January Federal Estimated payment recording in Quicken (RC?)

Hi, Jo.

You got it, Jo! When you prepay - whether by check or by paycheck deduction - you are creating an asset, not an expense. When you file the return, you determine the amount of the expense and record it in the year to which it applies (by dating the entry as December 31, 2011, even though it may be made on April 10, 2012 - or any other date). The expense kind of "soaks up" the asset, leaving you with a liability for the balance - or a refund of the remaining asset balance after deducting the actual tax expense amount.

RC

-- R. C. White, CPA San Marcos, TX (Retired. No longer licensed to practice public accounting.) snipped-for-privacy@grandecom.net Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010) (Using Quicken 2012 Deluxe R 3 and Windows Live Mail in Win7 x64)

This is really a question for RC, who has explained his approach to getting the actual tax you pay recorded in the correct year, while treating the estimates as an asset during the year. I'm close to understanding it, but I'm still foggy on how to get the January payment reflected in the right year.... or come to think about it, that may not be the problem. It's still an asset at that point, so it doesn't matter that you record it in January, right? It is not until I actually find out what I owe or am getting a refund for that I have to resort to "tricks" with the date so that my tax expense for 2011 is really what I paid? I'm SO close to getting this correct, but I can't get the final steps.

jo