worksheet 2-9, line 2, for the same period before entering it on line 1 below.
1. Enter your expected social security and railroad retirement benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter one-half of line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Enter your expected total income. Don’t include any social security and railroad
retirement benefits, nontaxable interest income, nontaxable IRA distributions, or
nontaxable pension distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Enter your expected nontaxable interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Enter (as a positive amount) the total of any expected exclusions or deductions for:
• U.S. savings bond interest used for higher education expenses (Form 8815)
• Employer-provided adoption benefits (Form 8839)
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555)
• Income by bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto
Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Add lines 2, 3, 4, and 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Enter your expected adjustments to income. Don’t include any student loan
interest deduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Subtract line 7 from line 6. If zero or less, stop here.
Note: Don’t include any social security or railroad retirement benefits in the amount on
line 1 of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) (or Annualized Estimated
Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-9)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Enter $25,000 ($32,000 if you expect to file Married filing jointly; $0 if you expect to file
Married filing separately and expect to live with your spouse at any time during the
year) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Subtract line 9 from line 8. If zero or less, stop here.
Note: Don’t include any social security or railroad retirement benefits in the amount on
line 1 of your Worksheet 2-1 (or Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet
2-9)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
11. Enter $9,000 ($12,000 if you expect to file Married filing jointly; $0 if you expect to file
Married filing separately and expect to live with your spouse at any time during the
year) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.
12. Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.
13. Enter the smaller of line 10 or line 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.
14. Enter one-half of line 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.
15. Enter the smaller of line 2 or line 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.
16. Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.
17. Add lines 15 and 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.
18. Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.
19. Enter the smaller of line 17 or line 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.
20. Expected taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits for the period.
Divide line 19 by the annualization amount shown on Worksheet 2-9, line 2, for the same
period and enter here. Include this amount in the total on line 1 of your 2026 Estimated
Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) (or Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet
2-9)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 33
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Lines 1 and 9
Estimated Self-Employment Tax and Deduction Worksheet
Worksheet 2-3. Keep for Your Records
1 a. Enter your expected income and profits subject to self-employment
tax* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1a. .
b. If you will have farm income and also receive social security retirement or
disability benefits, enter your expected Conservation Reserve Program
payments that will be included on Schedule F (Form 1040) or listed on
Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1b.
2. Subtract line 1b from line 1a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Multiply line 2 by 92.35% (0.9235). If less than $400, don’t complete this
worksheet; you won’t owe self-employment tax on your expected net
earnings from self-employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Multiply line 3 by 2.9% (0.029) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Maximum income subject to social security tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. $184,500
6. Enter your expected wages (if subject to social security tax or the
6.2% portion of tier 1 railroad retirement tax) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Subtract line 6 from line 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
Note: If line 7 is zero or less, enter -0- on line 9 and skip to line 10.
8. Enter the smaller of line 3 or line 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Multiply line 8 by 12.4% (0.124) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Add line 4 and line 9. Enter the result here and on line 9 of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet
(Worksheet 2-1) (or line 15 of the Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-9)) . . . . . . . . . . 10.
11. Multiply line 10 by 50% (0.50). This is your expected deduction for self-employment tax on Schedule 1
(Form 1040), line 15. Subtract this amount when figuring your AGI on line 1 of your 2026 Estimated
Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) (or Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-9)) . . . . . . . . 11.
* Net profit from self-employment is found on Schedule C, Schedule F, and Schedule K-1 (Form 1065).
34 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 2a
Standard Deduction Worksheet
Worksheet 2-4. Keep for Your Records
Caution: Don’t complete this worksheet if you expect your spouse to itemize on a separate return or you expect to be a dual-status alien. In
either case, your standard deduction will be zero.
1. Enter the amount shown below for your filing status.
• Single or Married filing separately—$16,100
• Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse—$32,200
• Head of household—$24,150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Can you (or your spouse if filing jointly) be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s
return?
No. Skip line 3; enter the amount from line 1 on line 4.
Yes. Go to line 3.
3. Is your earned income* more than $900?
Yes. Add $450 to your earned income. Enter the total.
No. Enter $1,350 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Were you (or your spouse if filing jointly) born before January 2, 1962, or blind?
No. Go to line 6.
Yes. Check if:
a. You were Born before January 2, 1962 Blind
b. Your spouse was Born before January 2, 1962 Blind
c. Total boxes checked in 5a and 5b
▶ Multiply $1,650 ($2,050 if Single or Head of household) by the number in the box on line 5c . . . . . . . 5.
6. Standard deduction. Add lines 4 and 5. Enter the result here and on line 2 of your 2026 Estimated Tax
Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) (or line 7 of your 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet
2-9)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
* Earned income includes wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, and other compensation received for personal services you performed. It also includes taxable scholarships and
fellowship grants. Reduce your earned income by your allowed deduction for self-employment tax (Worksheet 2-3, line 11).
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 35
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 2a
Expected Charitable Contribution Deduction
Worksheet 2-5. Keep for Your Records
Caution: For 2026, if you plan to take an itemized deduction for a charitable contribution, you can only deduct charitable contributions that
are more than 0.5% of your AGI.
1. Enter the amount of your estimated charitable contributions by cash or check . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter the amount of your estimated charitable contributions other than by cash or
check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Add lines 1 and 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Enter the amount from line 1 of the 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) . . . . . . 4.
5. Multiply line 4 by 0.5% (0.005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Subtract line 5 from line 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Enter the amount from line 6 here and on line 1 of your 2026 Overall Limitation on Itemized Deductions
Worksheet (Worksheet 2-6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
36 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 2a
Overall Limitation on Itemized Deductions
Worksheet 2-6. Keep for Your Records
Caution: For 2026, your total itemized deductions may be reduced if your taxable income is more than the amount shown on line 10 for
your filing status.
