Pay your 4th estimated tax amount by Jan. 15

January 12, 2026

I’m getting nagged by the Internal Revenue Service, so I decided to do the same to you.

The reminder (the IRS uses the same term I do when I point things out to the hubby 😉) that my estimated tax payment is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 15, showed up in today’s email.

Uncle Sam wants to make sure I have enough in my bank account for its Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) system to automatically complete the transaction.

Good news for the IRS. I do.

Now to my reminder to y’all readers of the ol’ blog.

Final 2025 tax payment due: If you must make this January estimated tax payment, the last one for the 2025 tax year, and haven’t yet made arrangements to do so, get to it!

Okay, you can skip it if you plan to file your 2025 return and pay any tax due by Jan. 31. But if you’re like me, you’ll still be getting tax statements by then, essentially making it impossible to accurately fill out your Form 1040 that soon.

So don’t miss this week’s Jan. 15 estimated tax payment due date. If you do, and you end up owing more than $1,000 when you do eventually file your return, you could be hit with a tax penalty and interest.

Estimated tax added info: And for folks new to the estimated tax payment process, you might want to check out my post on tax moves to make this January as you get ready to write your 1040-ES check, or more likely, set up your e-payment.

January tax move #3 discusses estimated taxes, and has links to other posts with more information on the way the IRS collects as quickly as possibly the tax due on income that isn’t subject to withholding.

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Hello Tax Season 2026

Happy New Tax Year! Are you ready to file your 2025 tax return? I know, too early to ask. But Tax Day 2026 will be here before we realize it. The Internal Revenue Service deadline to file and pay any tax we owe is the regular April 15 date this year. It’s also Tax Day for most of the states that collect income taxes from their residents, which is most of the states! If that seems too far away right now, don’t worry. As is the case every tax season, the ol’ blog’s tips and other tax reminders should help all of us meet our state and federal responsibilities. Procrastinators also will want to keep an eye on the countdown clock just below. It tracks how much time we have until April’s Tax Day, just in case we put off our annual tax task until the absolutely final hours and decide we need to instead get an extension request into the IRS by that date. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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