Estimated Taxes

• 1). Download the form you need from irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf, get the form from your local tax office or call 1-800-829-3676 to have it mailed to you. Total up your earnings or estimate approximately what you will make by year's end. Read Publication 505 to see if you can deduct any of your business expenses. Total them and write down the number.
  
  
• 2). Complete form 1040-ES using the figures you just calculated. When you have completed the form, record the tax owed in the Record of Estimated Tax Payments form and save this for your next quarterly payment.
  
  
• 3). Complete the Payment Voucher form. Place your payment voucher and check or money order, in the envelope and address it. Do not attach or staple your payment voucher and payment together.
  
  
• 4). Write a check or money order made out to the United States Treasury. Write the amount of your payment in the form $XXX.XX. Do not write $XXX- or $XXX XX/XX. It will delay the processing of your payment. Write "2010 Form 1040-ES" and your social security number on the check or money order. Check the 1040-ES instructions for the address of the regional office that processes your payments. When you pay quarterly, your first installment is due April 15, your second is due June 15, your third Sept. 15 and your final payment is due January 18 of the following year.
  
  
• 5). Pay electronically by choosing several payment options available to you. The first is the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) at eftps.gov. This allows you to schedule as many payments as you like, 365 days in advance, and have them withdrawn from your checking or savings account automatically. You can also cancel payments up to two days before they are scheduled to be processed. The second method available, which has a link on the IRS Electronic Payment Options homepage, is Electronic Funds Withdrawal (EFW). This allows you to schedule four quarterly payments and have them withdrawn from your checking or savings account.
  
  
• 6). Go to irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=97400,00.html for EFW or to pay by debit or credit card. To pay by debit or credit card, follow the link on the Electronic Payment Options home page. You can make one time payments here, and payments for your next installments when they come due.