John A. Shaw at johnsh[at]csufresno.edu wrote:

- quote -

Quarterly payments are like parking meters. You can do as
many or as few quarters as you want. If you stop too soon
or pay too little, the IRS will assess interest on the
underpayment, the same as if you made no payments at all.
If you pay too much, you will get it back when you file. If
your situation changes and you no longer need to make
payments, just stop.

If you have anything you can do withholding from, like IRA
or retireent withdrawals or W-2 income, that is much better.
Withholding is considered evenly spread throughout the
year, no matter when it happens. Quarterly payments have
deadlines. I have clients who have their November and
December IRA payments completely withheld and make no other
payments during the year. This works just fine.

All freely provided advice guarantee correct or double your
money back

Frank S. Duke, Jr. CPA
Cincinnati, OH USA

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John A. Shaw wrote:

- quote -

If this is your first year of the irregular income, your
existing withholding and prepayments, if at least as much as
the "total tax" line of last year's return, will safe harbor
you until next year's due date (there are exceptions).
Unless you are afraid that you are going to spend the money
in the meantime, there's no reason to pay it in now
(quarterly) but instead invest it (in something that only
goes up, like a CD) and pay it next April.

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"John A. Shaw" <johnsh[at]csufresno.edu> wrote:

- quote -

You only have to make quarterly estimated tax payments if
you don't expect your withholding that year to be sufficient
to avoid penalties.

--
Barry Margolin, barmar[at]alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA

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"Ed Zollars, CPA" <ezollar[at]mindspring.com> wrote:
- quote -

Ed, Ed and Sassy,

Thanks for the information.

As you could tell from my question I have never used the
quarterly payment method.

My reluctance to start quarterly payments was my belief the
once I started them I would be REQUIRED to make quarterly
payments each quarter forever. That is what I was trying to
avoid.

QUESTION: If my additional income dries-up do I have to
continue do anything each quarter?

Thanks again for the help.

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"John A. Shaw" <johnsh[at]csufresno.edu> wrote:

- quote -

You don't have to send them an entire return, just a check
with a 1040ES voucher so they know who it came from. Your
first year of retirement, with income decreasing, you should
use the Anualized Income Method to determine the lowest
quarterly installments you can pay. There'e calculators on
the web for this . Try [2210 Tax Calculator] in a search
engine.

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"John A. Shaw" <johnsh[at]csufresno.edu> wrote:

- quote -

When you pay estimated taxes, you just PAY quarterly, you
don't FILE quarterly. It's just a check, not a whole tax
return.

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John A. Shaw wrote:

- quote -

That's exactly what those "quarterly tax returns" I suspect
you are referencing do--they simply ask for name, address,
social security number and how much you are sending in.

While there is a full worksheet attached to compute taxes,
reality is that the only document you file is that little
slip of paper that tells the IRS how much you are sending.

--
Ed Zollars, CPA
Phoenix, Arizona

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I am retired but earning some irregular income from
consulting. No taxes are being withheld from these
payments.

I do NOT want to have to file quarterly tax returns. But
obviously I do not want to incur a penalty for underpayment
next April 15.

Is there a method to make irregular payments NOW of income
taxes that will be due next year?

I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

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