Name: jeff kuzmich - jeff kuzmich - Migrate_OD_Quarterly_Tax_Filing_01282026_5182051
Uploaded: 2026-02-26T05:52:58.785Z
Duration: 9 min 57 s
Description: jeff kuzmich - jeff kuzmich - Migrate_OD_Quarterly_Tax_Filing_01282026_5182051

Transcript for "jeff kuzmich - jeff kuzmich - Migrate_OD_Quarterly_Tax_Filing_01282026_5182051": Hi everybody, thanks for joining me on this webinar on quarterly taxes. My name is Robin Paul and I am a sales learning instructor here at Paychex. So first off, before I begin, I just want to let you know that this presentation does not constitute any legal advice and is for informational purposes only. All right, here we go. So what you're gonna get in the next few minutes is a clear understanding of what quarterly taxes are, their filing deadlines and the requirements, as well as some common mistakes and how to avoid them. Before we begin, I've got a quick poll for you to take. You'll see it displayed separately on your screen, and there really is no right or wrong answer. I just want to find out what your comfort level is with quarterly taxes. So here's the poll. How well do you understand quarterly tax responsibilities? A, not well, quarterly taxes confuse me. B, a little, I need more education on this topic. C, well enough that I feel behind or overwhelmed on all the paperwork and the deadlines I understand the business must document. Or D, very well, I'm comfortable handling quarterly taxes with little outside guidance. So go ahead and make your choice. All right, so let's start at the very beginning. What are quarterly taxes? So they're estimated tax payments. They're basically estimated tax payments that mainly self employed individuals here in The US must pay to the IRS four times a year. They're basically a pay as you go system for people whose income isn't taxed through the regular payroll channels. And the IRS says that if you expect a thousand dollars or more in taxes, if you expect to owe at least a thousand dollars or more in taxes for the current year, you'll need to make these tax payments quarterly. Alright, here's some examples of what could be constituted as quarterly taxes. First one is your federal income tax, which basically is a tax based on your income ranges anywhere from 10 to about 35, 37%. And then there's your self employment tax which is basically your social security and your Medicare we call it FICA. And there's your state income tax unless you're in states that don't have state income tax like Texas or Florida. And then there are other applicable taxes like local or city taxes like if you're in New York City or even sales tax if you sell a product. So if you have a job and you're working for an employer, that employer is already withholding taxes, your payroll taxes, and they're paying them to the government, to the state. But if you're self employed, this is the distinction, if you're self employed or you have a couple of side gigs that's generating some income, you really should be paying estimated quarterly taxes to avoid penalties at the end of the year. So examples could be freelancers, like if you're a web designer or if you're a pet sitter, maybe you're a life coach, be a podcaster, you could even be a food delivery driver driving for DoorDash and you're generating some income. That could be an example. Another example could be an independent contractor where you're a self employed plumber maybe or a photographer hired to shoot a wedding. Or you could be a sole proprietor where you and the business are one and let's say you're an electrician working for yourself or you're a house cleaner. You could even be a small business owner. These are all examples of individuals who should really be paying quarterly taxes. Now here's some good news. The government says, the IRS says, you're exempt from paying any of these quarterly taxes if you meet any of the following conditions. One, your tax liability is under the thousand dollar threshold or zero for the current or last year. Two, or you paid 90% of the current year's tax liability or a 100% of last year's. I'll say that again. If your current tax liability is under the thousand dollar threshold or zero for the current or the last year, you're exempt. Or if you paid 90% of your current year's tax liability or a 100% of last year's, you're good to go. Now as far as the deadlines and requirements, this is where it gets interesting. Here's the current schedule. If you look to the left of the table, that's the period in which you earned your income. So if I was a web designer and I took on a couple of side gigs and I made some money between January 1 and March 31, that tax that will be generated from that income would be due on April 15, and then so on and so forth. So they're always due on either June, September, January, but on the fifteenth of those months for the time periods on the left hand side of the table. Now the IRS provides a form called the ten forty ES. ES is an estimate and with that form comes four payment vouchers, one for each quarter. You simply use a worksheet to calculate your tax and then you send in a voucher with your payment for each quarter. Now, you're a business and you work with paychecks or you get onto our website, you can actually use one of the resources that we have and it's a functional checklist to walk you through the required quarter end steps and it's really really helpful. As far as making your payments, as you can see there are multiple ways to make your tax payments. The first one is the EFTPS system, which is the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. The Department of Treasury offers that as a free service. Then there's the mobile app which the IRS provides called the IRS to go app. You can make your payment over your phone. All states have their own government website, so you can make your payments on that website as well. Or you could do a same day wire through your bank or even send them a check. You get this, you can even make a cash payment at places that use a service called Vanilla Direct like Walmart or even Walgreens. Plenty of ways to make the payments. There's some common mistakes and how to avoid them. We'll talk about them right now. The first one is really not realizing that you need to pay quarterly taxes or even underpaying them. So remember the trick is if you owe or you expect to owe a thousand dollars or more, the IRS expects quarterly tax payments. The second one could be forgetting the deadlines. It's the April 15, June, September and January. Remember they're kind of unusual those deadlines because they don't always fall every three months. So make sure to set calendar reminders. The third one could be incorrect calculations, so just make sure you include all your sources of income. So if you don't, might miscorrect or miscalculate your tax payments then you get a penalty. Another one could be understanding or misunderstanding safe harbor rules. So remember, the trick is as long as you pay 90% of your current year's tax bill, you're good or else you could face penalties at the end of the year. If you don't keep accurate records could be another reason that might lead you to miscalculating what you actually owe. And then finally, another common reason is if you have one account that uses your business and your personal expenses, and that could lead to problems, especially if you get audited by the IRS or even state. So make sure you keep separate accounts, one for business purposes, one for personal purposes, and that will protect you legally and makes you really look more professional. So the bottom line is if you are an employee and you have a job and you work for a business, that employer is already withholding your payroll taxes and paying them straight to the state or the IRS regularly. But if you have a serious revenue stream and you're a self employed individual, you really should talk to an accountant or a CPA about incorporating yourself or even becoming an LLC, even if it's just you. And when you do, that's where Paychex comes in and we will help you not just survive, but thrive. So before we wrap up, there's one more poll question that is going to come up on your screen and you'll see it as a separate part of your console. Give us your response and then click submit. Here's the question. Would you like to speak with a Paychex representative about how we can simplify payroll and tax filing for your business? A for yes, B for no. Go ahead and give us your response. On behalf of everyone here at Paychex, I just want to say thank you for making the choice to be here with me. I hope this webinar really helped you And as a reminder, you can access a printable copy of this presentation in the files and resources window, along with some other resources. If you can spare a few moments as we close, we love your feedback on a brief survey that will pop up and your response really helps us improve future resources like this to support your business. Thanks again and have a fantastic day.