Fumbled my quarterly estimate and owed $600 extra this April

I was sitting at my kitchen table in Portland last October and miscalculated my Q3 estimated tax payment by about half. I thought I had it figured out but I forgot to include a big $3,000 invoice I sent in September. When I filed this April, the penalty and extra tax hit me hard at $600. Now I'm using a simple spreadsheet to track every payment before I send the estimate. Has anyone else tripped up on estimated taxes and found a good way to double check?

3 comments

3 Comments

lisab3218d agoMost Upvoted

That spreadsheet idea saved me too after a similar mistake.

rowanr8818d ago

Think about adding a column for who you told about the decision too. It catches the moments where you realize you never actually asked the right person.

michael_williams6d ago

Track if you actually changed anything after the conversation too.