Missed estimated payment: Not a big deal

June --

I'm self employed. I just got my taxes back from my accountant (I was only FT self-employed for about 1/4 of 2009, so I still had a reasonable tax refund last year (don't ask, minimum wage with child credits, etc).

Anyhow, my accountant applied my refund towards my estimated taxes for 2010 (which is a good thing). My next estimated tax payment is now due, and I won't have it for a little while.

So right now, it looks like this.

Original fed refund: 2000
Original estimated payment due 4/15: 3000
I don't have the $1000 right now to pay Fed (or the $800 for state).

Can I make those payments on the *next* quarterly payment? Or am I going to get penalized by the IRS if I pay my estimated taxes later than the quarterly due date?

Either way, it's going to be late... but I need to know if it can wait until the next quarter, or if I need to pay it ASAP, and then pay the *regular* estimated payments next quarter.


Eric
Technology Consultant


Dear Eric,

You may wait until the next quarter payment and add the difference to that.

If yours and your tax pro's estimate of 2010 income is correct and you should have paid exactly $3000 as an estimated, then when you pay the missed $1000 in June instead of April it will cost you only a little bit of interest.

You will have owed the IRS $1000 for 2 months. At 5% a year that's $8.33 interest. Which is calculated later, when you file your 2010 tax return.

Read this post: A Primer on Estimated Taxes .

-- June