Paying tax in advance as a self-employed creator: US, UK and Germany
Checked USUKGermany
On this page
- How do US, UK and German advance tax payments compare?
- Who has to pay US estimated tax, and when?
- How does the annualized method help with a big brand deal?
- How do UK payments on account work?
- How do German Einkommensteuer-Vorauszahlungen work?
- Worked example: one creator, three systems
- Checklist
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
The rule
Self-employed creators pay income tax during the year, not only at filing. The US wants four estimated payments, the UK two payments on account of half last year's bill each, and Germany four quarterly Vorauszahlungen set by the Finanzamt.
Checked Primary sources
This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Check the linked official sources or ask a qualified accountant or tax adviser.
Key facts
- US: you generally must pay estimated tax for 2026 if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and refundable credits, and your withholding and credits will be below the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax.
- US: if 2025 AGI was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately), 110% replaces 100% in the prior-year test.
- US 2026 estimated tax due dates: April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027.
- US self-employment tax is 12.4% social security plus 2.9% Medicare, generally on 92.35% of net earnings from self-employment.
- UK: two payments on account, each half of last year's tax, due 31 January and 31 July; not required if last year's tax was under £1,000 or more than 80% of it was paid outside Self Assessment.
- UK: in the first year with payments on account, 31 January brings the full bill plus the first payment on account: £4,500 on a £3,000 bill in GOV.UK's own example.
- Germany: Vorauszahlungen fall due on 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December, and are set only if they reach at least €400 a year and €100 per date.
A creator paid by brands, platforms and affiliate programs usually has nothing withheld, so each country asks for the tax in instalments. Miss one and you pay interest or a penalty, even with the return filed on time. This page sets the three systems side by side from the IRS, HMRC and German federal law. Every source linked here was opened on 16 October 2026. It covers individuals taxed as sole traders or self-employed, not companies. It is general information, not tax advice.
Which costs reduce the tax these payments are based on is covered in what creators can deduct.
How do US, UK and German advance tax payments compare?
Checked
| United States (IRS) | United Kingdom (HMRC) | Germany (EStG) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Estimated tax, paid with Form 1040-ES or online | Payments on account | Einkommensteuer-Vorauszahlungen |
| Who pays | You expect to owe at least $1,000 for 2026 after withholding and refundable credits, and withholding will fall short of the safe harbor (Form 1040-ES) | Everyone in Self Assessment, unless last year's tax was under £1,000 or more than 80% of it was paid outside Self Assessment (GOV.UK) | Whoever receives a Vorauszahlungsbescheid from the Finanzamt (§ 37 Abs. 3 EStG) |
| Dates | April 15, June 15, September 15, 2026; January 15, 2027 | 31 January and 31 July | 10 March, 10 June, 10 September, 10 December |
| How much | Enough to reach the smaller of 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% above $150,000 AGI), usually in four equal parts | Each payment is half of last year's tax, Class 4 National Insurance included | Based on the tax from your last assessment, after tax already deducted |
| Lateness | Penalty figured like interest on each late installment; 7% a year in the 2025 worksheet (Form 2210 instructions) | Interest on late amounts; 5% penalties at 30 days, 6 and 12 months on a late tax bill (GOV.UK) | Säumniszuschlag of 1% per started month; none if no more than three days late (§ 240 AO) |
| Lower a payment | Annualized income installment method on Form 2210, Schedule AI | Online in your account, or form SA303; interest if you cut too far | The Finanzamt can adjust to the expected tax until 15 months after the year ends |
Who has to pay US estimated tax, and when?
The 2026 Form 1040-ES sets the general rule. You must pay estimated tax for 2026 if both apply:
- you expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for 2026, after subtracting withholding and refundable credits; and
- you expect withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of 90% of the tax on your 2026 return, or 100% of the tax on your 2025 return (which must cover all 12 months).
If your 2025 adjusted gross income was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately for 2026), 110% replaces 100%. That second test is the safe harbor most creators use: pay last year's tax in four parts and no penalty applies, however large this year turns out.
"Tax" here includes self-employment tax. Topic 554 puts it at 12.4% for social security and 2.9% for Medicare, owed once net earnings from self-employment reach $400. It applies to 92.35% of net earnings, and half of it is deductible. The social security part stops at $184,500 of combined wages and self-employment earnings for 2026, according to the 1040-ES.
