A Guide To Estimated Tax Filing
If you are employed by a company as a full-time employee, they will likely take care of your withholding. If you are not receiving income from any additional sources, you don't have to worry about doing any kind of estimated filing of your own; your employer is taking care of all of that, assuming that you have guided them properly on the forms you filled out at the beginning of your employment. But if you aren't working for a company that fits this description, if you receive additional non-wage income, or fall into any one of a number of other categories, you need to be certain that you are following the necessary steps to properly report and pay on your earnings throughout the year.
Who Needs To Do It?
The easiest way to know whether estimated tax filing applies to you is to determine whether you have any other sources of withholding. If you are making money and none of it is currently being held back, you should begin following the requirements for estimation immediately. If you can, seek the advice of a skilled advisor to determine your exact situation. But if you're not making very much, having a full-time, year-round advisor is probably impractical. In this situation, it is usually better to make the estimated payments, to have them on record, and to potentially receive a bigger refund down the road.
What Do I Submit?
The IRS produces specific forms for individuals and businesses that are required to file estimations. The rules are somewhat different for corporations. For individuals and sole proprietorship ventures, it is usually fairly uncomplicated to fill out the form and pay accordingly.
When Do I Owe?
Typically, you will be required to pay every financial quarter. After a three month period has passed, you're required to total up what you owe and pay. Your due dates are April 15th for January 1st-March 31st, June 15 for April 1 €" May 31st, September 15th for June 1 €" August 31, and then January 15th of the next year for Sept 1 €" Dec 31. These dates may vary from year to year if any of them falls on a weekend or federal holiday.
Increasing Normal Withholding
If you don't want to worry about when to file your taxes throughout the year and you receive regular withholding through an employer, you can see about the possibility of having more taken out of your paychecks to cover the extra liability. This is usually not a problem, as it doesn't really mean any more work for your employer, but can provide a substantial convenience to you.
Who Needs To Do It?
The easiest way to know whether estimated tax filing applies to you is to determine whether you have any other sources of withholding. If you are making money and none of it is currently being held back, you should begin following the requirements for estimation immediately. If you can, seek the advice of a skilled advisor to determine your exact situation. But if you're not making very much, having a full-time, year-round advisor is probably impractical. In this situation, it is usually better to make the estimated payments, to have them on record, and to potentially receive a bigger refund down the road.
What Do I Submit?
The IRS produces specific forms for individuals and businesses that are required to file estimations. The rules are somewhat different for corporations. For individuals and sole proprietorship ventures, it is usually fairly uncomplicated to fill out the form and pay accordingly.
When Do I Owe?
Typically, you will be required to pay every financial quarter. After a three month period has passed, you're required to total up what you owe and pay. Your due dates are April 15th for January 1st-March 31st, June 15 for April 1 €" May 31st, September 15th for June 1 €" August 31, and then January 15th of the next year for Sept 1 €" Dec 31. These dates may vary from year to year if any of them falls on a weekend or federal holiday.
Increasing Normal Withholding
If you don't want to worry about when to file your taxes throughout the year and you receive regular withholding through an employer, you can see about the possibility of having more taken out of your paychecks to cover the extra liability. This is usually not a problem, as it doesn't really mean any more work for your employer, but can provide a substantial convenience to you.
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