1. Enter the amount from line 7 of your 2026 Estimated Charitable Contribution Deduction Worksheet (Worksheet
2-5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter the amount of total estimated itemized deductions not included on line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Add lines 1 and 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Enter the amount from line 1 of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Enter the amount from line 2b of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Enter the amount from line 2c of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Add lines 5 and 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Subtract line 7 from line 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Enter $768,700 if married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse; $640,600 if head of household or single; or
$384,350 if married filing separately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Is the amount on line 8 more than the amount on line 9?
No. Your deduction isn’t limited. Enter the amount from line 3 on line 2a of your 2026 Estimated Tax
Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1). Don’t complete the rest of this worksheet.
Yes. Subtract line 9 from line 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
11. Enter the smaller of line 3 or line 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.
12. Multiply line 11 by 5.4% (0.054) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.
13. Total itemized deductions. Subtract line 12 from line 3. Enter the result here and on line 2a of your 2026
Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 37
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 4
Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet
Worksheet 2-7.
Keep for Your Records
1. Enter the amount from the appropriate worksheet.
• Line 3 of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet.
• Line 3 of Worksheet 2-8 (use if you will exclude or deduct foreign earned
income or housing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter your qualified dividends expected for
20261 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Enter your net capital gain expected for 20261 . . . . . . 3.
4. Add lines 2 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Enter your 28% rate gain or loss expected for
20262 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Enter your unrecaptured section 1250 gain expected for
2026 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Add lines 5 and 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Enter the smaller of line 3 or line 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Subtract line 8 from line 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Subtract line 9 from line 1. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
11. Enter the smaller of line 1 or $98,900 ($49,450 if Single
or Married filing separately or $66,200 if Head of
household) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.
12. Enter the smaller of line 10 or line 11 . . . . . . . . . . . 12.
13 a. Subtract line 4 from line 1. If zero or less,
enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13a.
b. Enter the smaller of line 1 or:
• $201,775 if Single or Married filing separately,
• $201,750 if Head of household, or
• $403,550 if Married filing jointly or Qualifying
surviving spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b.
c. Enter the smaller of line 10 or line 13b . . . . . . . . . c.
14. Enter the larger of line 13a or 13c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.
Note: If line 11 and line 12 are the same, skip line 15 and go to line 16.
15. Subtract line 12 from line 11. This is the amount taxed at 0% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.
Note: If lines 1 and 11 are the same, skip lines 16 through 36 and go to line 37.
16. Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.
17. Enter the amount from line 15. If line 15 is blank, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.
18. Subtract line 17 from line 16. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.
19. Enter:
• $545,500 if Single,
• $306,850 if Married filing separately,
• $613,700 if Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse, or
• $579,600 if Head of household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.
20. Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.
21. Add lines 14 and 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.
22. Subtract line 21 from line 20. If zero or less,
enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.
23. Enter the smaller of line 18 or line 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.
24. Multiply line 23 by 15% (0.15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.
25. Add lines 17 and 23. If line 1 equals the sum of lines 21 and 23, skip lines 26
through 36 and go to line 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.
26. Subtract line 25 from line 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.
27. Multiply line 26 by 20% (0.20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.
28. Enter the smaller of line 3 or line 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.
29. Add lines 4 and 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.
30. Enter the amount from line 1 above . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.
31. Subtract line 30 from line 29. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.
32. Subtract line 31 from line 28. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.
33. Multiply line 32 by 25% (0.25) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.
Note: If line 5 is zero or blank, skip lines 34 through 36 and go to line 37.
34. Add lines 14, 15, 23, 26, and 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.
35. Subtract line 34 from line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.
38 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Worksheet 2-7. 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 4
Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet (Continued) Keep for Your Records
36. Multiply line 35 by 28% (0.28) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.
37. Figure the tax on the amount on line 14 from the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.
38. Add lines 24, 27, 33, 36, and 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.
39. Figure the tax on the amount on line 1 from the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.
40. Tax on all taxable income (including capital gains and qualified dividends). Enter the smaller of line 38
or line 39 here and on line 4 of the 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) (or line 4 of Worksheet 2-8) . . . . . . . . . 40.
1 If you expect to deduct investment interest expense, don’t include on this line any qualified dividends or net capital gain that you will elect to treat as
investment income.
2 This includes a section 1202 exclusion from eligible gain on qualified small business stock and gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles. See the
Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040) for more information.
2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 4
Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet
Worksheet 2-8. Keep for Your Records
Before you begin: If line 3 of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) is zero, don’t complete this worksheet.
1. Enter the amount from line 3 of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet (Worksheet 2-1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter the total foreign earned income and housing amount you (and your spouse if filing jointly) expect to
exclude or deduct in 2026 on Form 2555 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Add lines 1 and 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Tax on the amount on line 3. Use the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules or Worksheet 2-7,* as appropriate . . . . . 4.
5. Tax on the amount on line 2. Use the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Subtract line 5 from line 4. Enter the result here and on line 4 of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet
(Worksheet 2-1). If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
* If using Worksheet 2-7 (Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet), enter the amount from line 3 above on line 1 of
Worksheet 2-7. Complete Worksheet 2-7 through line 9. Next, determine if you have a capital gain excess.
Figuring capital gain excess. To find out if you have a capital gain excess, subtract line 3 of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet
(Worksheet 2-1) from line 9 of Worksheet 2-7. If the result is more than zero, that amount is your capital gain excess.
Make these modifications only for purposes of filling out Worksheet 2-8.
a. Reduce (but not below zero) the amount you otherwise would enter on line 3 of Worksheet 2-7 by your capital
gain excess.
b. Reduce (but not below zero) the amount you otherwise would enter on line 2 of Worksheet 2-7 by any of your
capital gain excess not used in (a) above.
c. Reduce (but not below zero) the amount you otherwise would enter on line 5 of Worksheet 2-7 by your capital
gain excess.
d. Reduce (but not below zero) the amount you otherwise would enter on line 6 of Worksheet 2-7 by your capital
gain excess.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 39
2026 Annualized Estimated Tax WorksheetWorksheet 2-9. Keep for Your Records
Note: For instructions, see Annualized Income Installment Method, earlier.
