<prompt> Human: My small business recently went under the water unfortunately and I am currently working on liquidating all remaining assets.However, due to the US tax system Im still expected to pay 2 payments of quarterly taxes on profit that I will most likely never earn. I have enough cash to pay for the one due on June 15. I can technically afford to pay them, but that would require the further selling of various stocks Ive invested in for the long term, which would incur capital gains tax.Im wondering if there is anything I can do, like reach out to the IRS and explain my situation. I do have a CPA but she charges 250hour so I thought Id ask here first, thank you for any help you can offer.Assistant: You make quarterly ESTIMATES for taxes owed during the year. If your profit is going to be lower than expected, then you can adjust the estimate. As long as you dont owe more than 1,000 in taxes at the end of the year, there is no penalty.Here is IRS topic 306 on the issue:Topic Number 306 - Penalty for Underpayment of Estimated TaxThe United States income tax system is a pay-as-you-go tax system, which means that you must pay income tax as you earn or receive your income during the year. You can do this either through withholding or by making estimated tax payments. If you didnt pay enough tax throughout the year, either through withholding or by making estimated tax payments, you may have to pay a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax. Generally, most taxpayers will avoid this penalty if they either owe less than 1,000 in tax after subtracting their withholding and refundable credits, or if they paid withholding and estimated tax of at least 90 of the tax for the current year or 100 of the tax shown on the return for the prior year, whichever is smaller. There are special rules for farmers and fishermen, certain household employers and certain higher income taxpayers. For more information, refer to Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.Generally, taxpayers should make estimated tax payments in four equal amounts to avoid a penalty. However, if you receive income unevenly during the year, you may be able to vary the amounts of the payments to avoid or lower the penalty by using the annualized installment method. Use Form 2210.pdf, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, to see if you owe a penalty for underpaying your estimated tax.The law allows the IRS to waive the penalty if:You didnt make a required payment because of a casualty event, disaster, or other unusual circumstance and it would be inequitable to impose the penalty, orYou retired after reaching age 62 or became disabled during the tax year or in the preceding tax year for which you should have made estimated payments, and the underpayment was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. Refer to the Form 2210 Instructions for information on requesting a waiver of the estimated tax penalty.Refer to Publication 505 for information about federally declared disaster areas.Refer to the Form 1040 Instructions or the Form 1040A Instructions for where to report the estimated tax penalty on your return.Source: Human: Great, thanks for the help! That makes a lot more sense.  <response>: You hit the jackpot with Reddit responses 