Indiana estimated tax payments are due April 15, June 15, and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027, and you must make them if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in combined state and county income tax that withholding won't cover. The state side is a flat 2.95% for 2026 (down from 3.00% in 2025); your county adds its own rate, from 0.5% to 3%. Two payment dates remain this year: September 15 and the January finish.
Key takeaways:
Save this cheat sheet — Indiana's 2026 numbers in one image.
The Indiana Department of Revenue requires estimated payments from anyone who expects to owe $1,000 or more in state and county income tax for the year that withholding won't cover. The two taxes count together: $700 of state tax plus $400 of county tax puts you over the line even though neither alone would.
That typically means:
If you're employed and slightly short, the cleanest fix is often raising your state withholding on Form WH-4 instead of writing quarterly checks: withholding counts as paid evenly across the year regardless of timing.
Farmers and fishermen who earn at least two-thirds of gross income from farming or fishing follow special rules (Indiana Information Bulletin #3) and can generally skip quarterly installments by filing and paying early.
Indiana uses four equal installments, 25% each, on the same calendar the IRS uses:
| Installment | Income period | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Jan 1 – Mar 31 | April 15, 2026 (passed) |
| Q2 | Apr 1 – May 31 | June 15, 2026 (passed) |
| Q3 | Jun 1 – Aug 31 | September 15, 2026 |
| Q4 | Sep 1 – Dec 31 | January 15, 2027 |
A due date landing on a weekend or holiday rolls to the next business day; all four dates above are regular weekdays. Missed a spring installment? Pay it now through INTIME. The 10% penalty on that installment is already incurred, but catching up prevents the shortfall from compounding into later quarters and keeps your filing clean.
Note what is due September 15 for an Indiana freelancer: the Indiana Q3 installment and the federal Q3 payment, two separate payments to two separate agencies. Our Form 1040-ES guide covers the federal half.
Indiana taxes individual income at a single flat rate, and that rate is falling on a legislated schedule. Under the 2023 rate-cut law (HEA 1001-2023), as confirmed in the State Budget Agency's official projections:
| Tax year | Indiana flat rate |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3.05% |
| 2025 | 3.00% |
| 2026 | 2.95% |
| 2027 | 2.90% |
A quiet consequence for estimated payments: if you base 2026 installments on your 2025 liability, you're anchoring to a year taxed at 3.00%. That's fine for safe harbor purposes (Indiana accepts 100% of prior-year tax), just don't be surprised when the actual 2026 bill computes slightly lower than the prior-year anchor.
Every one of Indiana's 92 counties levies a local income tax on top of the state's 2.95%, and your estimated payments must include it. Your rate is fixed by where you lived on January 1, 2026 (or, for nonresidents of Indiana, where your principal work was that day); moving mid-year does not change it until the next January 1.
Rates for 2026 span 0.5% to 3%, per the DOR's official county chart, Departmental Notice #1:
| County | 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| Marion (Indianapolis) | 2.02% |
| Hamilton (Carmel/Fishers) | 1.10% |
| Allen (Fort Wayne) | 1.59% |
| St. Joseph (South Bend) | 1.75% |
| Lake (Gary/Hammond) | 1.50% |
| Porter (lowest in the state) | 0.50% |
| Randolph (highest in the state) | 3.00% |
The spread is material. An Indianapolis freelancer pays an effective 4.97% (2.95% + 2.02%) while a Porter County neighbor pays 3.45%. County rates can change each January and October, so re-check Departmental Notice #1 before your January 15 payment.
At Anna Money we saw the same pattern across 60,000+ UK businesses: the national tax got budgeted, the local layer got forgotten. Indiana's county line is that layer, and for a Marion County freelancer it's 40% of the state-side bill.