Before you begin: Complete the 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet—Worksheet 2-1.
Section A (For Figuring Your Annualized Estimated Tax Payments)—Complete each column after end of period shown.
Estates and trusts: See Form 1041-ES and Form 2210 for more information. (a)
1/1/26–3/31/26 (b)
1/1/26–5/31/26 (c)
1/1/26–8/31/26 (d)
1/1/26–
12/31/26
1. Adjusted gross income (AGI) for each period (see instructions). Complete
Section B first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Annualization amounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 4 2.4 1.5 1
3. Annualized income. Multiply line 1 by line 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. If you itemize, enter itemized deductions for period shown in the column
headings (see instructions). All others, enter -0- and skip to line 7 . . . . . . . 4.
5. Annualization amounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. 4 2.4 1.5 1
6. Multiply line 4 by line 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Standard deduction from Worksheet 2-4 plus up to $1,000 ($2,000 if married
filing jointly) for charitable contributions made by cash or check (see
instructions) (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Enter the larger of line 6 or line 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9a. Deduction for qualified business income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9a.
9b Additional deductions from Schedule 1-A (Form 1040), line 38 . . . . . . . . . . 9b.
10. Add lines 8, 9a, and 9b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
11. Subtract line 10 from line 3. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.
12. Figure your tax on the amount on line 11 (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.
13. For each period, enter any tax from Forms 8814, 4972, and 6251. Also,
include any recapture of education credits (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . 13.
14. Add lines 12 and 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.
15. Enter nonrefundable credits for each period (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . 15.
16. Subtract line 15 from line 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.
17. Self-employment tax from line 41 of Section B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.
18. Enter other taxes for each period, including, if applicable, Additional Medicare
Tax and/or NIIT (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.
19. Total tax. Add lines 16, 17, and 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.
20. Enter refundable credits for each period (see instructions for type of credits
allowed). Don’t include any income tax withholding on this line . . . . . . . . . 20.
21. Subtract line 20 from line 19. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.
22. Applicable percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22. 22.5% 45% 67.5% 90%
23. Multiply line 21 by line 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.
Complete lines 24 through 29 of one column before going to line 24 of
the next column.
24. Enter the total of the amounts in all previous columns of line 29 . . . . . . . . . 24.
25. Annualized income installment. Subtract line 24 from line 23. If zero or less,
enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.
26. Enter 25% (0.25) of line 12c of your 2026 Estimated Tax Worksheet
(Worksheet 2-1) in each column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.
27. Subtract line 29 of the previous column from line 28 of that column . . . . . . . 27.
28. Add lines 26 and 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.
29. Enter the smaller of line 25 or line 28 (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.
30. Total required payments for the period. Add lines 24 and 29 . . . . . . . . . . . 30.
31. Estimated tax payments made (line 32 of all previous columns) plus tax
withholding through the due date for the period (see instructions) . . . . . . . . 31.
32. Estimated tax payment required by the next due date. Subtract line 31 from
line 30 and enter the result (but not less than zero) here and on your payment
voucher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.
40 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
Worksheet 2-9. 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (Continued) Keep for Your Records
Section B (For Figuring Your Annualized Estimated Self-Employment Tax)—Complete each column after end of period shown.
(Form 1040 or 1040-SR filers only) (a)
1/1/26–3/31/26
(b)
1/1/26–5/31/26
(c)
1/1/26–8/31/26
(d)
1/1/26–12/31/26
33. Net earnings from self-employment for the period . . . . . . . . . . 33.
34. Prorated social security tax limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34. $46,125 $76,875 $123,000 $184,500
35. Enter actual wages for the period subject to social security tax or
the 6.2% portion of the tier 1 railroad retirement tax.
Exception: If you file Form 4137 or Form 8919, see
instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.
36. Subtract line 35 from line 34. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . 36.
37. Annualization amounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37. 0.496 0.2976 0.186 0.124
38. Multiply line 37 by the smaller of line 33 or line 36 . . . . . . . . . . 38.
39. Annualization amounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39. 0.116 0.0696 0.0435 0.029
40. Multiply line 33 by line 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.
41. Add lines 38 and 40. Enter the result here and on line 17 of
Section A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.
42. Annualization amounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42. 8 4.8 3 2
43. Deduction for self-employment tax. Divide line 41 by line 42.
Enter the result here. Use this result to figure your AGI on
line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.
Publication 505 (2026) Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 41
2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 12
Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet
Worksheet 2-10. Keep for Your Records
Note: To figure the annualized entries for lines 2, 3, 5, and 6 below, multiply the expected amount for the period by the annualization amount on line 2 of
Worksheet 2-9 for the same period.
1. Enter the amount from the appropriate worksheet.
• Line 11 of your 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet
(Worksheet 2-9).
• Line 3 of Worksheet 2-11 (use if you will exclude or deduct foreign earned income
or housing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter your annualized qualified dividends expected for
20261 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Enter your annualized net capital gain expected for 20261 . . . . . . 3.
4. Add lines 2 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Enter your annualized 28% rate gain or loss expected for
20262 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Enter your annualized unrecaptured section 1250 gain expected for
2026 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Add lines 5 and 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Enter the smaller of line 3 or line 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Subtract line 8 from line 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Subtract line 9 from line 1. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
11. Enter the smaller of line 1 or $98,900 ($49,450 if Single or Married
filing separately or $66,200 if Head of household) . . . . . . . . . . . 11.
12. Enter the smaller of line 10 or line 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.
13. a. Subtract line 4 from line 1. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . 13a.
b. Enter the smaller of line 1 or:
• $201,775 if Single or Married filing separately,
• $201,750 if Head of household, or
• $403,550 if Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving
spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b.
c. Enter the smaller of line 10 or line 13b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c.
