Have never had a federal tax payment until this year on taxes and now in uncharted territory.
Due to a divorce last year, I underpaid on taxes. Because of this, I had too pay ~1700. I filed my taxes and paid the amount as I filed. Also, since the event, I updated my employment forms to remove more taxes. So that is done.
With that said, when finishing my taxes it forms to pay an additional amount ~1200 on a quarterly basis. Is this a recommended action or a required action knowing I have resolved the problem with my employment withholdings? I went onto the IRS site where it does not show that I have an active payment or any balance.
Thanks for any guidance in advance
Posted by TriNewb
3 Comments
It is my understanding that if you grossly under pay and end up owing the IRS they will print vouchers for you to pre-pay with the understanding that if you don’t pre-pay, you will owe a penalty on top of the taxes the following year. I’m not a CPA, but I believe they don’t penalize you the first time it happens, only subsequent years.
If you choose not to pre-pay, but you’ve solved the issue… Don’t worry, all is good. If you choose not to pre-pay and end up owing money, they will charge you a penalty on that amount. It’s up to you if you decide it’s worth the risk.
PS… The penalty isn’t that bad if you underpaid by just a little bit
If you only have W-2 income and corrected your employer withholding. You should not need to pay quarterly estimated taxes.
If you have other income (Self Employed, capital gains, interest, dividends, rentals, &c). You can either pay estimated taxes on those items or roll them into your withholdings for your job.
There are three safe harbors to avoid a penalty on your 2026 tax return when you file it next year. You only have to meet one of these:
* have paid 100% of your 2025 tax liability (110% if your 2025 AGI was over $150K) via withholding plus 4 equal quarterly payments
* have paid at least 90% of your 2026 liability through withholding plus 4 equal quarterly payments
* owe the IRS less than $1000 after withholding and quarterly payments
If your withholding will be sufficient to put you in at least one of the safe harbors, then there is no need for quarterly payments. For most people with W-2 jobs, the easiest way to meet the requirement is to adjust your withholding as you did. Tax software prints out the vouchers automatically, but you are free to ignore them.