You may have to pay estimated taxes for the current year if you owed additional tax the previous year. If you have little or no taxes withheld from your wages or you are self-employed, estimated taxes will probably need to be paid. If the proper amount of federal income tax was withheld, you will probably not have to pay estimated taxes. If you are self-employed, your quarterly payments include both income tax and social security tax.

You must make estimated tax payments for the current year if both of the following apply:

• After subtracting your withholding and tax credits, you expect to owe at least $1,000 in additional taxes for the year.
• You expect that your total withholding and credits will be less than the lesser of: 1) 90% of the current year’s taxes; 2) 100% of the tax shown on your prior year’s 12-month tax return or 110% if you have a high adjusted gross income.

You do not have to pay estimated taxes if all of the following apply:

• Your total tax for the prior year was zero or you did not have to file an income tax return.
• You were a U.S. citizen or resident for the entire year.
• Your prior tax year was a 12-month period.

Estimated taxes are paid every quarter using payment vouchers. You can pay your entire year’s taxes on April 15 of the current year or you can make quarterly payments on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. Special rules for filing quarterly estimated tax payments apply to:

• Farmers and commercial fisherman
• Aliens
• Estates and trusts.

You can learn more about paying estimated taxes in the U.S. Internal Revenue Service report “Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax,” IRS Publication 505.