14. Enter the larger of line 13a or 13c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.
Note: If line 11 and line 12 are the same, skip line 15 and go to line 16 .
15. Subtract line 12 from line 11. This is the amount taxed at 0% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.
Note: If lines 1 and 11 are the same, skip lines 16 through 36 and go to line 37.
16. Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.
17. Enter the amount from line 15. If line 15 is blank, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.
18. Subtract line 17 from line 16. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.
19. Enter:
• $545,500 if Single,
• $306,850 if Married filing separately,
• $613,700 if Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse, or
• $579,600 if Head of household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.
20. Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.
21. Add lines 14 and 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.
22. Subtract line 21 from line 20. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . 22.
23. Enter the smaller of line 18 or line 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.
24. Multiply line 23 by 15% (0.15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.
25. Add lines 17 and 23. If line 1 equals the sum of lines 21 and 23, skip lines 26 through 36
and go to line 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.
26. Subtract line 25 from line 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.
27. Multiply line 26 by 20% (0.20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.
28. Enter the smaller of line 3 or line 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.
29. Add lines 4 and 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.
30. Enter the amount from line 1 above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.
31. Subtract line 30 from line 29. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.
32. Subtract line 31 from line 28. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.
33. Multiply line 32 by 25% (0.25) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.
Note: If line 5 is zero or blank, skip lines 34 through 36 and go to line 37.
34. Add lines 14, 15, 23, 26, and 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.
35. Subtract line 34 from line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.
42 Chapter 2 Estimated Tax for 2026 Publication 505 (2026)
2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 12
Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet
(Continued)
Worksheet 2-10.
Keep for Your Records
36. Multiply line 35 by 28% (0.28) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.
37. Figure the tax on the amount on line 14 from the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.
38. Add lines 24, 27, 33, 36, and 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.
39. Figure the tax on the amount on line 1 from the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.
40. Tax on all taxable income (including capital gains and qualified dividends). Enter the smaller of line 38 or
line 39 here and on line 12 of the appropriate column of the 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet (or line 4 of
Worksheet 2-11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.
1 If you expect to deduct investment interest expense, don’t include on this line any qualified dividends or net capital gain that you will elect to treat as
investment income.
2 This includes a section 1202 exclusion from eligible gain on qualified small business stock and gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles. See the
Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040) for more information.
2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet—Line 12
Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet
Worksheet 2-11. Keep for Your Records
Before you begin: If line 11 of Worksheet 2-9 (2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet) is zero for the period, don’t complete this
worksheet.
1. Enter the amount from line 11 of your 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax Worksheet for the period . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter the annualized amount* of foreign earned income and housing amount you (and your spouse if
filing jointly) expect to exclude or deduct for the period on Form 2555 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Add lines 1 and 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Tax on the amount on line 3. Use the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules or Worksheet 2-10,** as
appropriate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Tax on the amount on line 2. Use the 2026 Tax Rate Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Subtract line 5 from line 4. Enter the result here and on line 12 of your 2026 Annualized Estimated Tax
Worksheet (Worksheet 2-9). If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
* To figure the annualized amount for line 2, multiply the expected exclusion for the period by the annualization amount
on line 2 of Worksheet 2-9 for the same period.
** If using Worksheet 2-10 (Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet), enter the amount from line 3 above on
line 1 of Worksheet 2-10. Complete Worksheet 2-10 through line 9. Next, determine if you have a capital gain excess.
Figuring capital gain excess. To find out if you have a capital gain excess for the appropriate period, subtract line 11
of Worksheet 2-9 from line 9 of Worksheet 2-10. If the result is more than zero, that amount is your capital gain excess.
No capital gain excess. If you don’t have a capital gain excess, complete the rest of Worksheet 2-10 according to its instructions. Then,
complete lines 5 and 6 above.
Capital gain excess. If you have a capital gain excess, complete a second Worksheet 2-10 as instructed above but in its entirety and
with the following additional modifications. Then, complete lines 5 and 6 above.
Make these modifications only for purposes of filling out Worksheet 2-11.
a. Reduce (but not below zero) the amount you otherwise would enter on line 3 of Worksheet 2-10 by your capital gain excess.
b. Reduce (but not below zero) the amount you otherwise would enter on line 2 of Worksheet 2-10 by any of your capital gain excess
not used in (a) above.
c. Reduce (but not below zero) the amount you otherwise would enter on line 5 of Worksheet 2-10 by your capital gain excess.
d. Reduce (but not below zero) the amount you otherwise would enter on line 6 of Worksheet 2-10 by your capital gain excess.
How To Get Tax Help
If you have questions about a tax issue; need
help preparing your tax return; or want to down-
load free publications, forms, or instructions, go
to IRS.gov to find resources that can help you
right away.
Tax reform. Tax reform legislation impacting
federal taxes, credits, and deductions was
enacted in P.L. 119-21, commonly known as the
One Big Beautiful Bill Act, on July 4, 2025. Go
to IRS.gov/OBBB for more information and up-
dates on how this legislation affects your taxes.
Preparing and filing your tax return. After
receiving all your wage and earnings state-
ments (Forms W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, 1099-MISC,
1099-NEC, etc.); unemployment compensation
statements (by mail or in a digital format) or
other government payment statements (Form
1099-G); and interest, dividend, and retirement
statements from banks and investment firms
(Forms 1099), you have several options to
choose from to prepare and file your tax return.
You can prepare the tax return yourself, see if
you qualify for free tax preparation, or hire a tax
professional to prepare your return.
Free options for tax preparation. Your op-
tions for preparing and filing your return online
or in your local community, if you qualify, include
the following.
• Free File. This program lets you prepare
and file your federal individual income tax
return for free using software or Free File
Fillable Forms. However, state tax prepara-
tion may not be available through Free File.
