Can Turbotax help me determine and file my estimated quarterly self-employed tax payments for 2020?

[johnnydryman]

First time using a 1099.  Employed at hourly rate by family.  Accountant told me I need to calculate and send estimated payments for 2020.  Can't figure out if Turbotax can help me do this or if I need to go directly through IRS.  Thanks!

[xmasbaby0]

If you have been working as an independent contractor during most (all?) of 2020 you are asking too late how to pay quarterly tax payments for tax year 2020.  Or did you just recently begin to work as an independent contractor?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901110-do-i-need-to-make-estimated-tax-payments-to-the-irs

You will be paying self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare, and depending on the amount income you received, perhaps ordinary income tax as well.  

You can use the Taxcaster tool to help you estimate what you will owe, or there is another non-TT tool to try.  You do not make your estimated payments to the IRS "through" TurboTax.  You can either mail check or money order payments to the IRS or pay directly on the IRS site.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/

https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/self-employment-tax-calculator

If you expect to owe over $1000 at tax time you may have an underpayment penalty since you have not been paying as you go during the year.  You can make a payment to the IRS before the year ends, but that will not be the "pay as you go" routine you will need to follow going forward next year.  If you do that you will need to make sure you indicate on your 2020 return how much you paid.

https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay

It is now too late to use 2019 online software, and too soon for the 2020 software.  The beta version of the 2020 software will be available soon--with many updates still needed.

How do I report income from self-employment?

If you received a 1099-MISC for your self-employed income

Type 1099-misc in the Search box and then select the Jump to link. This will take you directly to the section where you can enter your 1099-MISC. You’ll also be able to enter any cash, personal checks, credit card payments, or cryptocurrency (Form 1099-K) related to your self-employment.

If your self-employment income was only from cash, personal checks, credit card payments, or cryptocurrency 

Type Schedule C in the Search box and then select the Jump to link. This will take you to where you can enter any cash, personal checks, credit card payments, or cryptocurrency (Form 1099-K) related to your self-employment. You may first be asked some general questions about your business. After you answer them, you’ll be taken to the Let's get income for (your line of work) screen where you can enter this income as Additional Income.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/what-is-the-self-employment-tax/00/25922

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902389-why-am-i-paying-self-employment-tax

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901340-where-do-i-enter-schedule-c

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3398950-what-self-employed-expenses-can-i-deduct

[Opus 17]

Turbotax is only intended for end-of-year tax reporting.  It is not designed to track your income and expenses and determine estimated payments.  For that you would need something like Quickbooks.

For a simple small business, there is a version of Quickbooks online for Self-employed that includes Turbotax when it is time to file your return, it is a monthly subscription. 

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/self-employed/