When Are California Estimated Tax Payments Due?

Federal estimated tax is paid in four roughly equal parts. California does it differently, and the difference catches many people out: the state wants most of the money in the first half of the year. If you are self-employed, farm, rent out property or have large investment income in Los Banos, here is how the Franchise Tax Board’s schedule works.

What is the schedule?

Payment	Share of the year’s estimated tax	Due date for the 2026 tax year
1	30%	April 15, 2026
2	40%	June 15, 2026
3	0%	September 15, 2026
4	30%	January 15, 2027

By mid-June, then, 70 percent of the year’s estimated state tax should already be paid. The September installment is zero. People used to the federal rhythm often pay 25 percent in April and June and end up short.

Who has to pay?

According to the Franchise Tax Board, you generally must make estimated payments if you expect to owe at least $500 for the year, or $250 if married or a registered domestic partner filing separately, and you expect withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of:

• 90 percent of the current year’s tax, or
• 100 percent of the prior year’s tax, including alternative minimum tax.

Are there special rules for higher incomes?

Yes. If your prior-year California adjusted gross income was more than $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately, you base payments on the lesser of 90 percent of this year’s tax or 110 percent of last year’s. The Board notes that this rule does not apply to farmers or fishermen. If your current-year California AGI is $1,000,000 or more, or $500,000 filing separately, you must base payments on 90 percent of this year’s tax.

How do I pay?

The Board offers online payment through Web Pay, or you can mail a check with the Form 540-ES voucher for each due date. Each voucher is for one specific installment, so use the right one. You can see payments already made by logging in to MyFTB.

How does this fit with federal payments?

The two systems are separate. You may owe federal estimated tax and not state, or the other way around, and the amounts differ. Qualified farmers have a special federal option, described in When Do Farmers Pay Estimated Tax?; ask your CPA how it lines up with your state payments. Self-employed people pay federal self-employment tax through their federal estimates as well, covered in How Does Self-Employment Tax Work?.

What if my income is uneven?

Income from harvests, seasonal work or a single large sale rarely arrives evenly. The Board suggests recalculating your estimated tax for each payment to improve accuracy. If most of your income arrives late in the year, ask your CPA whether an annualized method would lower the earlier payments.

What happens if I underpay?

If you pay too little by an installment date, the Franchise Tax Board may charge an underpayment penalty, figured on how much was short and for how long. A late June installment matters most because it carries the largest share. If you realize mid-year that your income is higher than expected, increasing the next payment reduces the shortfall for the rest of the year. Your CPA can recalculate the remaining payments at any point.

Do farmers follow the same schedule?

Farmers and fishermen are exempt from the 110 percent rule for higher incomes, as noted above, but ask your CPA how the state installments apply to your farm. Because state and federal rules for farmers differ, it is easy to assume the federal January-only option also covers California.

Where do these payments come from?

Most people who make estimated payments have income with no withholding: self-employment, farm profit, rents, interest, dividends or capital gains. If you also have a job, you can raise your state withholding instead of making separate payments, which spreads the tax evenly through the year.

What about businesses?

The schedule on this page is for individuals, including sole proprietors, farmers and owners of single-member LLCs whose income flows onto their personal return. Corporations and LLCs pay their own amounts on their own schedules, such as the LLC annual tax and fee described in What Does a California LLC Owe Each Year?. Your CPA will keep both sets of dates if you have both.

A checklist for the year

• January: make the last payment for the prior year and give your CPA your records.
• March or April: review this year’s expected income with your CPA and set the amounts.
• April 15: first state payment, 30 percent.
• June 15: second state payment, 40 percent.
• Autumn: check income against the estimate and adjust the January payment.