U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

2011

Instructions for Form 2210

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates, and Trusts
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

General Instructions
What’s New
Temporary decrease in employee’s share of payroll tax.
Social security tax is withheld from an employee’s wages at the
rate of 4.2% (down from 6.2%) up to the social security wage
limit of $106,800. There is no change to Medicare withholding.
The same reductional applies to the net earnings from
self-employment — the temporary rate will be 10.4% (down from
12.4%) up to the social security wage limit of $106,800.
Advance earned income credit. The advance earned income
credit (EIC) was eliminated. If you are a household employer
and made advance EIC payments, you do not include those
payments as estimated tax payments.
Refundable claim of right credit. If you are reclaiming a
credit for repayment of amounts you included in your income in
an earlier year under a claim of right, you should include the
credit in Part I, line 3 of Refundable credits.
Future developments. The IRS has created a page on
IRS.gov for information about Form 2210 and its instructions, at
www.irs.gov/form2210. Information about any recent
developments affecting Form 2210 (such as legislation enacted
after we release it) will be posted on that page.

Purpose of Form
Generally, use Form 2210 to see if you owe a penalty for
underpaying your estimated tax and, if you do, to figure the
amount of the penalty. Even if you are not required to file Form
2210, you can use it to figure your penalty if you wish to do so.
In that case, enter the penalty on your return, but do not file
Form 2210.

Who Must File Form 2210
Use the flowchart at the top of page 1 of Form 2210 to see if
you must file this form.

!

CAUTION

If box B, C, or D in Part II is checked, you must figure
the penalty yourself and attach Form 2210 to your
return.

The IRS Will Figure the Penalty for You
If you did not check box B, C, or D in Part II, you do not need to
figure the penalty or file Form 2210. The IRS will figure any
penalty for underpayment of estimated tax and send you a bill.
If you file your return by April 17, 2012, no interest will be
charged on the penalty if you pay the penalty by the date shown
on the bill.
If you want us to figure the penalty for you, complete your
return as usual. Leave the penalty line on your return blank; do
not file Form 2210.

Other Methods of Figuring the Penalty
We realize that there are different ways to figure the correct
penalty. You do not have to use the method used on Form 2210
as long as you enter the correct penalty amount on the
“Estimated tax penalty” line of your return.
However, if you are required to file Form 2210 because one
or more of the boxes in Part II applies to you, you must
complete certain lines and enter the penalty on the “Estimated
tax penalty” line of your return.
Jan 06, 2012

• If you use the short method, complete Part I, check the

box(es) that applies in Part II, and complete Part III. Enter the
penalty on line 17 and on the “Estimated tax penalty” line on
your tax return.
• If you use the regular method, complete Part I, check the
box(es) that applies in Part II, complete Part IV, Section A, and
the Penalty Worksheet on page 5 of the instructions. Enter the
penalty on line 27 of the form, and on the “Estimated tax
penalty” line on your tax return.
• If you use the annualized income installment method,
complete Part I, check the box(es) that applies in Part II,
complete Schedule AI, complete Part IV, Section A, and the
Penalty Worksheet on page 5 of the instructions. Enter the
penalty on line 27 of the form, and on the “Estimated tax
penalty” line on your tax return.

Who Must Pay the
Underpayment Penalty
In general, you may owe the penalty for 2011 if the total of your
withholding and timely estimated tax payments did not equal at
least the smaller of:
1. 90% of your 2011 tax, or
2. 100% of your 2010 tax. (Your 2010 tax return must cover
a 12-month period.)
Special rules for certain individuals. Different percentages
are used for farmers and fishermen, and certain higher income
taxpayers.
Farmers and fishermen. If at least two-thirds of your gross
income for 2010 or 2011 is from farming and fishing, substitute
662/3% for 90% in (1) above. See Farmers and fishermen on
page 2 to see if you qualify.
Higher income taxpayers. If your adjusted gross income
(AGI) for 2010 was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if your 2011
filing status is married filing separately), substitute 110% for
100% in (2) above.
Penalty figured separately for each required payment. The
penalty is figured separately for each installment due date.
Therefore, you may owe the penalty for an earlier due date
even if you paid enough tax later to make up the underpayment.
This is true even if you are due a refund when you file your tax
return. However, you may be able to reduce or eliminate the
penalty by using the annualized income installment method. For
details, see the Schedule AI instructions beginning on page 6.
Return. In these instructions, “return” refers to your original
return. However, an amended return is considered the original
return if it is filed by the due date (including extensions) of the
original return. Also, a joint return that replaces previously filed
separate returns is considered the original return.

