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Get your taxes done using TurboTax
It is very important to answer all the questions in the underpayment penalty sections of TurboTax--both federal and state--to make sure you don't qualify for an exception to the underpayment penalty.
The basic rule, whether federal or state, is that tax should be paid as the income is earned. So, if you made money in the first part of 2019, but didn't pay any taxes (withholding or estimates) until the last part of 2019, you can owe an underpayment penalty even if you pay your taxes in full by the due date for the return. In fact, you can have an underpayment penalty even if you are getting a refund.
That being said, the taxing authority will typically apply several "tests" that can help avoid an underpayment penalty, based on what you paid for 2018 taxes, and what and when you paid for 2019 taxes. For example, if most of your income was in the last part of 2019, you may be able to calculate your penalty using the "annualized" method and avoid or reduce the penalty.
So, one thing to do is navigate to the underpayment penalty section of TurboTax and make sure you entered your prior year tax and income where requested. Click on the Search icon on the top left, enter "underpayment penalty" in the search window, and then click on "Jump to underpayment penalties". There should also be a section for this in your Maryland state tax return questions.
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