Just a quick reminder that quarterly estimated tax payments are due this Friday, June 15th. If you have income that’s not subject to withholding (e.g., self-employment, interest, dividends, gains from the sale of assets, rental income, etc.) then you might need to make quarterly payments to avoid an underpayment penalty.
You can either use IRS From 1040-ES or the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. I’ve always used the former, although I should probably check out the latter. And don’t forget that you might also need to make estimated payments for your state taxes. If you’re looking for a good source of general information on estimated taxes, check out Fairmark.com’s Estimated Taxes 101.
I started as a 1099 employee in January 2011 and haven’t paid quarterly taxes yet. Can I catch up in the 3rd quarter and pay everything I think I owe up to that point? I don’t totally understand how this works…
what are the dates quarterly taxes are due
I am a consultant and planned on paying quarterly taxes on my income (sole prop). I paid Q1 on time. Then, I decided to incorporate in mid-April. SO, I have no more income to pay quarterly on (it’ll be taxed normally out of the corp). Do I still have to make the quarterly payments I THOUGHT I’d need to make at the beginning of the year?
Thanks for the insight nickel! I appreciate it. My revenue in my side business compared to my ‘real job’ is not significant enough yet to make a dent in my withholding, so I’m safe till next quarter….
The only way to know for sure is to work through the 1040-ES worksheet. It’s based on projected income, and I always project forward based on YTD earnings. I’m assuming that if you have a regular job, your withholding is sufficient to cover the taxes due without incurring a penalty. Thus, if you haven’t really had any other income (yet), you probably won’t need to file quarterly (yet). There are definitely cases in which someone’s income goes up mid-year, and they have to start filing for, say, the 3rd and 4th quarter even though they didn’t pay in for the 1st and 2nd quarter.
Nickel,
do you know if you have to file quarterlys if you don’t show a profit for the quarter? I just started a new business venture in Q2 and it hasn’t turned a profit yet…. hopefully next quarter!
Your post (and your post alone) made me realize that I need to re-evaluate my taxes in light of some changes at work, and do the estimated-tax thing. I wouldn’t have thought to do so otherwise. Thanks!