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Qalm is a quarterly tax estimation tool for people with multiple income streams — W-2 salary, freelance or 1099 income, gig economy earnings, and rental property revenue. It calculates all your income streams together (the way the IRS actually taxes you) and shows your estimated federal and state tax, quarterly payment amount, and set-aside rate. Qalm is built by a CPA and provides estimates for tax planning purposes — it is not a tax filing or tax preparation product.

Qalm’s tax engine is CPA-verified and tested against 500,000+ scenarios covering every combination of filing status, income level, income type, and state. The engine uses 2025 federal brackets, standard deductions, self-employment tax rates, and real state brackets for the top 15 states. That said, individual tax situations involve factors that no calculator captures (Alternative Minimum Tax, specific credits, itemized deductions, foreign income). Qalm provides well-informed estimates, and we always recommend verifying with a tax professional before making tax decisions.

No. The core calculators — combined income calculator, AI instant estimator, S-Corp comparison, and short-term rental calculator — are completely free and require no account. You only need an account if you want to save your estimates, track income over time, or access paid features like quarterly reminders and scenario modeling.

To run your first estimate, you’ll need your approximate annual figures for each income source: W-2 salary (gross, before deductions), freelance or 1099 income, business expenses, gig economy earnings, and rental property details (if applicable). You’ll also need your filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, or Head of Household) and your state of residence. Exact numbers aren’t required — reasonable estimates produce useful results.

All 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The top 15 states (CA, NY, NJ, IL, PA, NC, MA, CO, GA, VA, AZ, OH, TX, FL, WA) use real tax bracket data. The 7 no-income-tax states (AK, FL, NV, SD, TX, WA, WY) correctly show $0 in state tax. States with limited taxes (NH and TN) are handled according to their specific rules. Remaining states use CPA-verified simplified effective rates.

Enter your income from each source — W-2 salary, freelance/1099, gig earnings, and rental property — along with your filing status and state. Qalm combines all income streams into one calculation, applying federal tax brackets progressively across your total income, calculating self-employment tax on qualifying self-employment income, computing state taxes, and determining your total liability. The result shows your estimated total tax, quarterly payment amount, effective rate, and the set-aside percentage you should save from each freelance or gig payment.

Self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of your net self-employment income. It covers Social Security (12.4%) and Medicare (2.9%) — the same taxes that W-2 employees and their employers each pay half of. As a self-employed person, you pay both halves. The good news: half of your SE tax is deductible from your adjusted gross income, which reduces your income tax. SE tax applies to freelance, 1099, gig, and active business income — it generally does not apply to passive rental income.

The S-Corp comparison tool calculates your tax as a sole proprietor (paying SE tax on all net business income) versus as an S-Corp (paying SE tax only on a "reasonable salary," with remaining income taken as distributions). It shows the SE tax savings alongside estimated compliance costs — payroll processing, additional tax return preparation, and administration. This helps you see whether the savings outweigh the costs at your income level. The tool always includes a caveat that "reasonable salary" determination requires professional review.

Under Section 280A of the Internal Revenue Code, if you rent out your home or any dwelling unit you also use personally for 14 days or fewer per year, the rental income is completely tax-free — you don’t even report it on your tax return. There’s no income limit. If you rent for 15 or more days, all rental income becomes taxable (though expenses also become deductible). Qalm’s short-term rental calculator automatically detects whether you’re within the 14-day threshold and adjusts the calculation accordingly.

Your tax bracket (marginal rate) is the rate applied to your last dollar of income. Your effective rate is the average rate across all your income. Because the U.S. tax system is progressive — the first dollars you earn are taxed at lower rates — your effective rate is always lower than your bracket. For example, a single filer earning $100,000 is in the 24% bracket but pays an effective federal rate of approximately 17%. Qalm shows both numbers so you understand the difference.

Qalm calculates your total estimated annual tax (federal + state + self-employment tax), subtracts your expected W-2 withholding, and divides the remaining amount by four. That’s your quarterly estimated payment. The four deadlines are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. If any deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it shifts to the next business day.

Everything you need for a one-time tax estimate: the combined multi-income calculator (W-2 + freelance + gig + rental), the AI instant estimator, the S-Corp comparison tool, the short-term rental calculator with 14-day rule detection, plain-English AI summaries, all 50 states, all 4 filing statuses, your set-aside rate, quarterly payment amounts, and deadline dates. No account required.

