It’s 2020 tax season Didn’t know I had to pay a penalty in 2019 for underpayment of taxes. How do I pay that and will the program know and alert me?

[jtb5]

1-I realized I should have payed a penalty for underpayment last year, I thought TT would have alerted me, how do I pay this?

2-last year TT printed out estimated tax vouchers that I paid through the year and Jan of 2021. I thought the amount was excessive but I wasn’t sure what my tax liability would be.
So this year I have a refund.

I will have to pay next year,  I’m sure, so am I right in thinking that the payment from Jan 2021 will go towards my 2021 tax liability and maybe I won’t need to pay estimated taxes this year?

[VolvoGirl]

1.  Don't worry about any past years penalties.  If you owe any the IRS will bill you.

2.  The Jan 2021 estimated payment is really for the 4 quarter 2020.  Enter it on your 2020 return.  It does not count for 2021.

[jtb5]

Thank you for your reply.  
im thinking I should have part of my return go towards next years taxes, how do I do that, or should I make estimated tax payments again?   I don’t want to overpay again
 

[JotikaT2]

You can apply the refund by going into the Federal section of the program. 

1. Select Other Tax Situations Tab 
2. Select Additional Tax Payments section 
3. Select Apply Refund to next year 

If you have a refund on the state return, you will make your input in the state interview section accordingly.

[jtb5]

Thank you,

Can I designate how much of my refund I want to go to next years taxes?  A

my refund is large,  I over paid with the TT vouchers that were printed last year.  

what is the best way to determine how much I will owe next year? 

[BillM223]

"Can I designate how much of my refund I want to go to next years taxes? "

Yes, follow Jotika's instruction right above. When you indicate that you want to apply your refund to net year's return, TurboTax will ask you how much.

"what is the best way to determine how much I will owe next year? "

You might try the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. Although this is geared towards employees, you can probably work it to do an estimate even if you have other income.

NOTE: you can either withhold tax for 2021 or pay estimated taxes at IRS Payments, or a combination of both.

[jtb5]

Thank you to everyone for your help 

[jtb5]

I’m curious to know why the TT program “guide me” didn’t alert me that there is a penalty for underpaying more than $1,000 and advise me to pay estimated taxes. 
I count on the program to know exactly what is expected from me as a taxpayer. 

[jtb5]

I have another question. 

my husband was a victim of identity theft and received a  USBank Debit Card  last August. I called Colorado Bureau of Investigation and talked to an officer who gave me a case number and said he wouldn’t be liable. This person told me that was all I needed to do and to put a block on our credit reports. We did that. 

We received a 1099-G in the mail last week.   I haven’t filed our taxes yet so I don’t know if someone has used his SS # to file taxes. Do I have to include a 14039 form? 

[JeffreyR77]

No. 

You should submit a Form 14039 if when you attempt to efile your tax return it is rejected because a tax return has already been filed with the same social security number.  

Identity Theft Affidavit

[Critter-3]

@jtb5 

If you are owing $1000 or more the program will automatically produce the estimated payment vouchers based on the prior year situation and you are offered the option of accepting the program's calculations or adjusting the information for the next tax year so you don't over pay by accident.  When your income fluctuates it is wise to recomputed the estimates as the year progresses which is easy to do with the downloaded version since you have access to it all year long. 

What are estimated taxes?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301588

Do I need to make estimated tax payments to the IRS?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301891

Why did 1040-ES estimated tax vouchers print out? Do I need them?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301872

How does TurboTax calculate my estimated tax payments?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301730

[jtb5]

Thank you for your input.

Last year I paid estimated taxes with the vouchers printed by TT.   As a result, I overpaid by such a substantial amount that I applied some of my refund to next years taxes and still will get money back. I applied enough of my refund to next years taxes so I hopefully won’t owe more than  $1,000. 
When I printed out a copy of my taxes the program printed out vouchers again.  If I pay them then I will over pay again. 

In the future when I get these vouchers do I have to pay each one or can I pay as much as I think will cover my tax liability without over paying or under paying? I don’t want to penalized for not submitting each voucher. 

[jtb5]

Do you know if there is a way to find out if someone has already filed using his identity?