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Went from owing $4k to a $900 refund after switching to quarterly payments
Last year I just ignored my freelance income all year and filed once in April. Got hit with a $4k tax bill plus penalties and it basically wiped out my savings. This year I started doing quarterly estimated payments, nothing fancy just using the IRS Direct Pay site every 3 months. Took maybe 15 minutes each time. When I filed this year I actually got a $900 refund because I overpaid a little. Has anyone else had that big of a swing just from changing when you pay?
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henry_anderson542mo ago
Wouldn't the real lesson here be that the government is basically forcing us to save for ourselves by spreading out the pain? I never thought about it that way until I had that same shock the first time.
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keith1642mo ago
That first tax bill made me rethink everything too honestly.
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scott.alex2mo ago
I mean, idk, "forcing us to save" feels like a pretty generous way to look at it.
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