Exceptions to the Penalty
You will not have to pay the penalty if either of the following
applies.
• You had no tax liability for 2010, you were a U.S. citizen or
resident alien for the entire year (or an estate of a domestic
decedent or a domestic trust), and your 2010 tax return was (or
would have been had you been required to file) for a full 12
months.
• The total tax shown on your 2011 return minus the amount of
tax you paid through withholding is less than $1,000. To
determine whether the total tax is less than $1,000, complete
Part 1, lines 1 through 7.
Estates and trusts. No penalty applies to either of the
following.

Cat. No. 63610I

• A decedent’s estate for any tax year ending before the date

underpayment was due to a federally declared disaster. If you
still owe a penalty after the automatic waiver is applied, the IRS
will send you a bill.

that is 2 years after the decedent’s death.
• A trust that was treated as owned by the decedent if the trust
will receive the residue of the decedent’s estate under the will
(or if no will is admitted to probate, the trust primarily
responsible for paying debts, taxes, and expenses of
administration) for any tax year ending before the date that is 2
years after the decedent’s death.

An individual or a fiduciary for an estate or trust not in a
covered disaster area but whose books, records, or tax
professionals’ offices are in a covered area is also entitled to
relief. Also eligible are relief workers affiliated with a recognized
government or charitable organization assisting in the relief
activities in a covered disaster area. If you meet either of these
eligibility requirements, you must call the IRS disaster hotline at
1-866-562-5227 and identify yourself as eligible for this relief.

Farmers and fishermen. If you meet both tests 1 and 2
below, you do not owe a penalty for underpaying estimated tax.
1. Your gross income from farming or fishing is at least
two-thirds of your annual gross income from all sources for
2010 or 2011.
2. You filed Form 1040 or 1041 and paid the entire tax due
by March 1, 2012.

Details on the applicable disaster postponement period can
be found at IRS.gov. Enter ‘‘disaster relief’’ in the search box,
then select “Tax Relief in Disaster Situations.” Select the
federally declared disaster that affected you.

See chapter 2 of Pub. 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated
Tax, for the definition of gross income from farming and fishing.

Additional Information
See Pub. 505, chapter 4, for more details and examples of
filled-in Forms 2210.

If you meet test 1 but not test 2, use Form 2210-F,
Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Farmers and Fishermen, to
see if you owe a penalty. If you do not meet test 1, use Form
2210.

For guidance on figuring estimated taxes for trusts and
certain estates, see Notice 87-32, 1987-1 C.B. 477.

Waiver of Penalty
If you have an underpayment, all or part of the penalty for that
underpayment will be waived if the IRS determines that:
• In 2010 or 2011, you retired after reaching age 62 or became
disabled, and your underpayment was due to reasonable
cause, or
• The underpayment was due to a casualty, disaster, or other
unusual circumstance, and it would be inequitable to impose
the penalty. For federally declared disaster areas, see the
separate information below.

Specific Instructions
Part I—Required Annual Payment
Complete lines 1 through 9 to figure your required annual
payment.
If you file an amended return by the due date of your original
return, use the amounts shown on your amended return to
figure your underpayment. If you file an amended return after
the due date, use the amounts shown on the original return.

