Third quarter estimated taxes are due 9/15. If we set up for you to pay quarterly estimates, you should have recently received your personalized estimate reminder in the mail or by email through your Tax Caddy portal.
For anyone paying estimated taxes, we now recommend that you make those payments online. Doing so is much safer than sending the IRS a check, and you receive an instant confirmation that the payment has been processed. Sadly, the IRS hasn’t done a great job processing their mail lately.
Plus, there is a new scam where people steal checks from a mailbox, “wash” the check with specific chemicals to allow them to change just the payee and the amount while keeping the signature intact, and then deposit that fraudulent check into their own bank account to steal the funds. Learn more about check washing at: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-check-washing/.
To make the payment online if you haven’t yet set up an account with the IRS, simply:
- Go to irs.gov
- Click on Make a Payment (https://www.irs.gov/payments)
- Click on Pay Now with Direct Debit (https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay)
- Click on Make a Payment (https://directpay.irs.gov/directpay/payment?execution=e1s1)
- Select the following:
- Reason for Payment: Estimated Tax
- Apply Payment To: 1040ES
- Tax Period for Payment: 2023
Answer the rest of the questions and you should be all set to make the payment. Massachusetts and most other states allow you to pay any state estimates due using their Tax Department website.
If you are a practice owner and run your practice as an S-Corp or Partnership, you can pay the Mass taxes due on the profit as a deductible expense to the practice known as the Entity Level Tax (ELT). More information about the ELT can be found at: https://schwartzaccountants.com/2022/05/elt-entity-level-tax-update/. The third quarter ELT payment is also due on 9/15. Please look carefully at the instructions sent as part of your practice’s 2022 tax return to see if an ELT payment has been set up for direct debit out of your business bank account.