Single Payments
You might only owe estimated taxes for the quarter when you made money. As long as you pay the entire amount you expect to owe by that quarter's due date, you don't need to make payments in other quarters when you made nothing.
Can you pay estimated taxes anytime? You don't have to wait for the deadline to submit your estimated tax payment for that quarter. When you're ready, you can make your payment to the IRS by mail, over the phone, online, or through their app. Visit IRS.gov/payments to see all your options.
An extension to pay: You can ask the IRS for up to 120 days to pay your tax bill. Payment plans: If you're wondering, “Do I have to pay my taxes all at once?”, the answer is no — with a payment plan, you can spread out your IRS payments.
You will receive an overpayment amount as a refund. The IRS won't be sending out a notification to let you know you made an overpayment on taxes. Freelancers, independent contractors and gig workers need to make quarterly estimated tax payments if they meet the requirements.
Let's be clear: overpayment of taxes is in every way preferable to underpayment of taxes! The former is what the IRS expects -- and any money overpaid will be refunded eventually. The latter is against the IRS rules and will result in a penalty.
Each period has a specific payment due date. If you don't pay enough tax by the due date of each of the payment periods, you may be charged a penalty even if you are due a refund when you file your income tax return. If a payment is mailed, the date of the U.S. postmark is the date of payment.
Taxpayers often have a serious misconception. They think they can pay their taxes in one lump sum at the end of the year. It's a mistake to think the IRS is OK with a single end-of-year payment. If you owe more than $1,000, the IRS wants you to pay your tax throughout the year.
The IRS minimum monthly payment is typically your total tax debt divided by 72 unless you specify a different amount. Short-term and long-term payment plans are available, depending on your debt amount and eligibility. Setting up a direct debit payment plan online is the most cost-effective option.
To calculate your federal quarterly estimated tax payments, you must estimate your adjusted gross income, taxable income, taxes, deductions, and credits for the calendar year 2024. Form 1040-ES includes an Estimated Tax Worksheet to help you calculate your federal estimated tax payments.
If the total of your estimated payments and withholding add up to less than 90 percent of what you owe, you may face an underpayment penalty. So you may want to avoid cutting your payments too close to the 90 percent mark to give yourself a safety net.
If the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) on your previous year's return is over $150,000 (over $75,000 if you are married filing separately), you must pay the lower of 90% of the tax shown on the current year's return or 110% of the tax shown on the return for the previous year.
If you're at risk for an underpayment penalty next year, we'll automatically calculate quarterly estimated tax payments and prepare vouchers (Form 1040-ES) for you to print. You're not required to make estimated tax payments; we're just suggesting it based on the info in your return.
Technically, yes. You can pay all of your quarterly taxes for the upcoming year by the first quarterly deadline of the year in April. But it might not be an accurate amount if you don't know exactly how much you'll make for the rest of the year—and that could lead to an underpayment penalty.
If you didn't pay enough tax throughout the year, either through withholding or by making estimated tax payments, you may have to pay a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax.
How much will the IRS settle for? The IRS will often settle for what it deems you can feasibly pay. To determine this, the agency will take into account your assets (home, car, etc.), your income, your monthly expenses (rent, utilities, child care, etc.), your savings, and more.
The IRS will provide taxpayers up to 180 days to pay their full tax balance. Fees or cost: There's no fee to request the extension. There is a penalty of 0.5% per month on the unpaid balance.
You could pay less in interest and fees: With IRS payment plan interest rates at 8% and the lower penalty rate of 0.25% per month, it's possible that you'll have lower ongoing costs by repaying this way than if you borrowed the money with a personal loan.
What Happens If You Don't Pay Quarterly? Quarterly estimated tax payments need to be filed by their due date. If you don't pay by the deadline, you risk a penalty for missing said due date. You may have missed it just a day; you'll still receive a penalty for it.
Another way individuals can avoid penalties is by pre-paying a "safe harbor" amount equal to 100% of the previous year's tax. The safe harbor amount for high income taxpayers is paying in 110% of the previous year's tax.
If you find that you cannot pay the full amount by the filing deadline, you should file your return and pay as much as you can by the due date. To see if you qualify for an installment payment plan, attach a Form 9465, “Installment Agreement Request,” to the front of your tax return.
If you made estimated tax payments and you did not include them on your tax return you will want to amend. By not including the information you likely have a higher balance due or a lower refund then you are entitled to.
If you're making estimated tax payments and have federal income tax withholding, you can increase your quarterly estimated tax payments or increase your federal income tax withholding to cover the tax liability.
You can postpone the quarterly Jan. 15 estimated tax payment until Jan. 31 if you file your return and make any necessary payments by that date. If you can't make an estimated payment, you might be subject to a penalty with interest.