The second quarter is two months long because the first quarter is four months long. Evens out in the end....
The easiest way is to pretend predictability. If you've made $X in the first quarter, multiply that by four and make any estimated payments based on that annual number. When the second quarter comes around, take your annual income for the first half of a year, double it, and then calculate your estimated tax based on that. Then, depending on what you paid in the first quarter, either make a new payment for whatever amount makes sense or make no payment. Do the same with the third and fourth quarters. The IRS understands about people with nonlinear income streams, and does not expect four identical quarterly tax payments. If you make all your money in the fourth quarter, you could legally pay all your estimated tax at the end.
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Date: 2002-06-11 11:44 am (UTC)The easiest way is to pretend predictability. If you've made $X in the first quarter, multiply that by four and make any estimated payments based on that annual number. When the second quarter comes around, take your annual income for the first half of a year, double it, and then calculate your estimated tax based on that. Then, depending on what you paid in the first quarter, either make a new payment for whatever amount makes sense or make no payment. Do the same with the third and fourth quarters. The IRS understands about people with nonlinear income streams, and does not expect four identical quarterly tax payments. If you make all your money in the fourth quarter, you could legally pay all your estimated tax at the end.
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