To request either of the above waivers, do the following.
1. Check box A or box B in Part II.
a. If you checked box A, complete only page 1 of Form
2210 and attach it to your tax return (you are not required to
figure the amount of penalty to be waived).
b. If you checked box B, complete Form 2210 through line
16 (or if you use the regular method, line 26 plus the Penalty
Worksheet on page 5 of the instructions) without regard to the
waiver. Enter the amount you want waived in parentheses on
the dotted line next to line 17 (line 27 for the regular method).
Subtract this amount from the total penalty you figured without
regard to the waiver, and enter the result on line 17 (line 27 for
the regular method).
2. Attach Form 2210 and a statement to your return
explaining the reasons you were unable to meet the estimated
tax requirements and the time period for which you are
requesting a waiver.
3. If you are requesting a waiver due to retirement or
disability, attach documentation that shows your retirement date
(and your age on that date) or the date you became disabled.
4. If you are requesting a waiver due to a casualty, disaster
(other than a federally declared disaster as discussed below),
or other unusual circumstance, attach documentation such as
copies of police and insurance company reports.

Exception. If you and your spouse file a joint return after the
due date to replace previously filed separate returns, use the
amounts shown on the joint return to figure your underpayment.

Line 1
Enter the amount from Form 1040, line 55; Form 1040A, line
35; Form 1040NR, line 52; or Form 1040NR-EZ, line 15. For an
estate or trust, enter the amount from Form 1041, Schedule G,
line 4.

Line 2
Enter the total of the following amounts.
IF you file...

THEN include on line 2 the amounts on...

1040

Lines 56, 58 (additional tax on distributions only), 59a*,
59b, and any write-ins on line 60 with the exception of:
• Uncollected social security and Medicare tax or RRTA
tax on tips or group-term life insurance (identified as
“UT”),
• Tax on excess golden parachute payments (identified
as “EPP”),
• Excise tax on insider stock compensation from an
expatriated corporation (identified as “ISC”),
• Look-back interest due under section 167(g) (identified
as “From Form 8866”), and under section 460(b)
(identified as “From Form 8697”),
• Recapture of federal mortgage subsidy (identified as
“FMSR”), and
• Advance payments of the health coverage tax credit
when not eligible (identified as “HCTC”).

1040A

Line 36

The IRS will review the information you provide and decide
whether to grant your request for a waiver.
Federally declared disaster. Certain estimated tax payment
deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in a
federally declared disaster area are postponed for a period
during and after the disaster. During the processing of your tax
return, the IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in a
covered disaster area (by county or parish) and applies the
appropriate penalty relief. Do not file Form 2210 if your

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Instructions for Form 2210

IF you file...

THEN include on line 2 the amounts on...

Part IV—Regular Method

1040NR

Lines 53, 54, 56 (additional tax on distributions only), 57,
58a*, 58b, and any write-ins on line 59 with the exception
of:
• Uncollected social security and Medicare tax or RRTA
tax on tips or group-term life insurance (identified as
“UT”),
• Tax on excess golden parachute payments (identified
as “EPP”),
• Excise tax on insider stock compensation from an
expatriated corporation (identified as “ISC”),
• Look-back interest due under section 167(g) (identified
as “From Form 8866”), and under section 460(b)
(identified as “From Form 8697”),
• Recapture of federal mortgage subsidy (identified as
“FMSR”), and
• Advance payments of the health coverage tax credit
when not eligible (identified as “HCTC”).

1041

Schedule G, lines 5, 6,* and any write-ins on line 7 with
the exception of:
• Look-back interest due under section 167(g) (identified
as “From Form 8866”).
• Look-back interest due under section 460(b) (identified
as “From Form 8697”).

Use the regular method if you are not eligible to use the short
method. See Form 2210, Part III, Must You Use the Regular
Method.
If you checked box C in Part II, complete Schedule AI before
Part IV.
Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ filers. If you are filing Form
1040NR or 1040NR-EZ and did not receive wages as an
employee subject to U.S. income tax withholding, the
instructions for completing Part IV are modified as follows.
1. Skip column (a).
2. On line 18, column (b), enter one-half of the amount on
line 9 of Part I (unless you are using the annualized income
installment method).
3. On line 19, column (b), enter the total tax payments made
through June 15, 2011, for the 2011 tax year. If you are treating
federal income tax (and excess social security or tier 1 railroad
retirement tax) as having been withheld evenly throughout the
year, you are considered to have paid one-third of these
amounts on each payment due date.
4. Skip all lines in column (b) that are shaded in column (a).

