If you have small business income or other income that you haven’t properly withheld taxes for, you need to make estimated tax payments to the IRS to avoid an ‘underwithholding penalty’ at the end of the year.
You are supposed to make these payments quarterly, by the 15th of the 3rd month of the quarter (e.g.: March 15th, June 15th, Sept 15th, Dec 15th.)
Either sign in if you already have an IRS ID.me account (I forget if you can use an id.me account associated with another government service: worth a try), or create one:
From here you can click ‘Make a Payment’, as well as view past payments (very helpful at tax time, but I would still recommend writing down all your estimated payments separately and putting that in your tax folder so that you remember at filing time.)
Enter your payment info:
Choose the bank account you want to pay from, including one you might have already linked. Then, hit ‘Submit’!
I print my confirmation just to be paranoid. Never trust the guv’ment! 🙂
Method 2 – No IRS account
First, go to the short url irs.gov/directpay, or directly to irs.gov/payments/direct-pay-with-bank-account:
Click ‘Pay Individual Tax’, then fill out the form as shown below (1040, Estimated Tax, and the current tax year, presumably):
Fill out all the identify verification stuff:
Fill out how much you want to pay, and make sure to check the email confirmation box. Separately, LOG WHAT YOU PAID and for what tax year, and file it in your tax folder so that you remember to enter it into your tax software to state that you withheld more. The IRS does NOT remind you of your estimated payment, so you’ll want to remember it at tax time!
Then, enter your name & social to digitally sign, and hit ‘Submit’. Success!
GRMS bands are fixed channels (frequencies) that can also be accessed via (unlicensed) handheld walkie-talkies (called the ‘FRS’, Family Radio System.) GRMS has it’s own ‘repeater’ (longer-range, for our purposes here) channels. Ham radio operators usually will have handsets, such as the Baofeng UV-5R+, that can access these frequencies as well, but you need to confirm whether you’re legally allowed to broadcast on them from whatever device you choose. You can get a GRMS-certified device to be safe.
Check your license for details on whether you’re allowed to broadcast, aka talk, on whichever radio bands you’re interested in. Anyone can listen without a license.
Why get a GRMS radio license?
For $35 for no test, you, your spouse, your kids, and even your grandparents are covered to broadcast on the GRMS frequencies. It could be a great way to keep in touch if cell service is ever out, and it’s a lot of fun! Note that all communications are required to be unencrypted, so assume anything you say over the airwaves can be heard by anyone else in range who happens to be listening in to that frequency.
If an authorized FCC representative request to inspect a GMRS station (this means anything GMRS: handheld, mobile unit, base units, etc), the operator must make the station and any station records available
No messages in connection with any activity that is against Federal, State, or local law
No false or deceptive messages
No coded messages with hidden meanings (“10 codes” are allowed)
No music, whistling, sound effects or material to amuse or entertain
No ads or offers for the sale of goods or services
No ads for political candidate or political campaign
No international distress signals (i.e. Mayday) unless in a vehicle in immediate danger
No communicating with stations in the Amateur Radio Service, any unauthorized station, or to any foreign station
No continuous or uninterrupted transmissions (unless communications have to do with the immediate safety of life or property)
No messages for public address systems
Must identify using FCC-assigned call sign at the end of transmissions and at periodic intervals during transmissions [BTF editor’s note: This is true for any family members operating under your GRMS license.]
How to get it (set aside 30 minutes to complete because the FCC website is so convoluted…)
Navigage to the FCC’s login page. Create an account if you don’t already have one. (Ham radio operators can login with their existing credentials.)
Select ‘Register a new FRN’:
Mark ‘individual’, assuming you are registering as one:
If you’ve been licensed by the FCC before for something else (i.e.: ham radio): Agree that you’re creating another one for your same social security number.
