How to Do Quarterly Taxes as a Freelancer
Freelance income gives you more control over how you earn—but taxes can feel less automatic than they do with a regular paycheck. That is where “quarterly taxes” come in. The IRS term is estimated tax payments . These are payments made during the year toward federal taxes that are not already covered through withholding or other applicable prepayments. You are not filing four separate federal income-tax returns . And having freelance income does not automatically mean you should take one tax estimate, divide it by four, and send four identical payments. A better way to think about estimated taxes is as a series of decisions: Freelancer estimated-tax decision flow 1. Do I need to prepay? ↓ 2. What has already been prepaid? ↓ 3. What might my annual federal tax look like? ↓ 4. Which safe-harbor benchmark applies? ↓ 5. Is my income steady or irregular? ↓ 6. When is...