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Quarterly taxes due dates
When Are Quarterly Taxes Due in 2022?
Taxes are one of life's constants. No matter who you are or where you live, everyone who has an income has to pay taxes. But, if you're a freelancer, self-employed individual or independent contractor, your taxes look very different from those of an employee at a company.
The essential difference? Self-employed people are responsible for everything tax-related, while employees have taxes on their income and for Social Security and Medicare automatically taken out of their paychecks by their employer. If you're self-employed, you're probably painfully aware of this, especially when it comes time to pay quarterly estimated taxes.
Everyone who works for themselves is responsible for calculating how much they owe in income tax and self-employment tax. If they don't send the correct amount off to the IRS by the four quarterly deadlines, the IRS is likely to charge late fees. Understanding how those four deadlines work each year can help you be sure to make the right payments on time.
Table of contents
Key takeaways:...Read more
When are quarterly taxes due in 2022?...Read more
Why do self-employed individuals have to pay quarterly taxes?...Read more
Who is required to pay quarterly taxes?...Read more
How much quarterly tax should I pay?...Read more
How estimating your income works...Read more
What's the penalty for missing an IRS estimated tax payment?...Read more
How to pay quarterly taxes...Read more
How can I track my self-employed expenses?...Read more
Key takeaways:
- One of the quarterly tax payments for each year is actually due the following year
- Quarterly tax payment amounts are estimated
- There are hefty fines for paying late or underpaying on quarterly taxes
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When are quarterly taxes due in 2022?
The Internal Revenue Service requires self-employed individuals to pay income tax and self-employed tax four times each year, which they understandably call quarterly estimated taxes. This is a little misleading because the four payment deadlines are not at exact increments throughout the year. In fact, one of the four payments due in a given year is actually due in the following year.
The four deadlines are April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year. The time between the first and second payments of the year, and the second and third payments is two months. The time between the third and fourth payments is three months, and the time between the fourth payment and first payment of the next year is four months.
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Why do self-employed individuals have to pay quarterly taxes?
The US tax system is set up to ensure a regular income for the IRS, so that the things our taxes go to fund can keep running regularly throughout the year. For employees who receive W-2 tax forms, taxes are automatically withheld from their paychecks, so they never have to worry about quarterly taxes because those are paid by their employers.
But for people who work for themselves, the withholding has to be do-it-yourself. They have only themselves to rely on to take care of every IRS estimated tax payment. But don't worry, you can get automatic reminders, for example by using FlyFin, and our quarterly tax calculator can take the guesswork out of the equation for you.
Quarterly payments aren't a choice because if you don't pay them, there can be penalties, but one nice thing about them is that you won't be overwhelmed by one big payment at the annual April filing deadline.
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Who is required to pay quarterly taxes?
Anyone who is making regular income as a freelancer or independent contractor should be making estimated tax payments in 2022, though there are a couple of exceptions to this. If the amount of tax you end up owing at the end of the year is less than $1,000, you don't have to pay it. The other condition is if you had no tax liability in the previous year.
Tax liability means the amount of tax you're required to pay. So if you were required to pay $0 when you went to file your annual tax return last year, or you didn't have to file an income tax return at all, for some reason (both of which are unlikely), you would be exempt from paying taxes then, too.
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How much quarterly tax should I pay?
This is probably the most important question because unlike the quarterly tax dates for 2022, it's something you have to figure out. But don't worry, you don't have to do it on your own.
Remember the free quarterly tax calculator we mentioned? All you need to do is enter a few details about your income, the state you live in and a few other things, and in two minutes, you've got your federal estimated tax payments. It will give you the numbers you need for federal and state tax payments.
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How estimating your income works
Even with a calculator, you're still estimating what you're going to make in the future, in order to know what you'll owe in taxes in the future. This can be especially frustrating for freelancers because your taxable income can be different every year. But there's no reason to stress, because there is a bit of wiggle room. They are called estimated taxes, afterall.
This is because the IRS is not unreasonable and gives self-employed tax payers leeway of 10%, meaning that at the end of the year, if you're 10% or less over or under what you should have paid, there's no penalty. But no one wants to overpay and send the IRS more than they have to. That's where FlyFin's self-employment tax calculator comes in.
Quick tip
Even if you can't pay all the quarterly tax you owe, pay what you can in order to avoid a late fee.
What is Form 1040 ES
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What's the penalty for missing an IRS estimated tax payment?
If you don't pay quarterly taxes by the deadlines we listed above, it's very likely you'll hear from the IRS and be required to pay penalties. How much depends on a couple of factors.
There's a percentage of the tax amount you owe that accumulates each month and there's an interest rate for each month that you don't pay up. A general rule is the fee is about 7% of the tax you will owe at the end of the year, each month! So square your bill as soon as you can.
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How to pay quarterly taxes
If you work for yourself, and you've done the calculations to figure out how much you owe, you need to actually pay the tax now. There are a couple of ways to do this.
Quick tip
Even if you can't pay all the quarterly tax you owe, pay what you can in order to avoid a late fee.
IRS Direct Pay
Paying with a check
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How can I track my self-employed expenses?
An important part of self-employed taxes is tracking your expenses, so you know what you can deduct from your taxable income and know what you'll need to pay in quarterly estimated taxes.
FlyFin's A.I.-powered expense tracker automatically finds every possible deduction, and our expert CPA team prepares and files your taxes for you.
Remembering to pay on the quarterly tax dates for 2022 can be tricky, but with a basic understanding of quarterly taxes work and the right tools to help, they'll become a simple tick on your to-do list rather than a challenge four times each year.
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What’s FlyFin?
FlyFin is the number one A.I.-powered tax engine for freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors and sole proprietors.
The app tracks all your business expenses automatically to find every possible tax deduction and lets you easily categorize expenses like goodwill tax deductions.
FlyFin's CPA team files guaranteed 100% accurate state and federal tax returns for you – to save you a couple of thousand dollars and a ton of time on your taxes.
Download the FlyFin app and have your taxes filed in less than fifteen minutes, saving time and more money on your taxes than last year, guaranteed.
Need help navigating your taxes?
FlyFin's A.I. and 24/7 CPA support will guide you.
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