Virginia now mandates online estimated payments if over $2500

[Greta]

I have elderly clients who do not know how to sign up online. It's not user friendly. Shall I tell them to mail their estimated checks as before and see if they get cashed.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Not everyone owns a computer or mobile device, they have to have some kind of waiver for this type of requirement.

[JOFI · Accepted solution]

I have seen this notice for several years.  The software still prints out a Virginia payment voucher and quarterly estimated tax payment vouchers, so I just ignore that -- it's not as if the state is going to reject a payment received by mail.

Almost all of my clients pay online, but I have not heard of any problems with payments by mail.

[Greta]

I'm now finishing an estate income tax return which owes $250K federal taxes (41% rate). Widower of the deceased insists on sending a check. If it gets lost on its way to the 18th of April, I dread to think what the penalty will be. I will tell him to send it certified mail. To Virginia -- I don't even know what address to send it to. Anyone from Virginia can tell me please? Address is not in the software that I could find. So I was thinking of sending the money with the extension voucher instead.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

No way you could talk him into making it directly on the VA website, with you assistance? Id be afraid they wouldn't accept a check that large.

[JOFI]

Why you are you sending a tax payment for a federal estate return to the State of Virginia?

[Greta]

I wasn't clear. The enormous sum (at a rate of 41% once the net investment tax kicks in) was to the IRS.  The Virginia income tax on the estate is only 6%, but still is a large amount on 700K taxable income. I have not found a voucher or an address where to mail it. I do have a voucher for a Virginia extension, with which I can mail that precise amount of the check, so I was thinking of doing that. I do that with individual returns that will owe a chunk of money, so I file an extension only to be able to mail them a check.

[Greta]

Frankly, I haven't figured out the Virginia site yet. It also requires a week's wait to get a PIN in the mail. Young clients tell me  the site is a bit daunting and the week's wait was annoying. My widower client is 91 years old. He's suspicious of online stuff.

Another client in NY used to pay estimated payments online for several years But something has gone awry and she can't get in for some unknown reason. We tried to start all over, but the message is that you already have an account. But how to get into it is our mystery. We ended up mailing the estimated payment via an extension voucher to NY. It looks like we will go back to mailing her estimated payments.

Perhaps I'm also old and impatient with online sites with their constantly changing password requirements. I've started instead to contact issuers of 1099Rs to change withholding to get rid of estimated payments. That has worked better.