Section A—Figure Your Underpayment
Line 18

*If you are a household employer, include your household employment taxes on
line 2 only if you had federal income tax withheld from your income and would be
required to make estimated tax payments even if the household employment
taxes were not included.

Enter on line 18, columns (a) through (d), the amount of your
required installment for the due date shown in each column
heading. For most taxpayers, this is one-fourth of the required
annual payment shown in Part I, line 9. However, it may be to
your benefit to figure your required installments by using the
annualized income installment method. See the Schedule AI
instructions beginning on page 6.

If you file Form 1040NR-EZ, you will not have an entry on
line 2.

Line 3
To figure the amount of the section 1341 credit, see
Repayments in Pub. 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.

Line 19
Table 1 — List your estimated tax payments for 2011.
Before completing line 19, enter in Table 1 the payments you
made for 2011. Include the following payments.
• Any overpayment from your 2010 return applied to your 2011
estimated tax payments. Generally, treat the payment as made
on April 15, 2011.
• Estimated tax payments you made for the 2011 tax year, plus
any federal income tax and excess social security and tier 1
railroad retirement tax withheld.
• Any payment made on your balance due return for 2011. Use
the date you filed (or will file) your return or April 15, 2012,
whichever is earlier, as the payment date.

Line 6
Enter the taxes withheld from Form 1040, lines 62 and 69; Form
1040A, line 36, plus any excess social security and tier 1
railroad retirement tax (RRTA) included on line 41; Form
1040NR, lines 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d, and 65; or Form
1040NR-EZ, lines 18a and 18b. For an estate or trust, enter the
amount from Form 1041, line 24e.
Form 8689 filers. Also enter on this line the amount(s) from
Form 8689, lines 40 and 44, that you entered on line 72 of your
2011 Form 1040.

Line 8
Figure your 2010 tax using the taxes and credits shown on your
2010 tax return. Use the same type of taxes and credits as
shown on lines 1, 2, and 3 of this Form 2210.
Enter the 2010 tax you figured above unless the AGI on your
2010 return is more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing
separately for 2011), then enter 110% of that amount.
If you are filing a joint return for 2011, but you did not file a
joint return for 2010, add the tax shown on your 2010 return to
the tax shown on your spouse’s 2010 return and enter the total
on line 8 (both taxes figured as explained above).
If you filed a joint return for 2010 but you are not filing a joint
return for 2011, see Pub. 505, chapter 4, General Rule, to
figure your share of the 2010 tax to enter on line 8.
If you did not file a return for 2010 or your 2010 tax year was
less than 12 months, do not complete line 8. Instead, enter the
amount from line 5 on line 9. However, see Exceptions to the
Penalty on page 1.

Table 1. Estimated Tax Payments
Date

Date

Payments

Entries on Form 2210. Enter on line 19 the following tax
payments.
• Column (a) — payments you made by April 15, 2011.
• Column (b) — payments you made after April 15, 2011,
through June 15, 2011.
• Column (c) — payments you made after June 15, 2011,
through September 15, 2011.
• Column (d) — payments you made after September 15, 2011,
through January 15, 2012.
When figuring your payment dates and the amounts to enter
on line 19 of each column, apply the following rules.
• For withheld federal income tax and excess social security or
tier 1 railroad retirement tax (RRTA), you are considered to

Part III—Short Method
If you can use the short method (see Form 2210, Part III, Can
You Use the Short Method?), complete lines 10 through 14 to
figure your total underpayment for the year, and lines 15
through 17 to figure the penalty.
In certain circumstances, the IRS will waive all or part of the
underpayment penalty. See Waiver of Penalty on page 2.
Instructions for Form 2210