Qalm Pro adds: saved estimates and a dashboard to track changes over time, quarterly email reminders with your exact payment amount and an IRS Direct Pay link, scenario modeling (what if your income changes, you move states, or you make a major purchase), "Ask Qalm" conversational AI that answers questions using your real numbers, multi-property short-term rental portfolio tracking, and shareable tax snapshot cards.

Click "Upgrade" in your dashboard or visit qalmtax.com/pricing. Choose Monthly ($20/month, cancel anytime) or Annual ($99/year, 14-day money-back guarantee). Payment is processed securely through Stripe. Pro features activate immediately after payment.

Go to Settings > Subscription in your dashboard and click "Cancel subscription." Monthly plans cancel at the end of the current billing period — you keep access until then. Annual plans can be cancelled anytime, but refunds are only available within the first 14 days. After cancellation, your account reverts to the free tier and you keep access to any saved estimates (read-only).

Monthly plans: No refunds, but you can cancel anytime and your subscription ends at the next billing date. Annual plans: Full refund within 14 days of purchase, no questions asked. To request a refund, email help@qalmtax.com with your account email address. Refunds are processed within 5-7 business days through Stripe.

Go to Settings > Account > Delete Account. This permanently deletes your account, all saved estimates, and all personal data within 48 hours. This action cannot be undone. If you have an active subscription, it will be cancelled automatically. You can also request account deletion by emailing help@qalmtax.com.

Yes. Your data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (Supabase encryption). We use Row Level Security on every database table, meaning your data is only accessible to your authenticated session — not even our team can see your individual income data in the normal course of operations. We do not sell, share, or monetize your data. Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe — we never see or store your credit card number.

The IRS quarterly estimated tax payment deadlines for 2025 are: Q1 — April 15, 2025; Q2 — June 15, 2025; Q3 — September 15, 2025; Q4 — January 15, 2026. If a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, it moves to the next business day. Most states follow the same schedule, though a few have different dates — check your state’s department of revenue website.

The easiest method is IRS Direct Pay at irs.gov/directpay. Select "Estimated Tax" as the reason for payment, choose "1040-ES" as the form, enter the tax year (2025), and pay directly from your bank account. The process takes about 5 minutes and you get an immediate confirmation number. You can also pay via the IRS2Go mobile app, EFTPS.gov (requires enrollment), or by mailing a check with Form 1040-ES voucher.

The IRS charges an underpayment penalty, which is essentially interest on the amount you should have paid, calculated using the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points. The penalty accrues from the payment deadline until you pay. Missing one quarter is a relatively small penalty — missing all four adds up. The best approach: make the payment as soon as possible and catch up on future quarters. Use our free penalty calculator at qalmtax.com/penalty-calculator to estimate your penalty.

If your W-2 withholding covers your entire tax liability including the tax on side income, you don’t need to make separate quarterly payments. However, if you have significant freelance, gig, or rental income that creates a gap between what your employer withholds and what you actually owe, you likely need to pay quarterly. The general rule: if you expect to owe $1,000 or more at tax time beyond your W-2 withholding, quarterly payments are required.

Use Qalm’s combined calculator to estimate your total tax, then compare it to your expected W-2 withholding. If the gap is $1,000 or more, you should make quarterly payments. Situations that commonly require quarterly payments: freelance or 1099 income of $5,000+ per year, significant gig economy earnings, rental property income, investment income not subject to withholding.

The safe harbor rule protects you from underpayment penalties: if your total payments (W-2 withholding + estimated payments) equal at least 100% of last year’s total tax, you won’t owe a penalty — even if you actually owe more at filing time. If your AGI last year was over $150,000 ($75,000 if Married Filing Separately), the threshold increases to 110% of last year’s tax.

A few common reasons: your estimate may seem high if you’re not accounting for the stacking effect (side income is taxed at your highest marginal rate) or self-employment tax (15.3% on freelance/gig income). It may seem low if you have additional income sources not entered, if you itemize deductions that significantly exceed the standard deduction, or if credits apply. For the most accurate result, enter all income sources and double-check your filing status. If you believe there’s a calculation error, please email help@qalmtax.com.

First, check that you’re using the email address associated with your Qalm account. Try the "Forgot password" link on the login page to receive a reset email. If you don’t receive the reset email within a few minutes, check your spam/junk folder. If you signed up using Google or another social login, use the same method to log in. If none of these resolve the issue, contact help@qalmtax.com.

