Do I need to pay estimated taxes on capital gains from the sale of equity from an acquisition?

[ahelton9462]

Hello - 

My employer was bought recently, and the employees were paid out from out RSU's resulting in capital gains for the year. This happened in late December. I have heard two stories on how to go about paying taxes. 

Without the payment, I would be getting about $1500 back on my return this year. Do I need to estimate the taxes for the capital gains and pay those before the January 17th deadline? 

[ee-ea]

Proably not.  See this info on estimates;   https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/small-business-taxes/estimated-taxes-how-to-determine-what-to-p...

[Hal_Al]

Q. Do I need to estimate the taxes for the capital gains and pay those before the January 17th deadline?

A. Simple answer: Yes.  If you have a 4th quarter bump in income, without withholding, you MAY need to make a 4th quarter estimated payment by Jan 17.

But, in your case,  probably not.  If the tax on the gain is less than $2500, you will not be subject to an underpayment penalty.  $2500 - 1500 =1000. 

If you expect to owe (balance due) less than $1,000 in federal taxes at tax filing time, you do not need to make estimated quarterly tax payments.

[ahelton9462]

The gain was more than $2,500. 

[Hal_Al]

It's not the gain, it's the tax on the gain.  Long term capital gains are usually tax at 15%.  Some of it could actually be taxed at 0%.  If your income is high enough, some could be taxed at 20%