Payments

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have paid one-fourth of these amounts on each payment due
date unless you can show otherwise. You will find these
amounts on Form 1040, lines 62 and 69; Form 1040A, line 36,
plus any excess social security and tier 1 RRTA included on
line 41; Form 1040NR, lines 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d, and 65; Form
1040NR-EZ, lines 18a and 18b; and Form 1041, line 24e.

underpayment shown in Section A, line 25. The penalty is
figured for the number of days that each underpayment remains
unpaid.
Your payments are applied first to any underpayment
balance on an earlier installment. It does not matter if you
designate a payment for a later period. See Example 2, below.
Use lines 3, 6, 9 and 12 of the Penalty Worksheet to show
the number of days an underpayment remained unpaid. Use
lines 4, 7, 10, and 13 to figure the actual penalty amount by
applying the appropriate rate to an underpayment for the
number of days it remained unpaid.
Example 2. You had a $500 underpayment remaining after
your April 15 payment. The June 15 installment required a
payment of $1,200. On June 10, you made a payment of
$1,200 to cover the June 15 installment. However, $500 of this
payment is applied first to the April 15 installment. The penalty
for the April 15 installment is figured from April 15 to June 10
(56 days). The amount remaining to be applied to the June 15
installment is $700.
Total days per rate period. If an underpayment remained
unpaid for an entire rate period, use the chart below to
determine the number of days to enter in each column. The
chart is organized in the same format as the Penalty
Worksheet.

If you treat withholding as paid for estimated tax
purposes when it was actually withheld, you must check
CAUTION box D in Part II and complete and attach Form 2210 to
your return.
• Include all estimated tax payments you made for each period.
Include any overpayment from your 2010 tax return you elected
to apply to your 2011 estimated tax. If your 2010 return was
fully paid by the due date, treat the overpayment as a payment
made on April 15, 2011. If you mail your estimated tax
payments, use the date of the U.S. postmark as the date of
payment.
• If an overpayment is generated on your 2010 return from a
payment made after the due date, treat the payment as made
on the date of payment. For example, you paid $500 due on
your 2010 return on July 1, 2011, and later amended the return
and were due a $400 refund which you elected to have applied
to your estimated taxes. The $400 overpayment would be
treated as paid on July 1.
• If you paid estimated tax on January 17, 2012, it is
considered paid on January 15, 2012, to the extent it is applied
to the fourth required installment.
• If you file your return and pay the tax due by January 31,
2012, include on line 19, column (d), the amount of tax you pay
with your tax return. In this case, you will not owe a penalty for
the payment due on January 15, 2012.
Example 1. You filed your 2010 tax return on June 1, 2011,
showing a $2,000 refund. You elected to have $1,000 of your
2010 overpayment applied to your 2011 estimated tax
payments. In 2011, you had $4,000 of federal income tax
withheld from wages. You also made $500 estimated tax
payments on 9/15/11 and 1/15/12. On line 19, column (a), enter
$2,000 ($1,000 withholding + $1,000 overpayment). In column
(b) enter $1,000 (withholding), and in columns (c) and (d), enter
$1,500 ($1,000 withholding + $500 estimated tax payment).

!

Table 2. Chart of Total Days
Rate Period

(a) 4/15/11 (b) 6/15/11 (c) 9/15/11 (d) 1/15/12

4/16/11-6/30/11

76

15

—

—

7/1/11-9/30/11

92

92

15

—

10/1/11-12/31/11

92

92

92

—

1/1/12-4/15/12

106

106

106

91

For example, if you have an underpayment on line 25, column
(a), but Table 1 shows you have no payments until after
December 31, 2011, you would enter “76” on line 3, column (a),
of the Penalty Worksheet.

Line 25

If you make a payment during a rate period, see Table
TIP 4-1 (Pub. 505, chapter 4) for an easy way to figure the
number of days the payment is late.

If line 25 is zero for all payment periods, you do not owe a
penalty. But if you checked box C or D in Part II, you must file
Form 2210 with your return. If you checked box E, you must file
page 1 of Form 2210 with your return.
In certain circumstances, the IRS will waive all or part of the
underpayment penalty. See Waiver of Penalty on page 2.

