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posted Jun 6, 2019 4:19:33 AM

I filed my tax returns and then learned that my estimated tax is too high. What should I do?

TurbTax  advised to change something in a section of my return but I already filed and can't access it on the site. Can I just ignore the payment vouchers and let everything reconcile at the end of the year?

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1 Best answer
Level 7
Jun 6, 2019 4:19:35 AM

You have two options -

1.  You can just ignore the payment vouchers if you don't think you actually need to make the estimated tax payments this year anymore.  The vouchers are only for your convenience.  You can also change the amount of the payment if you want to make a smaller payment.

2.  You can get back into your return to revise this section but you will want to be careful not to change anything besides the estimated tax section.  Here is how -
  • Log into your account (make sure correct username)
  • On the homepage, click the Taxes tab and then My Tax Timeline
  • Scroll down to the section below your 2016 return entitled "Some Other Things you Can Do"
  • Click "Add a State"
  • This will allow you back into your return without amending (you don't need to actually add a state)
  • This should bring you to a new homepage welcome screen
  • Click Federal taxes > Other Tax Situations > Other Tax Forms > Form W4 and Estimated Taxes
  • Follow the prompts and you will be asked a series of questions.  The program will base the estimated payments off this years return, but if you anticipate having more income next year or if there will be other life changes (i.e you won't be able to claim a dependent anymore), then you can make those adjustments.
  • After you have made the adjustments, if you are not prompted to print out fresh ES forms, then go to My Account > Print Center.  Follow the prompts to download a new pdf and you can select the 1040 ES forms for printing.
After this, you will have four quarterly vouchers that you can use to submit estimated tax payments.  Also, these vouchers are for your convenience, you can make the payments directly online (make sure you indicate they are for 2017 ES payments) and you can adjust the amount of the payment (higher or lower) during the year depending on anticipated income. 

You can also get these vouchers directly from the IRS and make the payments if you ever lose the vouchers TurboTax prints up or you decide to change the amount.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf  (payment vouchers are on pages 9-11)

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estimated-taxes

https://www.irs.gov/payments

1 Replies
Level 7
Jun 6, 2019 4:19:35 AM

You have two options -

1.  You can just ignore the payment vouchers if you don't think you actually need to make the estimated tax payments this year anymore.  The vouchers are only for your convenience.  You can also change the amount of the payment if you want to make a smaller payment.

2.  You can get back into your return to revise this section but you will want to be careful not to change anything besides the estimated tax section.  Here is how -
  • Log into your account (make sure correct username)
  • On the homepage, click the Taxes tab and then My Tax Timeline
  • Scroll down to the section below your 2016 return entitled "Some Other Things you Can Do"
  • Click "Add a State"
  • This will allow you back into your return without amending (you don't need to actually add a state)
  • This should bring you to a new homepage welcome screen
  • Click Federal taxes > Other Tax Situations > Other Tax Forms > Form W4 and Estimated Taxes
  • Follow the prompts and you will be asked a series of questions.  The program will base the estimated payments off this years return, but if you anticipate having more income next year or if there will be other life changes (i.e you won't be able to claim a dependent anymore), then you can make those adjustments.
  • After you have made the adjustments, if you are not prompted to print out fresh ES forms, then go to My Account > Print Center.  Follow the prompts to download a new pdf and you can select the 1040 ES forms for printing.
After this, you will have four quarterly vouchers that you can use to submit estimated tax payments.  Also, these vouchers are for your convenience, you can make the payments directly online (make sure you indicate they are for 2017 ES payments) and you can adjust the amount of the payment (higher or lower) during the year depending on anticipated income. 

You can also get these vouchers directly from the IRS and make the payments if you ever lose the vouchers TurboTax prints up or you decide to change the amount.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf  (payment vouchers are on pages 9-11)

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estimated-taxes

https://www.irs.gov/payments