Arizona quarterly tax payments come in two flavors with two different calendars. Individual estimated income tax installments are due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. Quarterly Transaction Privilege Tax returns are due on the 20th of the month after each quarter closes: April 20, July 20, October 20, and January 20. For the 2026 tax year, every individual installment date lands on a weekday, so no deadline shifts apply.
Who Owes Individual Estimated Payments
Arizona requires estimated tax payments from individuals whose Arizona gross income exceeds $75,000 in both the current and prior tax year, or $150,000 if filing jointly.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 43 Section 43-581 – Payment of Estimated Tax; Rules; Penalty; Forms Both years must clear the threshold. If your income was $60,000 last year but jumped to $90,000 this year, you don’t owe quarterly payments for the current year.
For full-year residents, Arizona gross income is your federal adjusted gross income.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 43-1001 – Definitions Nonresidents use a modified calculation based on income sourced to Arizona. The income types that most often push people into quarterly payments are self-employment earnings, capital gains, rental income, and significant investment income — anything without automatic Arizona withholding.
Even above the income threshold, no penalty applies if your total Arizona tax liability for the year, after subtracting withholding and credits, comes in under $1,000.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 43 Section 43-581 – Payment of Estimated Tax; Rules; Penalty; Forms
How Much to Pay Each Quarter
Arizona uses the federal safe harbor structure. Your combined estimated installments and withholding avoid a penalty as long as they cover at least the smaller of:
- 90% of your current-year tax liability, or
- 100% of the tax shown on your prior-year Arizona return (which must cover a full 12-month year).
Most people target the prior-year number because it’s already known. Divide last year’s total Arizona tax by four, and pay that amount each quarter.3Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Form 140ES – Individual Estimated Income Tax Payment
Higher Incomes Owe 110%
If your federal AGI for the prior year exceeded $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately), the prior-year safe harbor rises to 110% of last year’s tax.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Form 1040-ES – Estimated Tax for Individuals The 90% current-year option stays the same. Arizona’s rules mirror this federal structure.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 43 Section 43-581 – Payment of Estimated Tax; Rules; Penalty; Forms
Uneven Income During the Year
If your income arrives unevenly, say from selling a rental property in October, the equal-installment approach can produce a mismatch. The annualized income installment method lets you size each quarter’s required payment to what you actually earned through that period, rather than assuming one-fourth of the annual total is due each quarter.3Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Form 140ES – Individual Estimated Income Tax Payment
How to Submit Payments
The Arizona Department of Revenue accepts estimated payments through AZTaxes.gov by eCheck or credit card under the Form 140ES option. Paying online and mailing a paper voucher for the same installment creates duplicate records, so use one channel per quarter. Paper filers send the completed Form 140ES voucher with a check to ADOR, Phoenix, AZ 85038-9085.3Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Form 140ES – Individual Estimated Income Tax Payment
Penalty for Underpaying Estimated Tax
When your combined withholding and estimated payments fall short of the required amount, Arizona charges a penalty equal to the interest that would accrue on the underpaid balance from the installment due date until the tax is paid. The penalty is capped at 10% of the unpaid amount, and it replaces the standard late-balance interest charge rather than stacking on top of it.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 42-1125 – Civil Penalties; Definition
The interest rate tracks the federal underpayment rate, which sits at 7% per year, compounded daily, for the first quarter of 2026.6Internal Revenue Service. Interest Rates Remain the Same for the First Quarter of 2026 The rate resets quarterly, so the actual penalty depends on when you catch up.
When the Penalty Is Waived
No underpayment penalty applies if your total tax liability after withholding and credits is under $1,000.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 43 Section 43-581 – Payment of Estimated Tax; Rules; Penalty; Forms Arizona also recognizes the federal exceptions under IRC Section 6654:7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6654 – Failure by Individual to Pay Estimated Income Tax
- You owed zero Arizona tax for the prior 12-month tax year.
- The underpayment resulted from a casualty, disaster, or other unusual circumstance where imposing a penalty would be inequitable.
- You retired after age 62 or became disabled during the current or preceding tax year, and the underpayment was due to reasonable cause.
Farmers and fishermen who draw at least two-thirds of their gross income from those activities follow a simpler track: a single estimated payment by January 15, or no estimated payments at all if the full return is filed and paid by March 1.8Internal Revenue Service. Farmers and Fishermen
Corporate Quarterly Payments Follow a Different Calendar
Arizona corporations expecting to owe $1,000 or more for the year make quarterly estimated payments using Form 120ES.9Arizona Department of Revenue. Corporate Income Tax Installments are due on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th months of the corporation’s tax year. A calendar-year corporation pays on April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. Note that fourth date: it’s December, not January like individuals.
The same safe harbors apply. A corporation avoids penalties by covering 90% of the current-year liability or 100% of the prior-year tax through its installments, and underpayments face the same interest-based penalty capped at 10%.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 42-1125 – Civil Penalties; Definition
Quarterly Transaction Privilege Tax Returns
Transaction Privilege Tax is Arizona’s tax on the privilege of doing business in the state. It functions like a sales tax, though the business technically owes it. How often you file depends on your estimated annual combined liability across all jurisdictions:10Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT Filing Frequency
- Annual filing if under $2,000
- Quarterly filing if $2,000 to $8,000
- Monthly filing if over $8,000
Businesses that operate eight months or fewer per year can request seasonal filing.
Due Dates for Quarterly Filers
Quarterly TPT returns cover January through March, April through June, July through September, and October through December. Each return is due by the 20th of the month after the quarter closes: April 20 for Q1, July 20 for Q2, October 20 for Q3, and January 20 for Q4.10Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT Filing Frequency Filings go through AZTaxes.gov using Form TPT-2.11Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT-2 Transaction Privilege, Use and Severance Tax Return
Late TPT Penalty
A missed TPT deadline draws a penalty of 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the payment remains outstanding, and interest accrues on top of that.12Arizona Department of Revenue. Filing Notices of Penalties and Interest For quarterly or monthly filers, the same oversight can repeat across periods before it’s caught.
One boundary worth flagging: out-of-state sellers cross into Arizona TPT territory once their gross sales into the state exceed $100,000 in a calendar year, with collection beginning the first day of the month starting at least 30 days after the threshold is hit.13Arizona Legislature. SB1325 Summary – Transaction Privilege Tax; Remote Sellers Sales through a marketplace facilitator that already collects the tax don’t count toward the threshold.