A chat with my accountant about my quarterly tax payment

I was at my accountant's office last week, going over my numbers for the year. She looked at my estimated tax payment and said, 'You're still paying based on last year's income, but you're up 30% this quarter.' She pointed out that if I don't adjust my payments now, I'll get a big bill and a penalty next April. I had just been on autopilot with the old amount. Has anyone else had to scramble to fix their quarterly payments after a good month?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sage10d ago

Honestly I've always been the type to overpay a bit on purpose. That small penalty if I underpay feels way worse than letting the government hold some extra cash for a few months. I'd rather get a surprise refund than a scary bill I can't afford.

max71610d ago

Wait, isn't that just giving them an interest-free loan?

shane_morgan10d ago

Yeah that "autopilot" thing is so real. It's easy to just keep sending the same check when you're busy. My problem was the opposite once, my income dipped but I forgot to lower my payments. Ended up with a huge refund but I'd rather have had that cash during the year. Now I set a calendar reminder to check my numbers before each quarterly deadline.