Hello. I have a question regarding how much money I should withhold for quarterly tax payments, and if I am liable to make them in the first place, for the income I have received from doing surveys over the past 6 months. I have a W2 job as my main source of income alongside the surveys, and I have already filed federal taxes for this job back in April. I did not owe any money after filing for my W2 job.
I have yet to file any taxes for either the first or second quarter of the year regarding the survey income, since I am unsure of whether or not I need to make these payments on it, as well as how to calculate how much I should have paid for each quarter if I do.
I do not make a set amount of money per month doing surveys, and so far, I am at around $770 in total for what I've earned in 2026. I do not have a clear estimate of what I will make by the end of 2026, either at my W2 job or with surveys, since neither source of income is predictable from month to month in terms of the hours available.
I have tried using online tax withholding calculators to predict what I should withhold, but each gives me a different amount from the same numbers I provide, so I am at a loss when it comes to estimating how much I should have saved for these payments. I'm not even sure if I owe quarterly payments in the first place, since I have read online that they are required only if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal taxes after deductions/credits, which I do not, and I did not owe anything after filing my taxes in April as previously mentioned.
In short, can anybody tell me if I am required to make quarterly payments on this survey income, and if so, help me figure out how much I would have owed for both quarter 1 and quarter 2, so I can finally pay them?
Thank you in advance for your help, and if you need further details, I will gladly provide them.
