Reminder: Estimated taxes are still due tomorrow. The May 17 deadline only applies to 2020 returns.

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While the IRS and many states recently postponed the tax filing deadline to May 17, that only applies to 2020 tax returns.

Your 2021 first-quarter tax payment is still due tomorrow, April 15.

There's a lot more detailed info on the IRS website, but you can avoid estimated tax penalties in one of two ways:

1. Figure out your total tax for 2021, divide it by four, and give the IRS at least 90% of that amount. The caveat is that if you only pay 90% of your estimated taxes, you'll probably still owe something when you file next year.

2. Figure out your total tax for 2020 (line 24 of your 1040) and give the IRS 1/4 of that amount. The caveat here is that your 2021 and 2020 taxes might be quite a bit different; if this year's tax is higher, then you could still be in for a big bill when you file your 2021 return next spring (on top of your estimated payment for Q1 2022).

You might find form 1040-ES helpful, but it's not required.

If your employer, pension administrator, broker, etc. withheld federal income taxes between January 1 and March 31, then that counts toward your Q1 payment (only your federal withholding - not your Social Security or Medicare withholdings).

State estimated taxes are another story altogether.