My wife had a 401K distribution this year that forced us into estimated payments to make quarterly for next year. (fed and state) Do I have to pay these?

[mattf]

She is currently employed and takes standard deductions so she should not owe anything next year, or if she does it will be less than $1000.  We are married filling separately and this pushed her earnings above 75K.  We owed about $900 fed and $800 to state.

[Carl]

No you don't. If you are confident that your normal W-2 withholdings made by your employer based on the W-4 you filed with that employer, will cover your tax liability for 2017, no quarterly payments are necessary. Otherwise, if you think you will OWE taxes when you file your 2017 return, you still don't have to make quarterly payments.

But in such a situation (which only occurs mostly for those self-employed) if you end up owing more than $1K in taxes when you file your return, then the IRS will assess a penalty for not making quarterly payments, or if those quarterly payments were not enough.