Why am I being charged a penalty for not paying enough estimated taxes when I don't estimate taxes?

[ee-ea]

The penalty is for not paying enough in advance.  See this about estimates.  https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/small-business-taxes/estimated-taxes-how-to-determine-what-to-p...

[rjs]

Apparently you should have paid estimated tax, because your withholding did not cover a sufficient portion of your tax for the year. Whatever amount of estimated tax you should have paid, the zero that you actually paid was not enough. You have to pay a certain percentage of your tax over the course of the year, one way or another.

[DawnC]

The IRS levies underpayment penalties if you don't withhold or pay enough tax on income received during each quarter. Even if you paid your tax bill in full by the April deadline or are getting a refund, you may still get an underpayment penalty.

To possibly reduce or eliminate your underpayment penalty, you can annualize your yearly income.  To do this, open your return, and search for penalty and use the Jump to penalty link to go through the penalty section.   Why am I getting an underpayment penalty?

[cjccall86-gmail-]

Thanks for your comments. This is nothing more than the Government taking action against innocent tax paying citizens. The money the government has is "your" money unless you give it to them. Banana Republic Tax Code !

[cjccall86-gmail-]

Thanks for your answer. However bottom line is this is bad Tax Code in this Banana Republic.

[cjccall86-gmail-]

• Apparently! "The man with the gold makes the rules". However, this is what we've got in this Banana Republic. Thank you for your comment.