The fourth and last estimated tax payment for 2026 is due Friday, January 15, 2027. It covers what you earned from September 1 to December 31, 2026. If you drive for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart or Amazon Flex, nobody withholds tax from your pay, so this payment is on you.
Do you need to pay?
Generally yes, if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal tax for 2026 after any tax withheld from a regular job. For a driver with no other job, that point comes at roughly $7,000 of profit. Our quarterly estimated taxes guide explains who pays and why.
How much to pay
By January you know most of your year. Work it out like this:
- Add up your 2026 profit so far: earnings minus mileage and other business costs. Add an estimate for the rest of December.
- Estimate the total tax on it: self-employment tax of about 14.1% of profit, plus income tax. The quarterly tax calculator does this for you.
- Subtract the estimated payments you've already made and any tax withheld from a job. The rest is what to send now, or as much of it as you need to reach the safe harbor.
The safe harbor protects you from an underpayment penalty when your payments add up to at least 90% of your 2026 tax, or 100% of the tax on your 2025 return (110% if your 2025 adjusted gross income was over $150,000).
Or skip it by filing early
You don't need the January payment if you file your 2026 return and pay everything you owe by February 1, 2027. The apps' 1099 forms often arrive only around then, so this mostly works if your own records are complete.
Missed earlier payments?
- Pay now anyway. The penalty works like interest on each late or short payment, counted from its due date until you pay, so paying sooner stops it growing.
- If most of your income came late in the year, the annualized income method (Form 2210, Schedule AI) can lower or remove the penalty for the earlier quarters.
- If you have a regular job too, raise the tax withheld from your last paychecks with a new Form W-4. Withholding counts as paid evenly through the year, so it can make up for earlier quarters.
How to pay
- IRS Direct Pay on irs.gov: free, from your bank account, no sign-up.
- Your IRS Online Account, which also shows the payments you've made.
- EFTPS: free, but you have to enroll first and the PIN comes by mail, so allow about a week.
- A debit or credit card through an IRS-approved processor, for a fee.
Choose "estimated tax" (Form 1040-ES) and tax year 2026, not 2027. Payments made in January are easy to apply to the wrong year.
Don't forget your state
Most states with an income tax also have a fourth estimated payment, often due on January 15 as well. Check your state's tax agency website.
Know the number before January
Gigstrak keeps a running estimate of what you owe from the trips, income and expenses you log, and shows the next due date. Get Gigstrak on Google Play.
Sources
IRS Form 1040-ES (2026) and its instructions, Publication 505 (tax withholding and estimated tax), and Form 2210 and its instructions (underpayment penalty and Schedule AI). This guide is general information, not tax advice.