Worksheet for Form 2210, Part IV, Section B—Figure
the Penalty
Line 1b. If more than one payment was applied to fully pay the
underpayment amount in a column (line 1a), enter on line 1b
the date and amount applied up to the underpayment amount. If
a payment was more than the underpayment amount, enter the
excess in the next column with the same date.

Section B—Figure the Penalty
Use the Penalty Worksheet, later, to figure your penalty for
each period by applying the appropriate rate against each

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Instructions for Form 2210

Worksheet for Form 2210, Part IV, Section
B—Figure the Penalty
Keep for Your Records

Complete Rate Period 1 of each column before going to the next column; then go to Rate Periods 2, 3, and 4 in the same manner. If multiple
estimated tax payments are applied to the underpayment amount in a column of line 1a, you will need to make more than one computation
for that column.
Payment Due Dates
(a)
4/15/11
1a Enter your underpayment from Part IV, Section A, line 25 . .

1a

1b Date and amount of each payment applied to the
underpayment in the same column. Do not enter more than
the underpayment amount on line 1a for each column (see
instructions).
Note. Your payments are applied in the order made first to
any underpayment balance in an earlier column until that
underpayment is fully paid.

1b

(b)
6/15/11

(c)
9/15/11

(d)
1/15/12

Rate Period 1: April 16, 2011 — June 30, 2011
2
3

4

Computation starting dates for this period . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Number of days from the date on line 2 to the date the
amount on line 1a was paid or 6/30/11, whichever is earlier
Underpayment
on line 1a

×

Number of days
on line 3
365

× .04

2

4/15/11

6/15/11

Days:

Days:

$

$

3

4

Rate Period 2: July 1, 2011 — September 30, 2011
5

Computation starting dates for this period . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6

Number of days from the date on line 5 to the date the
amount on line 1a was paid or 9/30/11, whichever is earlier

7

Underpayment
on line 1a

×

Number of days
on line 6
365

× .04

5

6/30/11

6/30/11

9/15/11

Days:

Days:

Days:

$

$

$

6

7

Rate Period 3: October 1, 2011 — December 31, 2011
8

Computation starting dates for this period . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8

9/30/11
Days:

9

10

Number of days from the date on line 8 to the date the
amount on line 1a was paid or 12/31/11, whichever is earlier
Underpayment
on line 1a

×

Number of days
on line 9
365

× .03

9/30/11

9/30/11

Days:

Days:

$

$

9

10 $

Rate Period 4: January 1, 2012 — April 15, 2012
11 Computation starting dates for this period . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

12/31/11
Days:

12 Number of days from the date on line 11 to the date the
amount on line 1a was paid or 4/15/12, whichever is earlier
13

Underpayment
on line 1a

×

Number of days
on line 12
366

× .03

12/31/11

1/15/12

Days:

Days:

$

$

$

12

13 $

14 Penalty. Add all amounts on lines 4, 7, 10, and 13 in all columns. Enter the total here and on line 27
of Part IV, Section B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Instructions for Form 2210

12/31/11

Days:

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©

14

$

Example 3. Your required installment for each payment
due date is $4,000. You made the following estimated tax
payments.
Date
4/30/11
6/15/11
9/15/11
1/15/12

4. Attach Form 2210, Parts I, II, IV, and Schedule AI to your
return.
Additional information. See Pub. 505, chapter 4, for more
details about the annualized income installment method and a
completed example. Estates and trusts, see Notice 87-32.
Individuals filing Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ. If you are
filing Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ and you did not receive
wages as an employee subject to U.S. income tax withholding,
follow these modified instructions for Schedule AI.
1. Skip column (a).
2. Beginning with column (b), enter on line 1 your income
for the period that is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or
business.
3. Increase the amount on line 17 by the amount
determined by multiplying your income for the period that is not
effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business by the
following.
• In column (b), 72%.
• In column (c), 45%.
• In column (d), 30%.
However, if you can use a treaty rate lower than 30%, use
the percentages determined by multiplying your treaty rate by
2.4, 1.5, and 1, respectively.
4. Enter on line 22, column (b), one-half of the amount from
Form 2210, Part I, line 9. In columns (c) and (d), enter
one-fourth of that amount.
5. Skip column (b) of lines 20 and 23.

