Welcome June, what a lovely month! It’s the first month of summer, the time when school ends and a more leisurely pace ensues...at least at our house.

But, of course, there is one unpleasant thing about June--quarterly estimated taxes, at least for us self-employed Americans. The United States is a “pay-as-you-go” tax system, as the IRS puts it. When you are employed your employer withholds taxes from every pay check, but when you are self-employed it’s up to you to send in your tax payments every quarter.

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How to Pay Your Quarterly Taxes

And now that it is June, it’s time for that second quarter payment! This payment seems so quick. "Didn't I just pay those?" I always think. And in fact, I did.

Because you get until April 15 (which is actually in second quarter) to pay the first quarter's taxes, those second quarter ones can sneak up on you. Typically, you have to pay those on June 15, which is before second quarter ends. I say “typically” because if June 15 falls on a weekend, you will get until the next business day, but that’s really not much extra time so don’t procrastinate.

A couple years ago I totally blew the June deadline for estimated quarterly taxes. Nothing happened when I missed it, at least not right away. No nasty late notices or anything like that. But when I filed my income taxes I had to list the date I paid the quarterly estimated taxes and calculate a penalty.

2014 Deadlines for Estimated Quarterly Taxes

However, the more important question is: "Do I have enough cash available to pay my taxes?" If this is a constant struggle for you, there are some strategies that you can employ to make paying those taxes just a little less painful.

 

4 Tips on Saving for Estimated Taxes

So if you're self-employed and pay estimated taxes, don't forget to send in that payment to the federal government. Also remember your state income taxes if you pay those on a quarterly basis as well. Those are usually due on the same schedule as federal income tax, but not always so check your state’s schedule.

And since it hasn’t been that long since you filed your income taxes, you may have not quite gotten around to organizing all your tax paperwork, but don’t let it go any longer. Keeping your taxes organized is a year-round task, particularly when you are taking a home office deduction. Even if a professional tax preparer does your returns, you need to retain and file the tax documentation (i.e. receipts, pay stubs, tax forms, etc.), so knowing what you will need to prepare your tax returns, is key.

Organize Your Tax Information