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Your income changes during the year, and the estimated payment should change with it. Dimov Tax builds quarterly tax projections for business owners, freelancers, investors and professionals whose withholding does not cover their expected tax. If you only need the quarterly tax dates, they are on our deadline page.
The federal pay-as-you-go system requires estimated payments when withholding is not enough, and the amount is the hard part.
Your income rose and the payment plan did not, so the IRS charges a penalty for each short period.
You overpaid, and the business went without that cash until the refund.
Nobody lined up your withholding with the federal and state payments.
This service is for anyone paid without tax withheld, or whose income changes too much for a once a year calculation.
We separate Schedule C profit, K-1 income, owner distributions and entity level payments before setting your personal payment.
Projects, deductions and self-employment tax change from quarter to quarter, so a flat percentage comes out wrong; we project each period.
You owe estimated payments on the capital gains, equity compensation, interest and rental income that payroll does not cover.
A W-4 change can cover the shortfall through payroll, and if your withholding already meets the safe harbor, you owe no quarterly payments at all.
We calculate from your current figures, your prior return and the method that fits. For 2026 you avoid the underpayment penalty by paying in 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s, 110% where last year’s AGI was over $150,000 (Form 1040-ES). For uneven income we run the annualized method on Form 2210, which sets each payment from the income earned by that date.
Year-to-date income • Deductions and payments
Expected transactions • Seasonality and changes
Safe harbor options • Withholding or annualized method
Amount and method • Confirmation and next review
A self-employed owner with no withholding and last year’s AGI under $150,000. 2026 rules.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Last year’s total tax | $40,000 |
| This year’s projected tax | $52,000 |
| 90% of this year’s tax | $46,800 |
| 100% of last year’s tax | $40,000 |
| Safe harbor amount, the lower of the two | $40,000 |
| Each of the four payments | $10,000 |
Pay $10,000 on each date and the remaining $12,000 is due with the return in April, with no underpayment penalty.
The prior return, current profit and loss, payroll, investment activity, and the withholding and payments already made.
Income and tax across the household and its businesses, with seasonality in, so one strong quarter does not get multiplied by four.
We pick the lowest payment that avoids the penalty under Publication 505.
Federal and each state or city on its own, owner level and entity level.
Written amounts, dates and payment instructions for each jurisdiction.
We rerun the plan after any of these:
A new contract, a slow season, a larger K-1 or a business loss.
A stock sale, property sale, option exercise, bonus or retirement distribution.
An equipment purchase, a retirement contribution or a credit you newly qualify for.
A new job, a bonus, or a revised Form W-4 that lets payroll cover the shortfall.
A move or new business activity in a state that requires its own estimates.
Send the change and your last plan, and we send back the new amount before the next date.
FreshBooks, QuickBooks and Xero give you year to date revenue, categorized expenses and a profit and loss report. We add what the books leave out: household income, this year’s tax rules, and the withholding and payments already made.
If transactions are missing or misclassified, our bookkeeping team fixes them before we project. Keep every payment confirmation: one firm handles your annual filing and quarterly estimates, so we credit each payment on your individual tax return at year end.
Taxpayers approach us after doing their taxes in TurboTax or on H&R Block or a do-it-yourself app, and they have a huge tax bill.
A multi state owner can owe estimates in more than one state, and entity level payments as well.
| FEDERAL | STATE AND LOCAL |
|---|---|
| We project the return, pick the method that fits your income pattern and write down the assumptions. | We list each jurisdiction that requires estimates and calculate each one on its own thresholds, entity taxes and credits. |
You make each payment yourself, through the IRS payment options or the state’s system, and keep the confirmation.
We set the quote from these factors:
One self-employed person with one state and one plan for the year is at the light end. These are the factors, not a quote.
The financial planning is also excellent - they told me how much to set aside on my home sale the first year I used them...
A Dimov Tax CPA. Send your prior return, this year’s income so far, and the withholding and payments already made, and we scope the calculation and send a written proposal before any work starts. For decisions beyond the payment itself, our tax planning services work from the same projection.
These are the federal rules and are not advice on your situation. Speak to a CPA before you rely on a figure.
