Quarterly Taxes

Do any frequent stringers file quarterly taxes to make things easier at the end end of the year? If so, any advice on how to dive into it?

 

I have done it as a freelancer (my regular salary had enough taxes taken out) but I've done it (on state taxes) as an employer and it actually saved my bacon one year because had I not, I would have underpaid for the year. Your state should have an option its department of revenue website

 

If you freelance on any basis, and regularly make more than a few thousand dollars, either pay quarterly or make sure you set aside about 30% for taxes. This explains it, and don't forget to take advantage of business deductions, and that if you keep a home office, even more deductions become available. A bit more complicated but worth it.

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-%26-Self-Employed/Self-Employed-Individuals-Tax-Center

 

Form 1040-ES is not complicated and it will tell you quickly if you need to file estimated taxes quarterly. Whether you need to file quarterly depends on how much money is withheld or paid to the IRS via estimated taxes relative to your total taxable income for the year.

 

I also did it at one time using estimated taxes.

I highly recommend I just for your own peace of mind and the knowledge that your taxes will be paid. If you don't, and wait until the end of the year, it is all too easy to not be able to afford what you owe, because even though, sure, it is a good practice to set aside money for it, all too often, it just doesn't happen.

So, then, your options are to get slammed all at once when you're not prepared for it, or else, to just not pay them (which I think is what a lot of people try to get away with). In that case, you end up running the risk of piling them up and then having to pay an even larger amount in back taxes in the future, or else getting caught not having paid them and getting in trouble for it.

Think of it as sort of like setting up an impound account when you buy a home (which I also highly, highly recommend) so that you don't get hit too hard by those taxes.