Date Return Filed. Enter the date you will pay the balance due on your New York State income tax return.

[slamny]

I am up to the State penalty section. It ask "Date Return Filed" . Does it ask for last year the date that I filed? But underneath, it ask "Enter the date you will pay the balance due on your New York State income tax return." Should I enter the date of last year paid or the date that I will pay this year?

[MindyB]

No, it is not asking about last year, it is asking about this year to compute the underpayment penalty.  

If you plan to complete your filing today, you can enter today's date. If you end up paying later after you file, you will get an additional bill from NY for the additional days the tax was unpaid. 

[slamny]

It seems like I have to pay for the penalty for the State not the Federal. I am a retire person, I already made extra deduction from my pension  and Social Security, but I think the deduction is just for the Federal tax not for the State. Any advice that I can make extra deduction to prevent the penalty in the future?

[MindyB]

Yes, what I recommend is that you take what you owed as a balance this year to NY, and divide that by 4. That number will be what you should pay each quarter to NY directly as an "estimated tax payment." For example, if you needed to pay $4,000 with your tax return, then 1/4 of that is $1,000. You should pay $1,000 each quarter to NY for your estimated tax payment in this example. 

Here is a link to the voucher you can mail in with a payment: IT-2105