Self-Employed Quarterly Taxes

You must pay self-employment tax and file Schedule SE (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) if either of the following applies.

• Your net earnings from self-employment (excluding church employee income) were $400 or more.
• You had church employee income of $108.28 or more.

Generally, your net earnings from self-employment are subject to self-employment tax. If you are self-employed as a sole proprietor or independent contractor, you generally use Schedule C to figure net earnings from self-employment.

If you have earnings subject to self-employment tax, use Schedule SE to figure your net earnings from self-employment. Before you figure your net earnings, you generally need to figure your total earnings subject to self-employment tax.

Note: The self-employment tax rules apply no matter how old you are and even if you are already receiving Social Security or Medicare.

The IRS may issue a penalty if you miss a quarterly tax payment deadline. The penalty is 0.5% of the amount unpaid for each month, or part of the month, that the tax isn't paid. The amount you owe and how long it takes to pay the penalty impacts your penalty amount. So it’s better to make the payment as soon as possible. You can use a tax penalty calculator to help figure out the amount for the penalty you owe.

Even if you can’t afford the payment, it’s best to pay some of the amount owed, since it will reduce the penalty amount.