Estimate your self-employment and income tax, factor in your mileage deduction, and get your quarterly payment amounts with 2026 due dates. Works for truckers and rideshare drivers.
⚠️ This is an estimate only. Use Form 1040-ES to calculate official payment amounts. Consult a tax professional for your specific situation.
At 0 business miles and the 2026 IRS rate of $0.725/mile, your mileage deduction is $0. This reduces your taxable income directly.
When you're an owner-operator or independent contractor, you pay both the employer and employee share of Social Security and Medicare — that's the self-employment tax at 15.3% of net self-employment income (12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare). It's one of the biggest surprises for new operators.
The IRS standard mileage rate for 2026 is $0.725/mile for business use. At 120,000 business miles, that's an $87,000 deduction — taken directly off your gross income before calculating tax. This is typically larger than all your other deductions combined.
Important: you can't use the standard mileage rate AND deduct actual vehicle expenses (fuel, maintenance, depreciation). Choose the method that gives you the larger deduction. For most high-mileage operators, standard mileage wins.
If you owe more than $1,000 in taxes when you file your annual return and you didn't pay quarterly, the IRS charges an underpayment penalty. For a typical owner-operator owing $30,000+/year, that penalty adds up to real money. Quarterly payments also prevent the cash-flow shock of a massive April tax bill.
To avoid underpayment penalties, pay at least 100% of last year's tax liability (110% if your AGI was over $150,000) spread across four quarters. This calculator uses the 90% of current-year method — whichever is smaller protects you.