Go to IRS.gov/FreeFile to see if you qualify
for free online federal tax preparation, e-fil-
ing, and direct deposit or payment options.
• VITA. The Volunteer Income Tax Assis-
tance (VITA) program offers free tax help to
people with low-to-moderate incomes, per-
sons with disabilities, and limited-Eng-
lish-speaking taxpayers who need help
preparing their own tax returns. Go to
IRS.gov/VITA, download the free IRS2Go
app, or call 800-906-9887 for information
on free tax return preparation.
• TCE. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly
(TCE) program offers free tax help for all
taxpayers, particularly those who are 60
years of age and older. TCE volunteers
specialize in answering questions about
pensions and retirement-related issues
unique to seniors. Go to IRS.gov/TCE or
download the free IRS2Go app for informa-
tion on free tax return preparation.
• MilTax. Members of the U.S. Armed
Forces and qualified veterans may use Mil-
Tax, a free tax service offered by the De-
partment of Defense through Military One-
Source. For more information, go to
MilitaryOneSource (MilitaryOneSource.mil/
MilTax).
Also, the IRS offers Free Fillable Forms,
which can be completed online and then
e-filed regardless of income.
Using online tools to help prepare your re-
turn. Go to IRS.gov/Tools for the following.
• The Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant
(IRS.gov/EITCAssistant) determines if
you’re eligible for the earned income credit
(EITC).
• The Online EIN Application (IRS.gov/EIN)
helps you get an employer identification
number (EIN) at no cost.
• The Tax Withholding Estimator (IRS.gov/
W4App) makes it easier for you to estimate
the federal income tax you want your em-
ployer to withhold from your paycheck.
This is tax withholding. See how your with-
holding affects your refund, take-home pay,
or tax due.
• The Sales Tax Deduction Calculator
(IRS.gov/SalesTax) figures the amount you
can claim if you itemize deductions on
Schedule A (Form 1040).
Getting answers to your tax ques-
tions. On IRS.gov, you can get
up-to-date information on current
events and changes in tax law.
• IRS.gov/Help: A variety of tools to help you
get answers to some of the most common
tax questions.
• IRS.gov/ITA: The Interactive Tax Assistant,
a tool that will ask you questions and,
based on your input, provide answers on a
number of tax topics.
• IRS.gov/Forms: Find forms, instructions,
and publications. You will find details on
the most recent tax changes and interac-
tive links to help you find answers to your
questions.
• You may also be able to access tax infor-
mation in your e-filing software.
Need someone to prepare your tax return?
There are various types of tax return preparers,
including enrolled agents, certified public ac-
countants (CPAs), accountants, and many oth-
ers who don’t have professional credentials. If
you choose to have someone prepare your tax
return, choose that preparer wisely. A paid tax
preparer is:
• Primarily responsible for the overall sub-
stantive accuracy of your return,
• Required to sign the return, and
• Required to include their preparer tax iden-
tification number (PTIN).
Although the tax preparer always signs
the return, you’re ultimately responsible
for providing all the information re-
quired for the preparer to accurately prepare
your return and for the accuracy of every item
reported on the return. Anyone paid to prepare
tax returns for others should have a thorough
understanding of tax matters. For more informa-
tion on how to choose a tax preparer, go to Tips
for Choosing a Tax Preparer on IRS.gov.
Employers can register to use Business
Services Online. The Social Security Adminis-
tration (SSA) offers online service at SSA.gov/
employer for fast, free, and secure W-2 filing op-
tions to CPAs, accountants, enrolled agents,
and individuals who process Form W-2, Wage
and Tax Statement; and Form W-2c, Corrected
Wage and Tax Statement.CAUTION
!
Business tax account. If you are a sole pro-
prietor, a partnership, an S corporation, a C cor-
poration, or a single-member limited liability
company (LLC), you can view your tax informa-
tion on record with the IRS and do more with a
business tax account. Go to IRS.gov/
BusinessAccount for more information.
IRS social media. Go to IRS.gov/SocialMedia
to see the various social media tools the IRS
uses to share the latest information on tax
changes, scam alerts, initiatives, products, and
services. At the IRS, privacy and security are
our highest priority. We use these tools to share
public information with you. Don’t post your so-
cial security number (SSN) or other confidential
information on social media sites. Always pro-
tect your identity when using any social net-
working site.
The following IRS YouTube channels provide
short, informative videos on various tax-related
topics in English and ASL.
• Youtube.com/irsvideos.
• Youtube.com/irsvideosASL.
Online tax information in other languages.
You can find information on IRS.gov/
MyLanguage if English isn’t your native lan-
guage.
Over-the-Phone Interpreter (OPI) Service.
The IRS offers the OPI Service to taxpayers
needing language interpretation. The OPI Serv-
ice is available at Taxpayer Assistance Centers
(TACs), most IRS offices, and every VITA/TCE
tax return site. This service is available in Span-
ish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnam-
ese, Russian, and Haitian Creole.
Accessibility Helpline available for taxpay-
ers with disabilities. Taxpayers who need in-
formation about accessibility services can call
833-690-0598. The Accessibility Helpline can
answer questions related to current and future
accessibility products and services available in
alternative media formats (for example,
braille-ready, large print, audio, etc.). The Ac-
cessibility Helpline does not have access to
your IRS account. For help with tax law, refunds,
or account-related issues, go to IRS.gov/
LetUsHelp.
Alternative media preference. Form 9000,
Alternative Media Preference, or Form
9000(SP) allows you to elect to receive certain
types of written correspondence in the following
formats.
• Standard Print.
• Large Print.
• Braille.
• Audio (MP3).
• Plain Text File (TXT).
• Braille-Ready File (BRF).
Disasters. Go to IRS.gov/DisasterRelief to re-
view the available disaster tax relief.
Getting tax forms and publications. Go to
IRS.gov/Forms to view, download, or print all
the forms, instructions, and publications you
may need. Or you can go to IRS.gov/
OrderForms to place an order.