Greta is a freelance graphic designer in Marion County expecting $80,000 of net self-employment profit in 2026, with no withholding. Her Indiana side, simplified:
Federal AGI: $80,000 profit − $5,652 (deductible half of self-employment tax) = $74,348 Indiana taxable income: $74,348 − $1,000 personal exemption = $73,348 State tax: $73,348 × 2.95% = $2,164 County tax (Marion, 2.02%): $73,348 × 2.02% = $1,482 Combined Indiana liability: $3,646, far above the $1,000 trigger Each quarterly installment: $3,646 ÷ 4 = $912
Greta pays $912 to Indiana each quarter through INTIME. Her federal estimates (income tax plus 15.3% self-employment tax) are a separate, much larger payment on the same four dates; the Indiana quarterly tax calculator runs both layers from your actual numbers.
No. Self-employment tax (15.3% for Social Security and Medicare) is federal only. Indiana does not add a state-level SE tax; a self-employed Hoosier owes the flat 2.95% state rate plus the county rate on income, exactly like a W-2 employee. What changes with self-employment is the payment mechanics: no employer withholding, so the same tax arrives via quarterly estimates instead of paychecks.
INTIME (the DOR's Indiana Taxpayer Information Management Engine) is the fastest route, and you don't need an account:
By mail, complete Form ES-40, the 2026 estimated tax voucher, and send it with a check to the address on the form. The ES-40 worksheet has separate lines for state and county amounts, which forces the county calculation many people forget. Don't mail an ES-40 if you already paid electronically.
Through withholding: preprinted vouchers from your tax software or preparer work too, but if you have any W-2 job, adjusting withholding often replaces the voucher ritual entirely.
You avoid Indiana's underpayment penalty for 2026 if your withholding and timely estimated payments reach at least:
Fall short and the DOR assesses a penalty of 10% of the underpayment for each installment period, computed on Schedule IT-2210 with your annual return. There's no daily proration: underpaying the June installment by $912 costs roughly $91 whether you catch up in July or at filing time. That flat structure makes Indiana's penalty more forgiving than the IRS's on long delays and harsher on short ones; the federal equivalent accrues day by day, as our estimated tax penalty guide shows.
Income arriving unevenly (a big Q4 project, seasonal work) can be defended with Schedule IT-2210A, the annualized method, which re-scores each installment against income actually earned by that date.
Indiana's flat 25% installments also mean you can't reuse another state's playbook: California front-loads 30/40/0/30 while New York triggers at just $300 of expected tax. Each state's estimated system is its own machine.
The most common Indiana-specific error. Greta's math above shows county tax is 40% of her total Indiana bill; leave it out and you'll underpay every quarter while believing you're covered, then meet the 10% penalty four times on IT-2210.
Old spreadsheets carry 3.05% or 3.23% from prior years. Every tenth of a point matters at the safe-harbor margin: 2026 is 2.95%, and 2027 drops again to 2.90%.
The dollar figure matches the federal threshold, but Indiana counts state plus county combined. A Randolph County resident (3% county rate) hits $1,000 of Indiana liability at barely $17,000 of taxable income, far earlier than intuition suggests.
Because the penalty is a flat 10% per installment, a $400 shortfall costs $40 even if you fix it two weeks later. Under-estimating on purpose and "settling up in April" is 10% more expensive in Indiana than it looks.
Indiana's math is friendlier than most states (one flat rate, four even dates), but it still depends on knowing your actual profit in real time, across state, county, and federal layers. Jupid connects to your business bank account, auto-categorizes transactions with 95.9% accuracy, and keeps your year-to-date profit current, so the number you multiply by 2.95% plus your county rate is real, not remembered. Message the AI accountant in WhatsApp or iMessage "what's my September 15 payment?" and get the state, county, and federal breakdown in one reply. Try Jupid.
This guide is for general educational purposes and does not constitute tax, legal, or accounting advice. County rates change periodically and individual circumstances vary, including residency, credits, and exemptions. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified tax professional or the Indiana Department of Revenue at dor.in.gov.
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