This article was updated for Tax Year 2023, last edited on December 20th, 2023.

Federal estimated taxes are payments sent to the IRS to help lower your tax bill. The IRS rule is that taxpayers must generally pay at least 90 percent of their taxes throughout the year through withholding, estimated tax payments or a combination of the two. If they don’t, they may owe an estimated tax penalty.

State estimated taxes are payments sent to your state agency to help lower your tax bill. Sending payments to the IRS will not satisfy the potential need for state estimated payments. The requirement for estimated tax payments varies state by state, so you’ll need to check with your state to see their specific requirements.

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