<prompt> Human: first, im kinda pissed that turbo tax never told me about this.. for 3 years now, I have been getting paid a standard w2, and a 1099m. I have been saving 30 of the 1099m for taxes at the end of the year, then pay what is owed when I file, which is usually 4k. this year, something when wrong with my payment, and I got a letter telling me that, but it itemized my taxes better than turbo tax did listing a 60 charge for not estimating my yearly taxes and making payments through the year. I have since made the payment, and the 24 they charged me for late payment. how close do I need to be every year to avoid this penalty? do I need to make quarterly payments? since it is already may, I have missed one quarterly payment, will I get this fee no matter what I do this year?  <response>: Generally speaking, to avoid an underpayment penalty for federal taxes, one of the following must occur:1 The amount owed must be less than 1000.2 Through withholding and estimated taxes, the amount you paid through the year is more than 90 of your total tax liability.3 Through withholding and estimated taxes, the amount you paid throughout the year is more than 100 110 for higher income taxpayers of your prior year 2015 total tax liability.If you pay estimated taxes, however, even if you satisfy requirements 2 and 3, you might have an underpayment penalty, because the US is a pay-as-you-go tax system. This means that these requirements are applied on a quarterly basis. So, for example, you cant avoid an underpayment penalty if you pay all your estimated taxes in the 4th quarter due January 15th, 2017 to meet the 90 rule. This would not cure any deficit from the prior quarters.In your case, this means that you might have an underpayment penalty because you didnt make a timely first quarter payment. It is impossible to know that without more information about your income, withholding through other sources, etc. The way to minimize this is to make a timely second quarter payment due June 15th, so that you meet the 90 threshold on a cumulative basis so far for the year. 