Do I need to file quarterly?

[marike]

Hi there,

Do I need to file taxes quarterly as a freelancer, regardless of how much I made, or can I just report my self-employment income when I do my regular taxes in April? Thank you! 

[VolvoGirl]

You aren't filing a tax return quarterly but you might need to send in quarterly estimated payments to cover the self employment tax so you don't end up owing too much on your tax return in April.

For SE self employment tax - if you have a net profit (after expenses) of $400 or more you will pay 15.3% SE Tax on 92.35% of your net profit in addition to your regular income tax on it. So if you have other income like W2 income your extra business income might put you into a higher tax bracket.

You must make quarterly estimated tax payments for the current tax year if both of the following apply:
- 1. You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for the current tax year, after subtracting your withholding and credits.

- 2. You expect your withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of:
90% of the tax to be shown on your current year’s tax return, or
100% of the tax shown on your prior year’s tax return. (Your prior year tax return must cover all 12 months.)

[John-H2021]

You will only file one return next year and all your income and expenses will be on that return reported on a schedule C.

Quarterly estimates are not a tax return but an estimate of how much you owe in taxes and SE tax (social security and Medicare) for that quarter.

You can either mail in the quarterly payment of pay it online https://www.irs.gov/payments

Here is a good article on how and when you should pay estimated taxes https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/small-business-taxes/estimated-taxes-how-to-determine-what-to-p...