• The first-quarter estimated tax deadline for 2025 is April 15, which is also the federal tax due date for most filers.
• You could owe estimated tax payments for self-employment earnings, rental income, interest, dividends or gig economy work.
• The "safe harbor" to avoid late payment penalties is sending 90% of 2025 taxes or 100% of 2024 levies if adjusted gross income is less than $150,000.

If you're scrambling to , you could miss another key due date on April 15: the first-quarter for 2025. 

Typically, apply to income without , such as self-employment earnings, rental income, interest, dividends or gig economy work. Similarly, retirees and investors "frequently need to make these payments," the IRS said in a news release last week. 

The first-quarter deadline for 2025 "could be a surprise" if you're newly self-employed or recently started contract work, said Misty Erickson, tax content manager at the National Association of Tax Professionals. 

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Those individuals could experience "sticker shock" when it's time to file 2025 taxes or be subject to future penalties, Erickson said.

Generally, you must make if you expect to owe at least $1,000 for the current tax year, according to the IRS.

The April 15 deadline applies to earnings from Jan. 1 through March 31. The other 2025 quarterly due dates are June 16, Sept. 15 and Jan. 15, 2026.

If you skip one of the payments, you could trigger an interest-based penalty calculated with the . The fee compounds daily.

Follow the 'safe harbor' guidelines

Generally, you can avoid IRS penalties by following the "safe harbor" guidelines, certified public accountant Brian Long, also a senior tax advisor at Wealth Enhancement in Minneapolis, . 

To satisfy the safe harbor rule, you must pay at least 90% of your 2025 tax liability or 100% of your 2024 taxes, whichever is smaller.

The threshold jumps to 110% if your 2024 adjusted gross income was $150,000 or more, which you can find on line 11 of from your 2024 tax return.

However, the safe harbor only protects an individual from an IRS underpayment penalty. If you don't pay enough, you could still owe a balance for 2025, experts say.

Where to pay your quarterly taxes

There are "several options" for estimated tax payments, according to the IRS.

You can pay by , online via or the Treasury Department's . You can also use a .  

Your "streamlines the payment process" because you can monitor pending transactions, see history and other key tax filing information, according to the agency.

The online account makes it easier to correct mistakes "sooner rather than later," Erickson said. "I have heard stories of payments being misapplied, so this is a way to double-check." 

If you mail the payment, experts recommend sending it via certified mail with a return receipt for proof.