This usually means the payment didn’t process successfully. Check your email for a payment failure notification from Stripe. Go to Settings > Subscription to see your subscription status and update your payment method if needed. If your payment went through but Pro features aren’t active, try logging out and back in. If the issue persists, email help@qalmtax.com.

Try refreshing the page (Ctrl+R or Cmd+R). If that doesn’t work, clear your browser cache and cookies for qalmtax.com. The calculator works best on recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you’re using a browser extension that blocks JavaScript, try disabling it for qalmtax.com. If the problem continues, email help@qalmtax.com.

No. Qalm is a tax estimation and planning tool. It helps you understand how much you owe in quarterly estimated taxes throughout the year. For tax filing, you’ll need a tax preparation product (TurboTax, H&R Block, TaxAct, etc.) or a CPA/tax preparer.

No. Qalm is a software product, not a professional services engagement. No CPA-client, attorney-client, or advisory relationship is formed by using Qalm. While the tax engine is CPA-verified, the results are automated calculations — not personalized professional advice.

Qalm estimates individual income taxes, including self-employment tax on business income that flows through to your personal return (sole proprietorships/Schedule C). It does not handle corporate tax returns (Form 1120), partnership returns (Form 1065), or trust/estate taxes.

Qalm currently uses 2025 tax rates, brackets, standard deductions, and Social Security wage base. These are updated each January when the IRS publishes new figures for the coming tax year.

Free users can print or screenshot their results. Qalm Pro users get shareable tax snapshot cards — formatted cards showing key numbers that you can share on social media or with your CPA, financial advisor, or accountability partner.

Email help@qalmtax.com. We respond to all inquiries within 24 hours on business days. For account-specific issues, include the email address associated with your Qalm account.

Common deductions include: mileage ($0.70/mile for 2025), phone and data plan (business portion), hot bags and delivery equipment, car phone mount, parking and tolls, vehicle inspection fees, car cleaning, and safety gear. Every dollar deducted saves roughly $0.30-$0.40 in combined taxes.

Use a mileage tracking app (Stride, Everlance, or MileIQ) that records trips automatically via GPS. Deductible miles start when you turn the app on — including miles waiting for orders, driving to pickup, and between deliveries. Keep a log with date, mileage, and purpose.

Not directly alongside the standard mileage rate. The $0.70/mile rate already includes depreciation, gas, insurance, and maintenance. If you use actual expenses method instead, you can deduct a proportional share of car costs — but you cannot use both methods.

Deduct the business-use percentage of your phone bill. If 60% of use is for gig work and your bill is $100/month, deduct $720/year. Same applies to home internet if you use it for platform management.

CP14 is a balance due notice — the IRS is saying you owe money from a prior year. Don't panic. Review the amount, compare it to your records, and if correct, pay via IRS Direct Pay. If incorrect, respond by the date on the notice with supporting documentation.

These are escalating reminder notices for unpaid balances. CP501 is the first reminder, CP503 is the second, and CP504 is the final notice before potential collection action. Pay what you can immediately and set up an installment plan if needed at irs.gov/opa.

This means the income reported on your 1099-K doesn't match what you reported. Remember: 1099-K shows GROSS payments including refunds and platform fees. Your actual income (reported on Schedule C) is the net amount after deducting platform fees and returns.

If the letter has a phone number, you can call for clarification. Have the notice, your tax return, and supporting documents ready. For balance due notices, you can often resolve everything online at irs.gov without calling.

File your return on time even if you can't pay — the failure-to-file penalty (5%/month) is much worse than failure-to-pay (0.5%/month). Pay what you can now via IRS Direct Pay, then set up a payment plan.

Go to irs.gov/opa for online setup. Short-term plan (up to 180 days, no setup fee online) or long-term installment agreement (monthly payments, $22-$107 setup fee). Most people with balances under $50,000 can apply online.

An Offer in Compromise lets you settle your tax debt for less than the full amount. The IRS only accepts these when they believe it's the most they can realistically collect. For most people behind on quarterly payments, an installment plan is the better path.

File Form 4868 by the April 15 deadline. This gives you six extra months to file your return (until October 15). You can file electronically through most tax software or via IRS Free File.

No. An extension to file is NOT an extension to pay. The IRS expects payment by the original April 15 deadline regardless of whether you've filed an extension. Interest and penalties accrue on any unpaid balance after the due date.

Make your best estimate and pay what you can with the extension request. If you overpay, you'll get a refund. If you underpay, you'll owe the difference plus interest when you file — but the interest is much less than the failure-to-file penalty.