Estimated tax payments are not required; they are suggested as away to prevent unpleasant surprises at the tax due date the following year and to reduce the probability of a penalty being imposed for under-withholding.
If you know that your income is going to fall substantially in 2017, you can adjust your quarterly tax payments. Or, as you indicated that you also have wages from which withholding can be taken, you can instruct your employer to increase your withholding.
