Estimated Tax

Generally, an estate or trust must pay estimated income tax for 2026 if it expects to owe, after subtracting any withholding and credits, at least $1,000 in tax, and it expects the withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of:

1. 90% of the tax shown on the 2026 tax return (66 ² /3% of the tax if the estate or trust qualifies as a farmer or fisherman (fisher)); or

2. 100% of the tax shown on the 2025 tax return (110% of that amount if the estate’s or trust’s AGI on that return is more than $150,000, and less than ² /3 of gross income for 2025 and 2026 is from farming or fishing).

However, if a return was not filed for 2025 or that return didn’t cover a full 12 months, item 2 doesn’t apply.

For this purpose, include household employment taxes in the tax shown on the tax return but only if either of the following is true.

• The estate or trust will have federal income tax withheld for 2026 (see the instructions for Schedule G, Part II, line 14).

• The estate or trust would be required to make estimated tax payments for 2026 even if it didn’t include household employment taxes when figuring estimated tax.

Exceptions Estimated tax payments aren’t required from:

1. An estate of a domestic decedent or a domestic trust that had no tax liability for the full 12-month 2025 tax year;

2. A decedent’s estate for any tax year ending before the date that is 2 years after the decedent’s death; or

3. A trust that was treated as owned by the decedent if the trust will receive the residue of the decedent’s estate under the will (or, if no will is admitted to probate, is the trust primarily responsible for paying debts, taxes, and expenses of administration) for any tax year ending before the date that is 2 years after the decedent’s death.

For more information, see Form 1041-ES, Estimated Income Tax for Estates and Trusts.

Electronic Deposits A financial institution that has been designated as an authorized federal tax depository, and acts as a fiduciary for at least 200 taxable trusts that are required to pay estimated tax, is required to deposit the estimated tax payments electronically using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).

A fiduciary that isn’t required to make electronic deposits of estimated tax on behalf of a trust or an estate may voluntarily participate in EFTPS. To enroll in or get more information about EFTPS, go to EFTPS.gov or call 800-555-4477. To contact EFTPS using Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, dial 711 and then provide the TRS assistant the 800-555-4477 number above or 800-733-4829. Also, see Pub. 966, Electronic Federal Tax Payment System: A Guide to Getting Started.

Depositing on time. For a deposit using EFTPS to be on time, the deposit must be submitted by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time the day before the due date of the deposit.

Section 643(g) Election Fiduciaries of trusts that pay estimated tax may elect under section 643(g) to have any portion of their estimated tax payments allocated to any of the beneficiaries.

The fiduciary of a decedent’s estate may make a section 643(g) election only for the final year of the estate.

Make the election by filing Form 1041-T, Allocation of Estimated Tax Payments to Beneficiaries, by the 65th day after the close of the estate’s or trust’s tax year. Then, include that amount in box 13, code A, of Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) for any beneficiaries for whom it was elected.

If Form 1041-T was timely filed, the payments are treated as paid or credited to the beneficiary on the last day of the tax year and must be included as an other amount paid, credited, or required to be distributed on Form 1041, Schedule B, line 10. See the instructions for Schedule B, line 10, later.

Failure to make a timely election will result in the estimated tax payments not being transferred to the beneficiary(ies) even if you entered the amount on Schedule K-1.

See the instructions for Schedule G, Part II, line 11, for more details.

10 Instructions for Form 1041 (2025)