How to Fill Out Form 1040-ES: Quick Detailed Guide

What Is Form 1040-ES

Unlike the 1040 Form, which lets you report your annual income tax, the 1040-ES estimated tax form lets you break down the whole thing into more convenient quarterly installments.

If this form is needed in your case, you can learn how to get form 1040-ES latest version in our brief guide. Click the link to read it.

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Who Has to File a 1040-ES

Figuring out if you have to file Form 1040ES or not involves some simple calculations. You have to:

• Take the paid tax for the previous tax year;
• Come up with an estimated tax amount for the next year;
• Calculate 90% of the amount;
• Compare the previous year’s tax with the 90% or the estimated tax and take the smaller number. For instance, if the estimated tax is $1,000 and the previously paid is $500, you have to take the second.

You are required to use this form in case you run a sole proprietorship, LLC, S corporation, or partnership, and you expect your income tax for the tax year to exceed $1,000. If your business is a C corporation, 1040-ES is required for estimated taxes over $500.

How to Fill Out Form 1040-ES

Here’s your step-by-step walkthrough of the 1040-ES form. Pages 1-5 include the detailed instructions that will help you figure out your specific case. Page 6 is a self-employment tax and deduction worksheet, and page 7 includes the tax schedules for the tax year you are going to report.

1. Page 8, Estimated Tax Worksheet – on this page, you have to do the calculations on each line in order to figure out your total estimated tax for the year. Make sure to apply custom percentages if you are a farmer or fisherman. Your aim is to calculate the total estimated tax amount as accurately as possible to avoid underpayments that exceed $1,000 as they are followed up by underpayment penalties. You can figure out the required annual payment to avoid penalties on line 12c. This will be the least amount you have to pay to avoid problems.

2. Page 9, Record of Estimated Tax Payments – this is a table in which you can record all four quarterly payments along with dates, overpayment credit, check/money order number or credit confirmation number, and the total amount of tax paid during the tax year.

3. Payment Vouchers – the rest of the form includes 4 separate payment vouchers. All 4 are the same and require you to include:

• yours and your spouse’s names;
• your social security numbers (SSNs);
• full address or foreign country name;
• the amount of estimated tax you are willing to pay by check or money order.

Cut one payment voucher each time you need to send payment.

You can fill out your 1040-ES on PDFLiner. The platform provides a versatile PDF editor with direct access to the latest 1040-ES form template. You can save, print, or email the form directly from the editor as well as sign it digitally in 4 different ways. The service stores your complete forms on an encrypted cloud and lets you share access to particular documents with up to 5 users within one account, depending on the plan you choose.

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How to File 1040-ES

1040-ES instructions on filing are quite easy to remember. Let’s review them:

Quarterly tax payments must be done by the 15th day of the month that follows the end of a quarter. The exception is in case the 15th day is a weekend or a federal/state holiday.

When your form is complete, send it to the IRS by mail or electronically. You can figure out where to send 1040-ES in your state by calling the IRS or using the online IRS office locator. Electronic submission is done via the IRS e-file system on the official website or a website of any other authorized e-file provider.

FAQ

Here are some extra brief answers to the questions that may still buzz in your head.