44 Publication 505 (2026)
Mobile-friendly forms. You’ll need an IRS
Online Account (OLA) to complete mo-
bile-friendly forms that require signatures. You’ll
have the option to submit your form(s) online or
download a copy for mailing. You’ll need scans
of your documents to support your submission.
Go to IRS.gov/MobileFriendlyForms for more in-
formation.
Getting tax publications and instructions in
eBook format. Download and view most tax
publications and instructions (including the In-
structions for Form 1040) on mobile devices as
eBooks at IRS.gov/eBooks.
IRS eBooks have been tested using Apple’s
iBooks for iPad. Our eBooks haven’t been tes-
ted on other dedicated eBook readers, and
eBook functionality may not operate as inten-
ded.
Access your online account (individual tax-
payers only). Go to IRS.gov/Account to se-
curely access information about your federal tax
account.
• View the amount you owe and a break-
down by tax year.
• See payment plan details or apply for a
new payment plan.
• Make a payment or view 5 years of pay-
ment history and any pending or sched-
uled payments.
• Access your tax records, including key
data from your most recent tax return, and
transcripts.
• View digital copies of select notices from
the IRS.
• Approve or reject authorization requests
from tax professionals.
Get a transcript of your return. With an on-
line account, you can access a variety of infor-
mation to help you during the filing season. You
can get a transcript, review your most recently
filed tax return, and get your adjusted gross in-
come. Create or access your online account at
IRS.gov/Account.
Tax Pro Account. This tool lets your tax pro-
fessional submit an authorization request to ac-
cess your individual taxpayer IRS OLA. For
more information, go to IRS.gov/
TaxProAccount.
Using direct deposit. The safest and easiest
way to receive a tax refund is to e-file and
choose direct deposit, which securely and elec-
tronically transfers your refund directly into your
financial account. Direct deposit also avoids the
possibility that your check could be lost, stolen,
destroyed, or returned undeliverable to the IRS.
Eight in 10 taxpayers use direct deposit to re-
ceive their refunds. If you don’t have a bank ac-
count, go to IRS.gov/DirectDeposit for more in-
formation on where to find a bank or credit
union that can open an account online.
Reporting and resolving your tax-related
identity theft issues.
• Tax-related identity theft happens when
someone steals your personal information
to commit tax fraud. Your taxes can be af-
fected if your SSN is used to file a fraudu-
lent return or to claim a refund or credit.
• The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with tax-
payers by email, text messages (including
shortened links), telephone calls, or social
media channels to request or verify per-
sonal or financial information. This includes
requests for personal identification num-
bers (PINs), passwords, or similar informa-
tion for credit cards, banks, or other finan-
cial accounts.
• Go to IRS.gov/IdentityTheft, the IRS Iden-
tity Theft Central webpage, for information
on identity theft and data security protec-
tion for taxpayers, tax professionals, and
businesses. If your SSN has been lost or
stolen or you suspect you’re a victim of
tax-related identity theft, you can learn
what steps you should take.
• Get an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN). IP
PINs are six-digit numbers assigned to tax-
payers to help prevent the misuse of their
SSNs on fraudulent federal income tax re-
turns. When you have an IP PIN, it pre-
vents someone else from filing a tax return
with your SSN. To learn more, go to
IRS.gov/IPPIN.
Ways to check on the status of your refund.
• Go to IRS.gov/Refunds.
• Download the official IRS2Go app to your
mobile device to check your refund status.
• Call the automated refund hotline at
800-829-1954.
The IRS can’t issue refunds before
mid-February for returns that claimed
the EITC or the additional child tax
credit (ACTC). This applies to the entire refund,
not just the portion associated with these cred-
its.
Making a tax payment. The IRS recommends
paying electronically whenever possible. Op-
tions to pay electronically are included in the list
below. Payments of U.S. tax must be remitted to
the IRS in U.S. dollars. Digital assets are not
accepted. Go to IRS.gov/Payments for informa-
tion on how to make a payment using any of the
following options.
• IRS Direct Pay: Pay taxes from your bank
account. It’s free and secure, and no
sign-in is required. You can change or can-
cel within 2 days of scheduled payment.
• Debit Card, Credit Card, or Digital Wallet:
Choose an approved payment processor
to pay online or by phone.
• Electronic Funds Withdrawal: Schedule a
payment when filing your federal taxes us-
ing tax return preparation software or
through a tax professional.
• Electronic Federal Tax Payment System:
This is the best option for businesses. En-
rollment is required.
• Check or Money Order: Mail your payment
to the address listed on the notice or in-
structions.
• Cash: You may be able to pay your taxes
with cash at a participating retail store.
• Same-Day Wire: You may be able to do
same-day wire from your financial institu-
tion. Contact your financial institution for
availability, cost, and time frames.CAUTION
!
Note: The IRS uses the latest encryption
technology to ensure that the electronic pay-
ments you make online, by phone, or from a
mobile device using the IRS2Go app are safe
and secure. Paying electronically is quick and
easy.
What if I can’t pay now? Go to IRS.gov/
Payments for more information about your op-
tions.
• Apply for an online payment agreement
(IRS.gov/OPA) to meet your tax obligation
in monthly installments if you can’t pay
your taxes in full today. Once you complete
the online process, you will receive imme-
diate notification of whether your agree-
ment has been approved.
• Use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier
to see if you can settle your tax debt for
less than the full amount you owe. For
more information on the Offer in Compro-
mise program, go to IRS.gov/OIC.
Filing an amended return. Go to IRS.gov/
1040X for information and updates.
Checking the status of your amended re-
turn. Go to IRS.gov/WMAR to track the status
of Form 1040-X amended returns.
It can take up to 3 weeks from the date
you filed your amended return for it to
show up in our system, and processing
it can take up to 16 weeks.
Understanding an IRS notice or letter
you’ve received. Go to IRS.gov/Notices to find
additional information about responding to an
IRS notice or letter.