Payments
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$4,000

Line 1a, column (a), shows $4,000. You enter “4/30 $2,000”
and “6/15 $2,000” on line 1b, column (a). The remaining $1,000
($3,000 – $2,000) of the June 15 payment is entered on line
1b, column (b), “6/15 $1,000.” Also enter “9/15 $3,000” on line
1b, column (b), because $3,000 of the $4,000 September
payment must be used to fully pay the June underpayment.
Continue in this manner until all your payments are used.
Line 3. If more than one payment was applied to an
underpayment on line 1a, enter the number of days each
payment was late.
Example 4. Using the same facts as Example 3 above,
enter “15” (number of days from 4/15 to 4/30) and “61” (number
of days from 4/15 to 6/15) on line 3, column (a) (see illustration
under Example 5 below).
Line 4. Make the computation requested on line 4 and enter
the result. If more than one payment was required to fully
satisfy an underpayment amount, make a separate computation
for each payment. See the example below and in chapter 4 of
Pub. 505.
Example 5. Assume the same facts as in Example 3. On
line 4, enter the penalty for each underpayment: “3.29” ($2,000
× (15 ÷ 365) × .04) and “$13.37” ($2,000 × (61 ÷ 365) × .04).
The entries are illustrated below.

Part I—Annualized Income Installments
To figure the amount of each required installment, Schedule AI
selects the smaller of the annualized income installment or the
regular installment (that has been increased by the amount
saved by using the annualized income installment method in
figuring any earlier installments).

(a)
4/15/11

2

Line 1

Days:
15

For each period (column), figure your total income minus your
adjustments to income. Include your share of partnership or S
corporation income or loss items for the period.
If you are self-employed, be sure to take into account the
deduction for one-half of your self-employment tax. To figure
this amount for each period, complete Schedule AI, Part II, and
divide the amount in columns (a) through (d) on line 34 by 8,
4.8, 3, and 2, respectively.

61

3
3.29
4

$

13.37

Column (a) is fully paid in the first rate period; therefore,
lines 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 and 13 for column (a) would be blank.
Continue with the underpayment in columns (b), (c), and (d) in
the same manner.
Note. If an underpayment balance remains for the remaining
rate periods, calculate the penalty using the same steps as
explained above, but use the dates and interest rates on lines 6
and 7 for rate period 2, lines 9 and 10 for rate period 3, and
lines 12 and 13 for rate period 4.

Line 2
Estates and trusts do not use the amounts shown in columns
(a) through (d). Instead, use 6, 3, 1.71429, and 1.09091,
respectively, as the annualization amounts.

Line 7
If you are a resident of India and a student or business
apprentice, enter your standard deduction from Form 1040NR,
line 38; or Form 1040NR-EZ, line 11.

Schedule AI—Annualized Income
Installment Method

Line 10

If your income varied during the year because, for example, you
operated your business on a seasonal basis or had a large
capital gain late in the year, you may be able to lower or
eliminate the amount of one or more required installments by
using the annualized income installment method. Use Schedule
AI to figure the required installments to enter on Form 2210,
Part IV, line 18.

!

For each column, multiply $3,700 by your total exemptions.
Estates, trusts, and Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ filers. Use
the exemption amount shown on your return.

Line 12
To compute the tax, use the Tax Table, Tax Computation
Worksheet, Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax
Worksheet, Schedule D Tax Worksheet, Foreign Earned
Income Tax Worksheet, Schedule J, or Form 8615, as
appropriate. See the instructions for your tax return for the
applicable Tax Table or worksheet.
Note. Chapter 4 of Pub. 505 contains a Qualified Dividends
and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet and a Foreign Earned Income
Tax Worksheet designed for use with Schedule AI.

If you use Schedule AI for any payment due date, you
must use it for all payment due dates.

