Hey folks! The due date for second quarter estimates is around the corner! (June 17, 2019)
If you are a self-employed business owner or an independent contractor, make sure to discuss your estimated tax payments (and whether or not you should be making them) with your certified public accountant. If this is your first year dealing with being self-employed (or the first time you’ve heard you might have to pay estimated taxes), feel free to contact me and we can discuss your situation.
A quick primer: the IRS requires a certain amount of income taxes to be paid throughout the year, either based on 100% of your prior year tax (110% if your income was above $150,000K), or 90% of your projected current year tax. Most people don’t have to deal with this because they are wage employees. In other words, their employers withhold taxes on their behalf (usually through withholding from each paycheck that is received). This is why you don’t see the “gross” amount of your salary in your bank when you check it on pay day. What you actually receive is an amount net of taxes withheld for the Federal government, New York state, and NYC (if you are a NYC resident).
Unfortunately, if you own your own business, the responsibility falls on you to make sure tax is paid throughout the year. Have a look at this page for more detailed information on the topic. It is never too late to catch up on your estimated taxes – let your CPA handle this for you and make sure you are squared away with the IRS and NYS.