Farmers and fishermen will not be subject to an addition to tax for failure to make an estimated tax payment for 2025 as long as they file a calendar-year 2025 tax return and pay any tax due by April 15, 2026. (IRS Notice 2026-24)
Special estimated tax rules normally apply to qualified farmers and fishermen. Rather than paying four equal estimated tax payments throughout the year, qualified farmers and fishermen (those with two-thirds of their total gross income from farming or fishing) can make one single estimated tax payment on January 15 following the close of their taxable year. No addition to tax is applied if the taxpayer files the return and pays the full amount of tax reported by March 1.
However, many farmers and fishermen were unable to make the March 1 deadline due to difficulties with Form 8995, Qualified Business Income Deduction Simplified Computation, which was not corrected until a February 23, 2026, software update.
The tax relief will be automatically applied if the taxpayer files the return and pays any tax due by April 15, 2026. The IRS will not issue any notices for underpayment of estimated tax. Those farmers and fishermen who already filed and reported an addition to tax can request abatement by filing Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, and following the instructions provided in the notice.
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