No one likes making payments to the IRS -- it's the ugly part about earning cash. If you work for wages, you probably have taxes withheld from your check automatically. However, if you’re self-employed or don’t pay in enough during the year, you might make estimated payments to cover your tax bill instead. These tax payments aren't automatically withheld.
If you make estimated deposits during the year, you'll want to know exactly how much you paid in so you'll get credit for it on your next tax return. Just in case record keeping isn't your thing, there are a few ways you can get this information before you file.
Go Through Your Records
If you wanted to research how much you paid on your water bill last month, you'd likely go online to your bank account. Use this same method to determine your quarterly payments. Log in to your bank account or find your paper bank statements if you don't do online billing. Filter out the date range in question and search for the time period surrounding when you would have sent your quarterly payment to the IRS. If you made your estimated deposits on time each quarter, you made payments on or around April 15, June 15, Sept. 15 and Jan. 15.
Consult Your Tax Return
Look at your tax return from last year. If you applied some or all of your tax refund from last year to your next return, the amount you applied is shown near the bottom of Page 2.
Check the EFTPS System
If you use the EFTPS system to pay estimated taxes, log in to your account and view a statement of your payment transactions.
Order an IRS Transcript
You can get a free transcript of your account for any tax year, including the current and last six years. An account transcript lists all estimated payments made toward your account during the year. Go to the irs.gov website and click the “Files” link on the menu. Under "Other Resources" toward the bottom of the page, you'll see the option to get a copy of your tax record.
Call the IRS
Call the IRS. If you need your estimated tax information fast, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 for a verbal amount. Listen to the voice prompts and choose the option to speak with an agent. After the agent answers, tell them you need to know the dates and amounts of the estimated tax payments you made during the year. If you use this option, you still need to order a transcript or get proof of your payments from other sources to keep with your tax return records.
References
Writer Bio
With a background in taxation and financial consulting, Alia Nikolakopulos has over a decade of experience resolving tax and finance issues. She is an IRS Enrolled Agent and has been a writer for these topics since 2010. Nikolakopulos is pursuing Bachelor of Science in accounting at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.