Check whether withholding and state estimated payments are keeping pace with income and whether extensions cover filing but not payment obligations.
Answer a few quick questions below. It is private - nothing is submitted or stored - and takes about a minute.
Informational multistate tax screening only; state and local rules vary and must be verified for the applicable year and jurisdiction.
Here is what the checker asks and why each step matters. Prefer to talk it through? Contact us and we will help directly.
Most states waive estimated-payment requirements below a small balance due - commonly cited around $1,000, though thresholds vary by state and must be confirmed.
No estimate requirement applies because the projected balance due falls under the de minimis floor that most states model on IRC Section 6654(e)(1); rely on withholding and recheck if income rises.
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
Paying in last year's tax - the prior-year safe harbor - usually blocks underpayment penalties even if this year's income spikes; many states raise the target to 110 percent of prior-year tax for higher earners.
Use the interactive tool above to see how this applies to your situation.
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
A safe harbor only holds if the money is paid in on the quarterly due dates; most states charge underpayment interest quarter-by-quarter, so a large fourth-quarter catch-up does not erase an early-quarter shortfall.
The prior-year safe harbor holds because each required installment was paid on time under the schedule states model on IRC Section 6654(c); keep paying that amount by each quarterly due date. A late or skipped installment creates a per-quarter underpayment that accrues interest as under IRC Section 6654(a); cure it now and consider annualizing to limit the addition to tax.
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
Withholding is treated as paid evenly across the year no matter when it is actually taken, so increasing it - or claiming a PTET or composite credit - can retroactively cure an uneven estimated-payment history.
Increase withholding - credited evenly across the year as under IRC Section 6654(g) - or add PTET coverage under Notice 2020-75 instead of scrambling to catch up estimates.
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
If income lands late in the year, the annualized-income installment method lets you pay tax when the income is actually earned instead of forcing four equal payments from January.
Use the annualized-income installment method that states model on IRC Section 6654(d)(2) to match each installment to income actually earned by that point in the year. Set up four equal quarterly estimates from a current-year projection under a schedule like IRC Section 6654(c), paying each on the state's due date.
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
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