published April, 2012
You may have a requirement to make estimated payments for your 2012 taxes, and then again, you may not. The IRS has a “pay as you go” system where they ask us to make payments during the tax year. Corporations and Individuals have different due dates, and CA is not divided into four equal payments, but most calendar year people and entities have the first payment due April 15th, extended because it’s Sunday.
How do you know what to send in? The default amount is to pay ¼ of what you owed for the prior year. This may be problematic if we haven’t finished your return for the prior year! For corporations, the payment due for the minimum CA tax is $240, but may be more if you owed more money in the prior year.
What was your income in the first Quarter? If it’s less than last year, you may not need to send in as much as the prior year.
Oh, and individual returns or extensions are also due April 16.
Some of you know, Monday April 16 is Emancipation Day in Washington DC, and therefore a holiday, extending the deadline by ONE MORE DAY, but I don’t want to encourage waiting until the last minute, so I’m not going to mention that.