topic Under Payment Penalty in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Under Payment Penalty

Hved — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 04:57:37 GMT

I just realized that the vouchers that Turbo Tax made for me for 2023 estimated taxes last year were not right. They were $305 short each quarter so I paid $1220 less than my last year taxes. I, of course, had to pay a $94 penalty.

I checked this years vouchers for 2024 and they add up to 100% of my 2023 taxes paid. Why were the 2023 estimated tax vouchers off by $305?

Re: Under Payment Penalty

Kat — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 02:34:23 GMT

TurboTax uses a couple of ways to calculate your estimated tax payments. Though the vouchers are helpful, they are not exact.

Likely your vouchers indicated 90% of your prior-years taxes due, and you had a higher income than anticipated. Or perhaps you are a higher-income individual, in which case you'd be required to pay 110% of your prior year's taxes in estimated tax payments. I'm sharing a link to a TurboTax FAQ that will explain how much the IRS expects from you on a quarterly basis.

How does TurboTax calculate my estimated tax payments?

Re: Under Payment Penalty

Hved — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 02:47:52 GMT

Thanks Kat... that makes sense. However, my voucher was 85% of my prior years taxes. Was there a glitch?

Re: Under Payment Penalty

Kat — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:16:59 GMT

@Hved I can't say. I will say this: the voucher calculations are not precise. Each taxpayer is responsible to calculate their own estimated tax payments due. I'm sorry you incurred a penalty. We did, too.....but it was our oversight.