diff --git a/backend/server3.js b/backend/server3.js
index 029168d..97b29f5 100644
--- a/backend/server3.js
+++ b/backend/server3.js
@@ -4069,17 +4069,43 @@ app.post('/api/premium/tasks', authenticatePremiumUser, async (req, res) => {
     };
 
      /* ─────────────────  SMS reminder  ───────────────── */
-    if (due_date) {                           // only if task has a due date
+      // helper: 2:00 PM America/New_York → UTC ISO for a given YYYY-MM-DD
+    function ny2pmUtcIso(dateStr) {
+      const m = String(dateStr || '').match(/^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})$/);
+      if (!m) return new Date(dateStr).toISOString();
+      const y = +m[1], mo = +m[2], d = +m[3];
+     // iterative align: find the UTC instant that shows as 14:00 in NY on that calendar date
+      const dtf = new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
+        timeZone: 'America/New_York',
+        hour12: false, year: 'numeric', month: '2-digit', day: '2-digit',
+        hour: '2-digit', minute: '2-digit', second: '2-digit'
+      });
+      let utc = Date.UTC(y, mo - 1, d, 19, 0, 0, 0); // good first guess (19:00Z ~= 2pm EST)
+      for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
+        const parts = Object.fromEntries(dtf.formatToParts(new Date(utc)).map(p => [p.type, p.value]));
+        // ensure same calendar day in NY; if drifted, nudge by day difference
+        const dayDiff = (y - (+parts.year)) * 1440*365  // huge; we correct hour/min next anyway
+                       + (mo - (+parts.month)) * 1440*31
+                       + (d - (+parts.day)) * 1440;
+        const hDiff = 14 - (+parts.hour);
+        const mDiff = 0  - (+parts.minute);
+        const deltaMin = (dayDiff !== 0 ? dayDiff : 0) + hDiff * 60 + mDiff;
+        if (deltaMin === 0) break;
+        utc += deltaMin * 60 * 1000;
+      }
+      return new Date(utc).toISOString();
+    }
+
+    if (finalDue) {                           // only if task has a due date (incl. fallback)
  const [[profile]] = await pool.query(
    'SELECT phone_e164, phone_verified_at, sms_reminders_opt_in FROM user_profile WHERE id = ?',
    [req.id]
  );
  if (profile?.sms_reminders_opt_in && profile.phone_verified_at && profile.phone_e164) {
-  // If due_date is just YYYY-MM-DD, schedule at 14:00:00Z that day
-        const isoSend =
-          /^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$/.test(String(finalDue))
-            ? `${finalDue}T14:00:00.000Z`
-            : new Date(finalDue).toISOString();      
+  // If due_date is date-only, schedule at 2:00 PM America/New_York (DST-aware)
+        const isoSend = /^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$/.test(String(finalDue))
+          ? ny2pmUtcIso(String(finalDue))
+          : new Date(finalDue).toISOString();
   
   await createReminder({
           userId   : req.id,