If your business pays quarterly estimated taxes, the third payment of the year is due September 15, 2026 — for both the IRS and Virginia. Miss it and the cost isn’t just the tax you owe; it’s a penalty on top of it.
Here’s the short answer: if you’re self-employed or the owner of a pass-through business entity (Partnership or S Corporation), you likely owe a Federal and a Virginia estimated payment by September 15 covering what you earned June through August. Many new business owners may not be aware of the estimated tax payments requirement. Basically, you should plan to make quarterly estimated tax payments that will total at least 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s tax.
Unfortunately, if you skip a quarter and make it up later, penalties can accrue based on each quarter’s payments – not just for the total year. These payments can be done through your routine W2 payroll withholding, but if that is not enough, you then need to pay the remaining estimated payment separately. But just increasing your W2 withholdings amount is the simplest solution for S Corporation business owners (since you have to pay yourself a reasonable W2 paycheck anyway).
This is one of the most “after the fact” issues facing new business owners in Richmond, Midlothian, and Chesterfield. “Out of sight and out of mind” is not a viable solution in this situation so you don’t want to ignore it – especially if your business is making a profit. It’s worth getting estimated tax payments right since underpaying carries real penalties.
Who actually has to make this payment?
If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal tax for the year, you need to make income tax payments. Taxes must be paid as you earn or receive income during the year, either through withholding or estimated tax payments. If the amount of income tax withheld from your W2 salary or pension is not enough, or if you receive income such as interest, dividends, alimony, self-employment income, capital gains, prizes and awards, you may have to make estimated tax payments. If you are in business for yourself, you generally need to make estimated tax payments. Estimated tax is used to pay, not only income tax, but other taxes such as self-employment tax and the alternative minimum tax.¹
The IRS expects quarterly estimated payments — not just one lump sum on April 15th — from most small business owners, freelancers, landlords, and independent contractors in Richmond, Chesterfield, and Midlothian who don’t have the full tax being withheld from a W2 status employee paycheck.
Virginia requires estimated state income tax payments as well and has very similar deadlines and filing requirements.²
What is actually due September 15, 2026?
Two separate payments:
- Federal Q3 estimate — IRS Form 1040-ES, covering income earned roughly June 1 through August 31.¹
- Virginia Q3 estimate — Form 760ES, on Virginia’s slightly different quarterly schedule for the first quarter (May 1, June 15, September 15, and January 15).²
These estimated tax payments do not happen automatically. You have to file forms and send the payment yourself or have your accountant/tax pro do it for you.
How much should I actually send?
To be penalty-proof regardless of how the rest of the year goes, you need to pay:
- Federal: pay in either 90% of what you’ll owe for 2026 or 100% of what you owed for 2025 (110% if your 2025 adjusted gross income was over $150,000), split across your quarterly payments.³
- Virginia: pay in either 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax — Virginia doesn’t have the 110% high-income rule that the IRS has.²
Hit either requirement and you won’t owe an underpayment penalty, even if your income ends up being higher than expected.
What happens if I miss a quarterly payment or underpay?
The IRS charges interest-based penalties at an annual rate of 6% to 7% during 2026 (set each quarter) on the shortfall for each period it went unpaid, calculated separately from what you eventually owe on the return.⁴ Virginia’s version works the same way — a Form 760C addition to tax on the underpaid amount, currently accruing at 9% per year as of July 2026.⁵ A business owner who’s been skipping estimates all year can be looking at meaningful money on top of the tax itself when the return finally gets filed.
What if I don’t know my numbers well enough to calculate my quarterly estimated income tax payments?
That’s the actual reason so many small business owners either skip estimated payments or guess at the amount — you can’t calculate 90% of a number you haven’t seen yet. This is where current, reconciled bookkeeping earns its keep: if your books are caught up through August, calculating a real Q3 estimate is a straightforward pull from your numbers instead of a guess. If they aren’t caught up, that’s worth fixing before the estimate is due, not after.
Get Richmond tax preparation help before the 15th
P&L Business Solutions provides bookkeeping, accounting, and tax preparation for business owners in Richmond, Chesterfield, and Midlothian, Virginia — including calculating accurate quarterly estimates from real, current books instead of a guess for both the Federal and Virginia payments. See how our tax filing services work or book a time to get your Q3 numbers confirmed before September 15th.
- Internal Revenue Service. “2026 Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals.” irs.gov
- Virginia Department of Taxation. “2026 Form 760ES, Virginia Estimated Income Tax Payment Vouchers for Individuals.” tax.virginia.gov
- Internal Revenue Service. “Publication 509 (2026), Tax Calendars.” irs.gov
- Internal Revenue Service. “Quarterly interest rates.” irs.gov
- Virginia Department of Taxation. “Tax Bulletin 26-3: Interest Rates for the 3rd Quarter of 2026.” tax.virginia.gov
