Never miss an estimated tax payment again
Keeper calculates your federal safe-harbor payments and lets you schedule all four at once, so your quarterly taxes are covered.
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Tired of the quarterly tax headache?
Let Keeper handle the math, deadlines, and payments.
The old way
The Keeper way
How it works
Set up your estimated tax payments in minutes.
- 1
Upload last year's return
Upload your prior-year return, no matter where you filed. Keeper uses last year's numbers to calculate your safe-harbor amount, so you avoid underpayment penalties.Sign up - 2
Review your payment plan
See all four federal payment amounts and dates upfront, so you can plan your cash flow before scheduling anything.Sign up - 3
Choose a bank account
Select an account you already have linked or connect a new one for your quarterly payments.Sign up - 4
Schedule all four payments
Keeper sends each scheduled payment to the IRS and confirms its status in the app.Sign up
What is the safe harbor rule for estimated taxes?
The IRS expects tax on 1099 income as you earn it, not in one lump at filing. Pay too little during the year and it charges interest on the shortfall, quarter by quarter.
The “safe harbor” rule protects you from the penalty of underpaying your estimated taxes. If you pay enough through withholdings and/or estimated tax payments to cover one of these amounts, you are shielded from penalties.
- 100%
of last year's tax
Pay that much across the four quarters and the IRS won't charge an underpayment penalty, even if you end up earning more this year.
- 110%
if you earned over $150K
Higher earners have a higher bar. Keeper reads which one applies to you off the return, so the amount is right either way.
- 4
payments, evenly split
The safe-harbor total divided by four, scheduled for April, June, September, and the following January.