Publication 505 (2026) divides the year into four payment periods of unequal length:
| Income earned | Payment due |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 31 March | April 15, 2026 |
| 1 April to 31 May | June 15, 2026 |
| 1 June to 31 August | September 15, 2026 |
| 1 September to 31 December | January 15, 2027 |
A date on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next business day. The January payment can be skipped if you file the 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the balance with it (the 1040-ES gives that date; Pub. 505 says January 31, which falls on a Sunday). You may also pay more than four times.
The penalty. The Form 2210 instructions (2025) say the penalty is figured separately for each installment due date, "for the number of days it remained unpaid". A large payment in January does not cure an empty April. Pub. 505 adds that the penalty can apply "even if you are due a refund". The 2025 penalty worksheet multiplies the underpayment by the days late, divided by 365, times 0.07. Under Topic 306, the IRS can waive it for a casualty, disaster or other unusual circumstance, and in some cases after retiring at 62 or becoming disabled.
How does the annualized method help with a big brand deal?
The regular method splits the required annual payment into four equal installments, so a creator paid mostly by one summer campaign owes tax in April on money that arrives in July.
The annualized income installment method fixes that. Pub. 505's Worksheet 2-9 takes your income from 1 January to the end of each period and scales it to a full year, multiplying by 4, 2.4, 1.5 and 1. It works out the tax on each scaled figure, then requires 22.5%, 45%, 67.5% and 90% of it by the four due dates, minus what earlier periods already required. Each installment is the smaller of the annualized amount and the regular amount, with any shortfall carried forward. If you use it, file Form 2210 with Schedule AI alongside your return, even if no penalty is owed.
If last year's tax is the smaller figure, four equal payments of it already avoid the penalty. The worksheet can still lower the early installments when income arrives late in the year, because each installment is the smaller of the two amounts.
How do UK payments on account work?
GOV.UK's payments on account page is short and specific. Payments on account are "payments towards your next tax bill (including Class 4 National Insurance if you're self-employed)". There are two, due by midnight on 31 January and 31 July. "Each payment is half of the tax you owed last year."
You must make them unless last year's tax was less than £1,000, or you paid more than 80% of last year's tax outside Self Assessment, for example through your tax code. A creator with a salaried job and a small side income can fall under that second exception.
Balancing payment. If this year's tax is higher than the two payments, the difference is a balancing payment, due by midnight on 31 January after the tax year, together with the first payment on account for the next year. If the tax is lower, you may get a refund.
The first-year jump. If you made no payments on account last year, for example because it is your first Self Assessment year, 31 January brings the full bill plus the first payment on account. On GOV.UK's own example of a £3,000 bill, that is £4,500 by 31 January, then £1,500 more by 31 July.
Reducing them. If you know this year's tax will be lower, sign in to your online account and choose "Reduce payments on account", or send form SA303 to your tax office, stating the income you expect. If you cut them and the bill comes in higher, "you'll be charged interest on the difference". Late payment of a tax bill also brings penalties of 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months (Self Assessment penalties).
How do German Einkommensteuer-Vorauszahlungen work?
§ 37 Abs. 1 EStG requires payments on 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December toward the income tax you are expected to owe for the current year. You do not work them out yourself. The Finanzamt sets them by Vorauszahlungsbescheid, "grundsätzlich nach der Einkommensteuer", that is, generally from the tax that resulted at your last assessment after deducting tax already withheld (Abs. 3).
Thresholds. Under Abs. 5, Vorauszahlungen are set only if they reach at least €400 a year and at least €100 per payment date. An existing amount is raised only if the increase is at least €100 per date, or at least €5,000 for a later increase added to the last payment of the year (Abs. 5 Satz 2).
Adjustment. The Finanzamt may adjust the payments to the tax expected for the year until the end of the 15th calendar month after that year (Abs. 3 Satz 3). The power sits with the Finanzamt; a creator whose income has fallen can write to it with a current estimate and ask it to use that power. If the payments are raised later, the increase is added to the last payment and due within one month of the new notice (Abs. 4).
Lateness. § 240 AO adds a Säumniszuschlag of 1% of the overdue amount, rounded down to the nearest €50, for each started month late. For most payment methods, nothing is charged for up to three days late.
Worked example: one creator, three systems
Every figure below is hypothetical and chosen to be easy to recompute. The tax amounts are assumptions, not calculations from tax tables.
