Postpone Payment...

No, there is no "automatic extension" mechanism. The payment is due when it is due (and btw, it's January _15_). The question of whether it's a big problem depends on the magnitude of the payments and your total tax bill. If, for example, you're paying $400 quarterly against an anticipated total bill of $1,600, then it's no big deal ... because your final amount due and submitted with your actual return, will be less than $1,000 -- with no penalty. However, if you're making quarterly payments of $5,000 - with an anticipated total tax bill of $21,000 +/- ... then you'd best find some way to make the payment, or face a penalty. Maybe a short-term loan? Btw, timely payment requires the coupon and check be mailed on January 15, but the receipt, opening and "entering" of those millions of envelopes + checks is a complicated process, and usually a day or two late will be overlooked -- since a timely mailing might vary in delivery or receipt by a couple of days. (Not a recommendation: simply an observation of the process.) Bill

No.

The penalty is computed from the 1/16 due date to the date you pay it, so pay them as soon as you can and you'll keep the amount of penalty as low as possible. Looking forward, you evidently need to tweak your budget so you don't find yourself in this situation again.

-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD

"Shhhh" wrote

You can pay it late, or pay the remaining taxes with the return. They'll be (possibly) penalties for late/underpayment of estimated tax, but that can be minimized by making the payment earlier rather than later. You can also send in what you can now (by the 15th) and pay the rest later, making any underpayment that much smaller.

-- Paul Thomas, CPA snipped-for-privacy@bellsouth.net

If you file your tax return by January 31st and pay the balance due, you can skip the January 16th payment. Otherwise no.

You're best off paying by the Jan 16 deadline. Failing that, the sooner you pay in the months ahead, the lower your penalty may be. (But there are also many situations in which the penalty will not apply, such as having a large boost in income from the previous year.) If you don't file and pay by April 15 then you risk being delinquent, which is more serious, as opposed to being just in a penalty situation. Good luck,

Steve

Well....you just can't pay something if you don't have the funds in your account to cover it. However, if you pay late, you will incurr a penalty. By paying as soon as you have the funds, even just days or a week or so late will mitigate the penalty. The penalties for underpaying estimated tax are based on the amount of tax, interest rate & time (how long) the payment is late. So, if you make payment a week late, you will incurr a penalty. But it will likely be minimal. ___________________________________

-----> real address on hobokeni or hobokenx

I always understood that the $1000 threshold did not apply if making estimated payments.

It's January 16 this year because the 15th is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday.

This year, January 15 is a holiday, pushing the due date to January 16 (at least in some states). Seth

January 15 is a Federal holiday (MLK Day), so it applies in all states. You're probably thinking of April 16, Patriot's Day in Mass. That gives states covered by the Andover Service Center until April 17:

-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD