Will you owe the IRS in April?

1

Who is this for?*

Employee or investorW-2 pay, interest, dividends Self-employedSole proprietor or single-member LLC PartnershipOr multi-member LLC S corporationOwner or shareholder C corporationThe company itself pays the tax

Filing status*

2

This year, 2026

* Required. Fields turn green when filled.

Wages for the full year*W-2 pay, before any retirement deferral

Payroll details, if different from wages

Your own Social Security wagesW-2 box 3 before retirement deferrals. For SE tax, only your own wages use your wage cap, not your spouse's.

Your own Medicare wagesW-2 box 5 before retirement deferrals. Blank uses the wage amount above.

Other incomeOrdinary taxable income only, such as taxable interest or nonqualified dividends. Qualified dividends, capital gains and rental/passive-business calculations need a full return.

Federal income tax withheldSo far, or expected by Dec 31. Not Social Security or Medicare

Estimated paymentsSent to the IRS in 2026

Other tax credits you expect Nonrefundable credits only. Do not repeat child/dependent credits. Complex credit ordering needs a full return.

3

Family and retirement optional

Children under 17Child tax credit, $2,200 each

Other dependentsAge 17 or older, $500 each

Additional child credit: 3 or more qualifying children

If the payroll-tax method gives a higher credit, enter the actual Form W-2 payroll-tax amount and required adjustments. Blank means 0, not an estimate.

W-2 Social Security, Medicare and Additional Medicare taxUse Schedule 8812 instructions/worksheet for this amount, including joint-return spouse amounts.

Other Schedule 8812 payroll-method additionsDo not include half regular SE tax; this calculator already adds it.

EITC and excess Social Security/RRTA creditAmounts Schedule 8812 requires subtracting for its alternative method.

Pre-tax retirement contributions

Pre-tax only. Roth contributions are taxed now, so they do not change this estimate.

Retirement plan you usePick the plan, then enter what you expect to put in for 2026

Employee deferrals to other plansFor the same person. Enter pre-tax and Roth deferrals counted against the shared annual limit; not employer contributions.

For 401(k) catch-up: were your 2025 wages from this plan sponsor over $150,000?

Higher-limit SIMPLE: checked employer contributionRequired if using the higher limit. Enter the actual deductible employer amount, including 0, under your plan. The higher employee limit alone does not imply a 4% match or 3% nonelective amount.

Deductible traditional IRA contributionOptional. Not a Roth. We apply the income limit for you

Check that you have set up the plan and that it allows these amounts before you rely on them. Roth rollovers and conversions are not part of this estimate.

4

Last year, 2025

Did you owe tax when you filed your 2025 return?

Yes No Not filed yet

Total tax on your 2025 returnOptional. Total tax, not the balance due at filing. A refund or no balance does not mean total tax was zero.

Was your 2025 adjusted gross income over $150,000? ($75,000 if married filing separately)

No Yes

Check the estimate scope

This is not a full tax return. It uses the base standard deduction and ordinary-income rates. It does not calculate qualified capital gains/dividends, itemized deductions, age/blindness or senior/tip/overtime/car-loan/charitable deductions, AMT, NIIT, multiple-business loss/basis limits, tax on distributions/dividends from a C corporation, Social Security benefits, or special farm/fishing/nonresident rules. Other credits must already be checked. Community-property MFS allocations need professional review. For C corporations this is only a 21% ordinary taxable-income estimate; no NOL/carryforward, corporate AMT, foreign-tax or special-credit calculations. Owner personal tax is separate.

Do any of those situations affect this estimate?

What will April cost?

Your year-end tax check

Who is this for?*

This year, 2026

Business income deduction details

Family and retirement optional

Pre-tax retirement contributions

Last year, 2025

Check the estimate scope

Knowing is step one. Lowering it is step two.

How the IRS payment target works

Small balance

Pay 90% of this year

Match last year

Higher earners

Thinking about a Roth rollover or conversion?

Clear numbers from a tax professional