Taxes & accounting
Quarterly estimated payments
When side income or too little withholding means the IRS wants tax through the year, the Tax Alarm shows the next payment and its amount.
Side income (Uber, Etsy, Upwork, 1099 work) has no tax taken out, and the IRS asks for that tax in four payments with Form 1040-ES: for 2026, on April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. California (Form 540-ES) asks for three — 30%, 40% and 30%, with none in September — and New York (IT-2105) and Arizona (140ES) have their own.
From 30 days before a payment, the Tax Alarm shows it if you have side income you've confirmed, or if you're on course to owe $1,000 or more beyond what's withheld and your withholding covers less than 90% of the year's tax (Form 1040-ES's test, which also allows 100% of last year's tax — enter it on the Tax Alarm to use it). If your paychecks' withholding covers your tax, it doesn't ask.
The amount is what's still owed for the year after withholding and the payments you've recorded, spread over the payments left (California's by its 30/40/30 weights), rounded up to the dollar. Tap it to see how it was calculated. About ten days before, and the day before, you're reminded in the app and by email, with the amount.
Countorra doesn't make the payment: pay on IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS, or your state's own site, then record it on the Tax Alarm. It's saved on Your taxes as an estimated payment for that year, and the next one is calculated from what's left.
Good to know
- The figures come from a projection of the year, so they change as your income does.
- A notification on your iPhone's lock screen says only that a payment is due, never the amount.
- This amount is what leaves nothing to pay in April. The quarterly view below shows the smaller amount the IRS requires to avoid a penalty.
Where to find it