In 2016, I was an independent contractor until October. The contract ended and I am currently unemployed. Since I am no longer a contractor and will have no employment income, how can I not pay estimated taxes based on the income generated from last year?

[ChristinaS · Accepted solution]

Estimated tax payment info for 2017 is not part of your 2016 tax return. None of this information is communicated to the IRS. If Turbo Tax already created 1040-ES vouchers for 2017, just ignore them. They don't go anywhere if you don't make the payments. If you don't need to make the payments, you simply don't make them.

At the end of the interview, you are asked about 2017 simply to help you not owe next year. You can skip this section, or go through it and do nothing with the vouchers created. The IRS doesn't know what you put in Turbo Tax regarding 2017 and vouchers.