Skip to main content
April 14, 2021
Question

quarterly taxes

  • April 14, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

We file married filing jointly for 2020 and already filed and received our return. My wife started working as an independent contractor the beginning of 2021 working for Instacart. Does she need to file quarterly taxes and if so, how much or how do I calculate it?  

Does she need to pay Medicare and SS taxes regardless?  How do I calculate that? 

What turbo tax will we require moving forward

 

Thanks

Matt

    1 reply

    JohnB5677
    April 14, 2021

    You had several questions:

     

    Does she need to file quarterly taxes and if so, how much or how do I calculate it?  

     

    You can use either the IRS calculator, or one included in TurboTax

    Tax Withholding Estimator | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

     

    To calculate your estimated tax payments for 2020 please follow these steps:

    1. Sign in to your return.
    2. In your return, click Federal Taxes > Other Tax Situations.
    3. In the Other Tax Forms section click the Start/Update box next to Form W-4 and estimated taxes.
    4. On the screen, Adjust How Much Tax You Pay, click the No box. [This for withholding from your paycheck.]
    5. On the Review Your Estimates screen, click the Review Now box.
    6. You can continue through the screens and review your entries.

    Does she need to pay Medicare and SS taxes regardless? 

     

    Yes, this is refereed to as Self-Employment tax, and it comes to 15.3% of gross profits from a business.  Provided you enter the estimator correctly, it will include this in the estimated payments.

     

    How do I calculate that? 

     

    As stated above, you do not have to.  The estimators will take care of it.

     

    What turbo tax will we require moving forward

     

    You will need the Online Self-Employed, or the Desktop Home & business

    Either will work.  The Desktop has more features.

    **Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"