I didn't pay my 1/15/22 Estimated Taxes. Should I pay it now, even if I plan to do my taxes within a few days?

[Nero1]

I forgot about my 1/15/22 Estimated Taxes. I plan to complete my 2021 taxes within the next few days. Should I pay my 1/15 Estimated Taxes now? Will it go through pretty quickly? If I pay it now, can I put in my tax return that I've paid it? If not, then I'll probably owe taxes instead of getting a refund. 

[Bsch4477]

If you are filing in a few days forget about the estimated payment and settle your tax liability with your 2021 return. 

[Nero1]

I would rather pay the Estimated Taxes than have to pay it on the return. So if I pay my Estimated Taxes tomorrow (3/30) and file by 4/1, will the Estimated Taxes have gone through for both IRS and my state (CA FTB)?

[Vanessa A]

No, if you pay your estimated taxes on 3/30 and file on 4/1, the system will probably not have updated to show the payment on 4/1. However, your return is not processed the same day you file, so by the time your return is processed, they will see that you made the payments so the payments will be able to be applied to your tax due. 

[Nero1]

I just went to the IRS site to pay my Estimated Taxes. There's no 2021 Tax Year in the dropdown menu, just 2022. So I guess it's too late to pay IRS Estimated Taxes for 2021. 

But on the FTB (California) site, I can select 2021 for Estimated Taxes, so I guess I can pay it for CA. 

Is there a problem if I pay the rest of my Estimated Taxes for California, but not for IRS? Should I just skip it for both, and pay it as part of my income tax payment?

[Vanessa A]

No, there will not be a problem if you just pay CA and not the IRS.  They are independent of each other so if you want you can pay now, or you can pay when you file.  At this point it is purely what you prefer.