If your expectation is to be tax indebted outside of wages from an employer the coming year, you can embark on one out of two things;

Perhaps your investment or self-employment earnings are likely to be minimal; then, give your employer a new w-4 with extra withholding allowances. Subsequently, more taxes will be withheld from your pay.

It will be a very good idea to make estimated tax payments if the first option is not likely to work for you. You can stay away from underpayment penalties, keeping your taxes current by filing form 1040-ES and making estimated tax payments on a quarterly basis all through the year.

In order to work out your estimated tax, the Tax Rate Schedules for next year will be essential to you. These abbreviated schedules are developed by the IRS for use in estimated tax computations. The places where you can get them include the IRS website and from your tax advisor. Alternatively, you can contact the IRS directly in order to get the Tax Rate Schedule. As soon as you have the tax schedule at your disposal, the first thing you should do is to estimate your taxable income for the following year. It can be a lengthy computation. Expert tax preparers usually have worksheets to simplify the steps. Determine your entire tax liability from the Tax Rate Schedules; subsequently, minus the amount your employer will withhold from your pay. The balance you get thereafter is the total amount of your estimated payments.

The IRS prefers that you pay taxes on income as such income is received. The assumption of the IRS by default is that you earn your income evenly all through the year; if this is contrary to your case, there are processes to notify the IRS and have your taxes paid in unequal installments. However, generally, your estimated taxes are to be paid in four equal installments all through the year. On the date due for the first installment (April 15), file form 1040-ES along side with tax voucher. On the following estimated tax due dates, additional vouchers should be submitted with payments. Of course, you may pay the whole estimated tax for the year with your initial payment, or the balance can be paid up at any time. To learn more about how you can achieve estimated payments, get in touch with the IRS or you can consult a tax professional for your peculiar situation.

Just as it applies to most tax rules, exceptions are obtainable; also, a number of definitions are less than intuitive. If you envisage that you may owe a penalty for underpayment or perhaps you want to stay away from future penalties, get in touch with the IRS or consult with your tax advisor. There are many tax rules you can get yourself acquainted with; the rules mentioned here and other ones. The good place to check out these rules is the IRS Publication 17. Do not delay in contacting the IRS for your tax issues; it is better than waiting until they come after you.