I do not know the structure of your business, so I will include all business types and their requirements for estimated taxes. If you do not expect to go above one of these amounts, then you can skip estimated taxes.
Nearly every small business owner who operates their business as an LLC, an S Corporation, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship will need to make estimated tax payments.
But, because this is tax law, there is always an exception to every rule.
To find out if you are the exception that does not have to make estimated tax payments, take the simple quiz below.
- Do you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes for this year, after subtracting any income tax withholding and credits from your total tax?
- If the answer is no, you are not required to pay estimated tax.
- If the answer is yes, go on to the next question.
- Do you expect your income tax withholding and credits to be at least 90 percent of the tax you'll owe for this year?
- If the answer is no, you are not required to pay estimated tax.
- If the answer is yes, go on to the next question.
- Do you expect your income tax withholding and credits to be at least 100 percent of the tax shown on your last year's return? (If your last year's adjusted gross income was more than $150,000 ($75,000 for married, filing separately), it would be 110 percent.)
- If the answer is no, you are not required to pay estimated tax.
- If the answer is yes, you need to pay estimated tax
Estimated tax for corporations.
If your business is operated as a corporation, the corporation must make estimated tax payments if it expects its tax to be $500 or more for a tax year.
A corporation will generally be subject to an underpayment of tax penalty if the estimated tax payments, required in installments, do not equal the lesser of (1) 100 percent of the tax shown on the return for the preceding year, or (2) 100 percent of the tax shown for the current year (the current year tax may be determined on the basis of actual income or annualized income).