CAUTION

To use the annualized income installment method to figure
the penalty, you must do all of the following.
1. Complete Schedule AI, Part I (and Part II, if necessary).
Enter the amounts from Schedule AI, Part I, line 25, columns
(a) through (d), in the corresponding columns of Form 2210,
Part IV, line 18.
2. Complete Part IV to figure the penalty. This includes
completing the Penalty Worksheet in the instructions.
3. Check box C in Part II.

Line 14
Enter all of the other taxes you owed because of events that
occurred during the months shown in the column headings.
Include the same taxes used to figure Form 2210, Part I, line 2
(except self-employment tax), plus the tax from Form 4972, Tax

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Instructions for Form 2210

• Form 4137: Include the actual unreported tips for the period

on Lump-Sum Distributions; Form 8814, Parents’ Election To
Report Child’s Interest and Dividends; and any alternative
minimum tax (AMT).
To figure the AMT, Form 1040 filers use Form 6251,
Alternative Minimum Tax — Individuals; Form 1040A filers use
the Alternative Minimum Tax Worksheet in the Form 1040A
instructions; and estates and trusts use Schedule I (Form
1041), Alternative Minimum Tax — Estates and Trusts. Figure
alternative minimum taxable income based on your income and
deductions during the periods shown in the column headings.
Multiply this amount by the annualization amounts shown for
each column on Schedule AI, line 2, before subtracting the AMT
exemption.

subject to social security tax. This will be the amount on Form
4137, line 10, when the form is completed for a specific period.
• Form 8919: Include the actual wages for the period from
which the social security tax was not withheld. This will be the
amount on Form 8919, line 10, when the form is completed for
a specific period.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information
on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United
States. You are required to give us the information. We need it
to ensure that you are complying with these laws and to allow
us to figure and collect the right amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the information requested on
a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless
the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or
records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as
long as their contents may become material in the
administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are confidential, as required by
section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated burden
for individual taxpayers filing this form is approved under OMB
control number 1545-0074 and is included in the estimates
shown in the instructions for their individual income tax return.
The estimated burden for all other taxpayers who file this form
is shown below.

Line 16
For each column, enter the credits you are entitled to because
of events that occurred during the months shown in the column
headings. These are the credits you used to arrive at the
amounts on lines 1 and 3 of Part I, Required Annual Payment.
When figuring your credits, annualize any item of income or
deduction used to figure each credit. For example, if your
earned income (and AGI) for the first period (column (a)) is
$8,000 and you qualify for the earned income credit (EIC), use
your annualized earned income ($32,000) to figure your EIC for
column (a). See the example under Completing Schedule AI in
chapter 4 of Pub. 505.

Part II—Annualized Self-Employment Tax
If you had net earnings from self-employment during any
period, complete Part II for that period to figure your annualized
self-employment tax.
If you are married and filing a joint return and both you and
your spouse had net earnings from self-employment, complete
a separate Part II for each spouse. Enter on line 13 of Schedule
AI, Part I, the combined amounts from line 34 of both Parts II.

Line 26
Generally, to figure your net earnings from self-employment on
line 26, multiply your net profit from all trades or businesses for
each period by 92.35% (.9235).
However, if your Form W-2 showed church employee
income or you deducted Conservation Reserve Program
payments on your Schedule SE, use a separate Schedule SE
as a worksheet to calculate net earnings from self-employment
for each period. For this purpose, net earnings from
self-employment is the amount on line 4 of the Short Schedule
SE or line 6 of the Long Schedule SE.

Regular
Method

Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13 min.

13 min.

Learning about the law or the form . . . . . .

15 min.

34 min.

Preparing the form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35 min.

4 hr. 1 min.

Copying, assembling, and sending the form
to the IRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16 min.

41 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time
estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we
would be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for the
tax return with which this form is filed.

Line 28
If you filed Form 4137 or Form 8919, use the following
instructions to figure the additional amount to include in the
appropriate columns of line 28.

Instructions for Form 2210

Short
Method

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