You probably already know that if you are self-employed, then you are to pay self employment estimated taxes to the IRS each quarter, right?

But you may think you have to mail in the remittance slip that came with your filed return for the prior year, and you can, but that’s not the easiest and safest way.

You may also think you need to spend hours, which intimidates like days, to calculate what you owe. This is just not true. It’s not that complicated and it’s an ESTIMATE for goodness sake.

• You should refer to your prior year return for the minimum estimated payment based on what was owed last year.
• If you owed tax last year, you will have payment remittance slips with the estimated amounts typed on there for you!

See below for the link and instructions for the easiest way to pay Self Employment Estimated Taxes online at IRS.gov

• Compare your Net Income from last year (aka the Taxable Income from your business) to your Net Income so far this year.
• Also take into consideration life changes and other income related implications.
• If your Net Income this year is higher or you expect to earn more, then pay more than what is estimated.
• If your Net Income is lower this year, our you expect to not owe as much because you will earn less, such as an entity change or change in business plan, then you can pay less than what is estimated.

If you still aren’t comfortable making an educated guess. Then, use this simple calculator to Estimate your Self Employment Taxes:  https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/self-employment-tax-calculator

Divide your annual Estimated Tax Liability by 4 to get four equal payments. Alternatively, you can make payments of different amounts throughout the year based on changes in business.

The main thing is to pay at least what was owed for the prior year or about 20% of your expected Net Income for the current year.

You may not be required to pay Estimated Tax Payments. According to IRS guidelines on Estimated Taxes:

[quote ]Individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, and S corporation shareholders, generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed. Corporations generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $500 or more when their return is filed. –irs.gov[/quote]

By spacing out your tax payments, you’re doing yourself a favor by not having to pay out in one lump sum and you’re avoiding underpayment and late payment penalties.

Where to Pay and Instructions for Quick Pay

To Pay your Estimated SE Taxes, use the IRS.gov Payments tab to access their Direct Pay Portal. Click here to go make a payment now or save the URL as a Bookmark to use later. 

This takes 2 minutes of your time, so don’t get overwhelmed!

https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay

Click on the Make a Payment button, and then see the image below to select the correct options from the drop down menus.

https://directpay.irs.gov/directpay/payment?execution=e1s1

1. Reason for Payment:  Estimated Tax
2. Apply Payment To: 1040ES
3. Tax Period for Payment:  Enter the Current Year
4. On the next page, you’ll complete your personal information (Name, Address, Social Security number and filing status for the prior year:  Single, Married Filing Jointly, etc.)
5. Enter the amount you want to pay and your bank details.
6. Accept their payment terms and enter your email… and DONE!

Keep in mind that the due dates are not the Quarterly due dates we think of with Sales Taxes. June and September do not follow a quarter end, but they are due by the 15th!

For real – time updates on annual tax due dates, go here:  https://www.irs.gov/faqs/estimated-tax/individuals/individuals-2

If you live in a state that collects State Income Tax, then you will need to refer to your respective’s state governing site to remit quarterly estimated taxes to them. This post is only regarding Federal Income Tax (Social Security & Medicare for the Self Employed).Don’t wait until the 15th to pay estimated self employment tax. That’s the due date.