Estimated 2021 Payment Vouchers

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
April 7, 2021
2 replies
2 views

Good morning,

How does Turbotax come up with these amounts? The amount I owe this year is no where near what they are suggesting I voucher to the IRS on a quarterly basis. In fact in prior years I received a refund and also received estimated vouchers for the next year. Confused.

Thanks

AnnetteB6

Level 15

The amounts are based on the information reported in your 2020 return with the assumption that you will have a similar situation for 2021 .

You can go through the section in your return to make adjustments to your expected income for 2021 in order to recalculate the vouchers if you do expect to make the estimated payments. Or, you can ignore the vouchers completely without making the payments. The information is not transmitted and included as part of your tax return.

See the following TurboTax article for instructions to change the estimates: Can TurboTax calculate next year's federal estimated taxes?

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rstaudt13Author

Level 2

Thanks a ton for the speedy reply!

Just a follow up. If the amounts are based on the information reported for 2020 and I owe for 2020 wouldn't the vouchers for 2021 simply be what I owe divided by 4? I am concerned because the vouchers are for substantially more than that.

Thanks!

AnnetteB6

Level 15

Not necessarily. The calculations are based on the idea of trying to have you avoid paying an underpayment penalty for 2021. If the vouchers only covered your 2020 balance due, that would mean that your tax credits and withholdings must be the same for 2020 and 2021. Not knowing your exact tax situation, it is hard to know what may be changing that TurboTax has factored in to the calculation.

Going through the estimated payment section should help you to understand the process a little more. See the following TurboTax article for some additional information: How does TurboTax calculate my estimated tax payments?

@rstaudt13

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