US: a big Q3 brand deal. The creator's 2025 tax was $24,000 and 2025 AGI was under $150,000. For 2026 they expect $20,000 of total tax, most of it from a brand deal paid in July. The required annual payment is the smaller of 90% × $20,000 = $18,000 and 100% × $24,000 = $24,000, so $18,000. Assume Worksheet 2-9 gives an annualized tax of $8,000 for the first two periods (before the deal), $25,000 for January to August (the deal scaled by 1.5) and $20,000 for the full year.
Both routes pay $18,000 in the end. The annualized route keeps $5,400 with the creator until September, when the deal money is in the account. Skip the worksheet and pay the regular $4,500 April installment 90 days late, and the 2025 worksheet rate gives $4,500 × 90 / 365 × 0.07 = $77.67.
Self-employment tax on a separate $50,000 of net profit, for scale: $50,000 × 92.35% = $46,175, × 15.3% = $7,064.78, with half of that deductible.
UK: the second-year bill. The creator's first Self Assessment year is 2024 to 2025, with a bill of £6,000 and no payments on account. In 2025 to 2026 the bill is £8,000. Nothing is paid outside Self Assessment, so payments on account apply.
That £12,000 within six months, twice the first year's £6,000 bill, is the double hit: one year's bill plus both payments on account for the next. Put money aside from the first invoice onward, see how to invoice a brand deal. If 2026 to 2027 income is clearly falling, a reduction claim can lower the two £4,000 payments.
Germany: a set quarterly amount. The last assessment came to €8,000 of Einkommensteuer, with nothing withheld. The Finanzamt sets €2,000 for each of the four dates, above both the €400 and €100 thresholds. Paying the 10 September amount on 20 September costs 1% of €2,000 = €20; paying it on 12 September costs nothing.
Checklist
Each line comes from a rule above.
- Find last year's tax figure. It drives the US safe harbor, the UK payment size and the German assessment.
- US: check the AGI line. Over $150,000 ($75,000 married filing separately) means 110%, not 100%.
- Put the dates in your calendar: April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15 (US); 31 January and 31 July (UK); 10 March, June, September and December (Germany).
- Set money aside when a brand pays, not when the return is due. Include US self-employment tax and UK Class 4 National Insurance.
- Lumpy year in the US: run Worksheet 2-9 and keep it for Form 2210, Schedule AI.
- First UK Self Assessment year: expect the bill plus half again on 31 January.
- Income falling: UK, reduce online or with SA303 and accept interest if wrong; Germany, write to the Finanzamt with a current estimate.
- Keep income records that match what platforms report about you (platform tax reporting).
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay quarterly taxes on my first year of creator income in the US?
Only if both parts of the general rule apply. If your 2025 return covered 12 months and showed tax, paying 100% of that tax (110% above $150,000 AGI) during 2026 meets the safe harbor. If your 2025 return covered all 12 months and showed no tax, the 100% figure is zero, so the general rule does not require payments.
What happens if I miss a US estimated tax payment?
The penalty runs on that installment from its due date until paid, separately from the other installments. The 2025 worksheet used 7% a year. Paying later in the year stops it running but does not erase the days already counted.
Why is my second UK tax bill so high?
In the first year with payments on account, 31 January brings the whole previous year's bill plus a first payment on account of half that bill. On GOV.UK's £3,000 example the payment is £4,500.
Sources
Opened and checked on 2026-10-16.
- IRS, Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals and About Form 1040-ES: general rule, $1,000 test, 90%, 100% and 110%, 2026 due dates, January payment, 92.35%, $184,500 wage base.
- IRS, Publication 505 (2026), Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax: payment periods, weekend and holiday rule, annualized income installment method, Worksheet 2-9.
- IRS, Topic no. 306, Penalty for underpayment of estimated tax: $1,000, 90% and 100% exceptions, Form 2210, annualized method, waivers.
- IRS, Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax: 12.4% and 2.9%, $400, 92.35%, half deductible.
- IRS, Instructions for Form 2210 (2025): penalty per installment, 7% worksheet rate, higher income rule, Schedule AI.
- GOV.UK, Understand your Self Assessment tax bill: payments on account: dates, half of last year's tax, £1,000 and 80% exceptions, balancing payment, first-year example, SA303, interest.
- GOV.UK, Self Assessment tax returns: penalties: 5% late payment penalties and interest.
- § 37 EStG, Einkommensteuer-Vorauszahlung: dates, Vorauszahlungsbescheid, last assessment, 15-month adjustment, €400 and €100, €5,000.
- § 240 AO, Säumniszuschläge: 1% per started month, three-day grace.