Form 1040-ES – Estimated Taxes
Form 1040-ES is a variation of 1040 titled Estimated Tax for Individuals. The purpose of Form 1040-ES is to figure out tax liability for the payment period.
If a taxpayer’s main source of earnings isn’t subject to federal income tax withholding, the taxpayer must make estimated tax payments to gradually pay the tax liability for the tax period. The estimated tax payments are made quarterly so a taxpayer who’s required to pay estimated tax must file Form 1040-ES to calculate tax liability for the quarter and pay the IRS.
We’ve covered how you can make tax payments for federal income taxes in one of our earlier articles. Read it to learn how to make tax payments online.
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Form 1040-ES Instructions to File
Form 1040-ES is a quite simple tax form that you won’t even need the instructions in some cases. You can just take a look at the tax rate schedules and figure out how much you need to pay in estimated tax payments.
You can even estimate the total amount of tax that you need to pay by estimating your total income for the tax year, then, figure out adjusted gross income, and taxable income. This will enable you to get a clear estimate using the tax rate schedules and pay the IRS.
Since the tax rate schedules work the same way as the tax brackets but quarterly, you will know how much to pay in estimated taxes just by looking at the tables. Know that the tax rate schedules are the same as the tax brackets for the given tax season. So you will know the tax rate schedules even before the tax year begins in which you will make payments.
Fill Out Form 1040-ES
If you want to figure out estimated tax payments and be sure that you will pay the right amount to Uncle Sam, fill out Form 1040-ES to adequately calculate how much to pay. You can use the estimated tax worksheet to compute the needed estimated tax payment for the entirety of the tax year. This will enable you to see taxes ahead and prepare for your tax payments.
Making the estimated tax payments
After calculating how much to pay, you can make your quarterly federal estimated tax payments through multiple payment methods. If you’re paying estimated taxes by check or money order, mail the voucher found on Form 1040-ES with your check or money order payable to US Treasury (not the IRS).
One mistake taxpayers make every once in a while is sending cash to the Internal Revenue Service. This is something you shouldn’t do as this is not how tax payments are made. So do not send cash to the IRS in the same envelope as the voucher.
Where to mail estimated tax payment vouchers?
You can mail the payment vouchers to the mailing address below. If this is too much work for you or paying taxes online is an option, we suggest paying taxes online as you won’t need to prepare a voucher or send anything to the IRS.
| If you live in… | Mailing Address |
|---|---|
| Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas | Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 1300 Charlotte, NC 28201-1300 |
| Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming | Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 802502 Cincinnati, OH 45280-2502 |
| Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin | Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 931100 Louisville, KY 40293-1100 |
