Self employed quarterly tax payments

For estimated tax purposes, a year has four payment periods.  Taxpayers must make a payment each quarter. The payments are generally April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year.  If these dates fall on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is the next business day.

Generally, an underpayment penalty can be avoided if you use the safe harbor rule for payments described below. The IRS will not charge you an underpayment penalty if:

• You pay at least 90% of the tax you owe for the current year, or 100% of the tax you owed for the previous tax year, or
• You owe less than $1,000 in tax after subtracting withholdings and credits

This rule is altered slightly for high-income taxpayers. 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.

For estimated tax purposes, the year is divided into four payment periods. 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.  That rate is currently 8%.  

While there is no way to determine if you will not have a penalty, you do want to make the first, second and third payments on or before September 16, 2024.  This will mitigate any potential penalty that you may incur.   

Thank you so much for your question @LisaHorn   

Be well and safe!

Marc T.

Turbo Tax Expert

27 Years of Experience Helping Clients