IRS Document Upload Tool. You may be
able to use the Document Upload Tool to re-
spond digitally to eligible IRS notices and letters
by securely uploading required documents on-
line through IRS.gov. For more information, go
to IRS.gov/DUT.
Schedule LEP. You can use Schedule LEP
(Form 1040), Request for Change in Language
Preference, to state a preference to receive no-
tices, letters, or other written communications
from the IRS in an alternative language. You
may not immediately receive written communi-
cations in the requested language. The IRS’s
commitment to LEP taxpayers is part of a
multi-year timeline that began providing transla-
tions in 2023. You will continue to receive com-
munications, including notices and letters, in
English until they are translated to your prefer-
red language.
Contacting your local TAC. Keep in mind,
many questions can be answered on IRS.gov
without visiting a TAC. Go to IRS.gov/LetUsHelp
for the topics people ask about most. If you still
need help, TACs provide tax help when a tax is-
sue can’t be handled online or by phone. All
TACs now provide service by appointment, so
you’ll know in advance that you can get the
service you need without long wait times. Be-
fore you visit, go to IRS.gov/TAC to find the
nearest TAC and to check hours, available serv-
ices, and appointment options. Or, on the
IRS2Go app, under the Stay Connected tab,CAUTION
!
choose the Contact Us option and click on “Lo-
cal Offices.”
———————————————————
Below is a message to you from the Tax-
payer Advocate Service, an independent organ-
ization established by Congress.
The Taxpayer Advocate
Service (TAS) Is Here To
Help You
What Is the Taxpayer Advocate
Service?
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an in-
dependent organization within the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS). TAS helps taxpayers re-
solve problems with the IRS, makes administra-
tive and legislative recommendations to prevent
or correct the problems, and protects taxpayer
rights. We work to ensure that every taxpayer is
treated fairly and that you know and understand
your rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. We
are Your Voice at the IRS.
How Can TAS Help Me?
TAS can help you resolve problems that you
haven’t been able to resolve with the IRS on
your own. Always try to resolve your problem
with the IRS first, but if you can’t, then come to
TAS. Our services are free.
• TAS helps all taxpayers (and their repre-
sentatives), including individuals, busi-
nesses, and exempt organizations. You
may be eligible for TAS help if your IRS
problem is causing financial difficulty, if
you’ve tried and been unable to resolve
your issue with the IRS, or if you believe an
IRS system, process, or procedure just
isn’t working as it should.
• To get help any time with general tax top-
ics, visit www.TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov.
The site can help you with common tax is-
sues and situations, such as what to do if
you make a mistake on your return or if you
get a notice from the IRS.
• TAS works to resolve large-scale (sys-
temic) problems that affect many taxpay-
ers. You can report systemic issues at
www.IRS.gov/SAMS. (Be sure not to in-
clude any personal identifiable informa-
tion.)
How Do I Contact TAS?
TAS has offices in every state, the District of
Columbia, and Puerto Rico. To find your local
advocate’s number:
• Go to www.TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/
Contact-Us,
• Check your local directory, or
• Call TAS toll free at 877-777-4778.
What Are My Rights as a
Taxpayer?
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes ten basic
rights that all taxpayers have when dealing with
the IRS. Go to www.TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/
Taxpayer-Rights for more information about the
rights, what they mean to you, and how they ap-
ply to specific situations you may encounter
with the IRS. TAS strives to protect taxpayer
rights and ensure the IRS is administering the
tax law in a fair and equitable way.
46 Publication 505 (2026)
To help us develop a more useful index, please let us know if you have ideas for index entries.
See “Comments and Suggestions” in the “Introduction” for the ways you can reach us.Index
A
Additional Medicare Tax 23, 27
Address change 29
Adjustments to income:
Estimated tax 22
AGI:
Expected AGI 22
Alaska Native Corporations 12
Aliens:
Nonresident aliens 22
Annualized estimated tax
worksheets 40, 41
Annualized - Capital gains 42
Annualized - Foreign Earned
Income 43
Annualized - Qualified
dividends 42
Annualized income installment
method 27
Annuities 10
Assistance (See Tax help)
B
Backup withholding 12, 13
C
Capital gains and losses:
Annualized estimated tax 27
Estimated tax on net capital
gain 23
Qualified dividends 27
Change of address 29
Commodity credit corporation
loans 12
Compensation 4
Independent contractors, backup
withholding 12
Supplemental wages 9
Tips 9
Wages and salaries 4
Crediting of overpayment 28
Credits:
Expected taxes and credits 23
Criminal penalties:
Willfully false or fraudulent Form
W-4 9
Crop insurance payments 12
Cumulative wage method of
withholding 7
D
Dividends:
Backup withholding 12
Underreported 13
Domestic help 4
Definition 4
Withholding 4
E
Eligible rollover distributions 11
Employee business expenses:
Accountable plans 9
Nonaccountable plans 9
Reimbursements 9
Employer Identification Numbers
(EINs) 12
Employers:
Repaying withheld tax 7
Tips 9
Withholding rules 7
Estates:
Estimated tax 22
Estimated tax:
Adjustments to income 22
