Search This Blog

05 April 2011

The truth about estimated taxes: A primer for real estate professionals

WASHINGTON – April 5, 2011 – While people who are self-employed – including most real estate agents and brokers – have higher take-home pay because they don’t have taxes withheld from paychecks, the Internal Revenue Service requires them to pay estimated taxes four times per year to cover income and self-employment taxes.

This requires agents to set aside enough money to make the estimated tax payments.

Sole proprietors, partners in a partnership and members of a limited liability company must all make quarterly estimated payments, providing they expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal taxes for the year. People who did not pay taxes the previous year because they were not employed, or did not turn a profit, do not have to pay estimated taxes.

A simple way to calculate estimated taxes: Pay the lesser of 90 percent of the tax due for the current year or 100 percent of the total taxes paid last year (110 percent if earning more than $150,000 the previous year).

For 2011, the four payments are due by April 18, June 15, and Sept. 15, 2011; and the final payment is due by Jan. 15, 2012. However, anyone who made no income by March 31 does not have make the first payment.

Source: Inman News (03/25/11) Fishman, Stephen

© Copyright 2011 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688

No comments:

Post a Comment