The equivalent static load for non-structural elements has a limitation in that the sloshing effect and the interaction between the fluid and the water tank cannot be considered. In this study, the equations to evaluate the impulse and convective components in the design codes and previous research were compared with the shaking table test results of a rectangular water tank with flexible wall panels. The conclusions of this study can be summarized as follows: (1) It was observed that the natural periods of the impulsive component according to ACI 350.3 were longer than system identification results. Thus, ACI 350.3 may underestimate the earthquake load in the case of water tanks with flexible walls. (2) In the case of water tanks with flexible walls, the side walls deform due to bending of the front and back walls. When such three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction was included, the natural period of the impulsive component became similar to the experimental results. (3) When a detailed finite element (FE) model of the water tank was unavailable, the assumption   could be used, resulting in a reasonably conservative design earthquake load.