Aliens 22, 28
Amended tax 25
Annualized income installment
method 27
Change in amount 25
Change of address 29
Crediting of overpayment 28
Estates and trusts 22
Expected AGI 22
Expected taxable income 23
Expected taxes and credits 23
Farming and fishing 22, 24, 25
Fiscal year taxpayers 25
Higher income individuals 24
How to figure 22, 25
How to pay 28
Instructions for Worksheet 2-9,
annualized estimated tax 27
Itemized deductions 23
Married taxpayers 21
Net capital gain 23, 27
No standard deduction 23
Nonresident aliens 28
Overpayment 28
Payment vouchers 29
Payments not required 28
Regular installment method 25
Required annual payment 24
Self-employment income 27
Sick pay 10
Standard deduction 23, 27
Total estimated tax payments 24
Types of taxes included 20
Underpayment penalty 25
When to pay 24
When to start payments 25
Who does not have to pay 20
Who must pay 21
Estimated tax worksheets 30, 32,
2019 annualized estimated tax
worksheet 40
Amended estimated tax,
illustrated (Worksheet
2-12) 26
Capital gains 38
Capital gains, tax on 23
Foreign earned income 39
Form 1040-ES 32
Itemized deductions 36
Overall limitation on itemized
deductions 37
Qualified dividends 38
Railroad retirement benefits 33
Self-employment tax 34
Social security benefits 33
Standard deduction 35
Exemption from withholding 7
Claiming 9
Good for only one year 9
Itemized deductions 9
Students 8
Expenses:
Allowances 9
F
Farmers:
Estimated tax 24
Gross income 22
Joint returns 22
Withholding for farmworkers 4
Farming:
Estimated tax 21, 25
Fiscal years 25
Required annual payment 24
Figures:
Tables and figures (See Tables
and figures)
Fiscal years:
Estimated tax 25
Farming and fishing 25
Fishers:
Gross income 22
Joint returns 22
Required annual payment 24
Fishing:
Estimated tax 21, 24, 25
Fiscal years 25
Form 1040-ES 20, 28
Form 1040-ES (NR) 22
Form 1041-ES 22
Form 1099 series 12
Form W-2G 11
Form W-4 worksheets:
Tax withholding estimator 7
Form W-4, Employee’s Allowance
Withholding Certificate 4
Form W-4P 10
Form W-4S 10
Form W-4V 12
Form W-7 12
Form W-9 12
Fraud:
Form W-4 statements 9
Fringe benefits 10
G
Gross income 22
Farming 22
Fishing 22
H
Higher income individuals:
Required annual payment 24
Household workers 4
I
Individual retirement
arrangements (IRAs) 10
(See also Pensions)
(See also Retirement plans)
Interest income:
Backup withholding 12
Underreported 13
Itemized deductions:
Estimated tax, expected taxable
income 23
Exemption from withholding 9
J
Joint returns:
Farmers and fishers 22
M
Married taxpayers:
Estimated tax 21
Military retirement pay 4, 10
Missing children, photographs
of 2
N
Net investment income tax 24,
NIIT 24, 28
Noncitizens:
Estimated tax 22
Nonqualified deferred
compensation 10
Nonresident aliens:
Estimated tax 22, 28
Individual taxpayer identification
numbers (ITINs) 12
O
Overpayment:
Crediting to estimated tax 28
P
Part-year method of
withholding 7
Patronage dividends:
Backup withholding 12
Payment vouchers 29
Penalties:
Backup withholding 13
Willfully false or fraudulent Form
W-4 9
Withholding allowances 9
Pensions 10
New job 4
Rollovers 11
Wages and salaries withholding
rules compared 11
Publications (See Tax help)
R
Railroad retirement benefits:
Choosing to withhold 12
Regular installment method,
estimated tax 25
Reimbursements 9
Excess 9
Reporting:
Fringe benefits 10
Gambling winnings 11
Tips to employer 9
Required annual payment 24
Retirement plans
Pension plans 10
Pensions 10
Rollovers 11
Rollovers 11
Royalties:
Backup withholding 12
S
Salaries 4
Saturday, Sunday, holiday
rule 25
Self-employment tax 27
Sick pay 10
Social security benefits:
Choosing to withhold 12
Social security taxes:
Taxpayer identification numbers
(TINs) 12
Withholding obligation 2
Standard deduction 23, 27
Students 8
Supplemental wages 9
T
Tables and figures:
Do you have to pay estimated
tax? (Figure 2-A) 21
Due dates, estimated tax
(Table 2-1) 25
Exemption from withholding on
Form W-4 (Figure 1-A) 8
Worksheets, where to find 30
Tax help 44
Tax Rate Schedules 31
Tax withholding estimator 7
Taxpayer identification numbers
(TINs) 12
Tips 9, 10
Total income 22
U
Underpayment penalty:
Amended estimated tax 25
Unemployment
compensation 12
W
Wages and salaries 4
Withholding
Amount of tax withheld, Form
W-4 4
Annuities 10
Backup withholding 12
Changing 4
Checking amount of 5
Choosing not to withhold 11
Cumulative wage method 7
Domestic help 4
Employers’ rules 7
Estimated tax 24
Exemption from 7
Farmworkers 4
Form W-2G 11
Form W-4 4
Fringe benefits 10
Gambling winnings 11, 12
Getting right amount of tax
withheld 7
Household workers 4
Nonperiodic payments 11
Part-year method 7
Penalties 9
Pensions 10
Periodic payments 10
Railroad retirement benefits 12
Repaying withheld tax 7
Rollovers 11
Salaries and wages 4
Sick pay 10
Social security (FICA) tax 2, 12
Tips 9
Types of income 3, 4
Unemployment
compensation 12
Worksheets (blank):
Annualized - Capital gains
(Worksheet 2-10) 42
Annualized - Foreign Earned
Income (Worksheet 2-11) 43
Annualized - Qualified dividends
(Worksheet 2-10) 42
Annualized estimated tax
(Worksheet 2-9) 40, 41
Capital gains tax worksheet:
Worksheet 2-7 38
Charitable contributions 36
Dependents (age 65 or older or
blind) exemption from
withholding (Worksheet
1-2) 14
Estimated tax worksheets
(Worksheet 2-1) 32
Foreign earned income
(Worksheet 2-8) 39
Qualified dividends:
Worksheet 2-7 38
Railroad retirement benefits
(Worksheet 2-2) 33
Self-employment tax and
deduction (Worksheet
2-3) 34
Social security benefits
(Worksheet 2-2) 33
Standard deduction (Worksheet
2-4) 35, 37
48 Publication 505 (2026)