Once you get your new FRN number– WRITE IT DOWN (you’ll need it later! If you forgot to, login on a separate tab and navigate to ‘Manager FRNs’ to see the ones associated with your FCC CORES profile)–click ‘ULS’ to continue at the bottom of the page:
If you receive an error like the one below, try hitting the ‘back’ button on your browser and trying again to click the ‘ULS License Manager’ (worked for me):
Scroll all the way down in the list to ZA – GRMS, and ‘Continue’:
Leave the questions as ‘No’ and fill out your name & address (again…)
Answer ‘no’ to the felony question. (Not sure what happens if you have to say yes. Google it!)
‘Continue to Certify’ > ‘Submit Application’ after adding your name once more. ‘Continue to CORES for Payment’, then (amazingly), you have to re-login AGAIN and figure out how to pay:
Click ‘FRN Financial’:
‘View/make payments’ next to your GRMS FRN number to the right:
‘Make payment’:
Choose your GRMS FRN, and link your bank account or credit card to pay!
Finally, you did it! Now kick back and wait for the FCC to email your license & call sign info. Use that call sign when transmitting on GRMS bands.
What radio to use?
Baofeng is the prepper/cheapo choice for ham enthusiasts, and it looks like they make GRMS-certified versions of their ‘standard’ UV handset. That said, these will be extremely limited IF you also plan on getting or have your ham license. It appears that the broad-based ham Baofengs (ex: UV-5R+) WOULD work just find and be compliant with the requirements for GRMS EXCEPT they are NOT actually certified, and thus aren’t legal to use per the FCC’s rules (part 95E certification.) (Disclaimer: not a lawyer!) Instead, you would need a Baofeng UV-5G+ or similar (‘G’ seems to be their ‘GRMS-certified’ clue for all models.)
Warning: Last updated 3/26/2026: This information is preliminary and will be updated later as the IRS guidance on Trump Accounts develops.
Starting around July 2026, Americans have another tax-advantaged savings account to take advantage of: Trump Accounts, known in the tax code as 530A accounts. If your child was born between 2025 – 2028, you will also get $1,000 tax-free from the Federal government. Sign up all your kids online at https://form.trumpaccounts.gov, where you electronically submit the enrollment IRS Form 4547. Submit more than one form if you’re opening accounts for more than 2 kids.
Parents can fund them while the child is 0 – 17 (by year end.) Once the child is 18, the account can become a Traditional IRA owned & managed by the (now adult) child.
Why open a Trump Account?
If your child was born 2025 – 2028, it’s worth it just to get the $1,000. Your employer might contribute as well in the future.
Most contribution sources, including friends, family, and employers, are capped at a combined annual limit of $5,000 in 2026, indexed to inflation. The $1 K Federal seed money and certain qualified non-profit contributions won’t count towards the annual limit.
If your employer offers payroll contributions (up to an IRS max of $2,500 per employee, regardless of how many children the employee has; you can split up the amount by child), you can contribute pre-tax as well, just like your 401k, which you should definitely do if you have the cash to invest and want it to go to your kid(s).
Anyone else could also contribute, including you as the parent outside of your employer, but on an after-tax basis, which is not nearly so enticing as pre-tax payroll deductions. Generally, you’d be better off using a UTMA/529 or your own taxable brokerage instead of an after-tax Trump account contribution.
Make sure to keep track of the account’s cost basis over time for your child if you make non-deductible/after-tax contributions.
At 18, Trump Accounts are supposed to behave like Traditional IRAs, at which point you should be able to either convert them entirely to Roth IRAs, perhaps over a period of a few years while your child has low earned income.
Or, if your child gets a 401k, they can isolate the basis and convert just the after-tax basis of the Trump Account to Roth IRA, and simultaneously move the pre-tax amounts to their 401k. This is the best option for most folks.
What investments can you choose?
Investments will be low-fee (< 0.1%) index funds. That’s all I know as of early 2026.
How will Trump Accounts be taxed?
Like Traditional IRAs, apparently. Your child gets control of them at 18–they are ‘locked’ prior to then, only open for contributions & investing, not withdrawals– and could use the funds for education or a first-time home purchase (standard IRA exceptions), paying just regular income taxes (which might be low depending on their tax bracket), and no 10% penalty that a regular withdrawal for an unqualified purpose would incur.
“Withdrawals of pre-tax contributions and earnings (on both pre-tax and after-tax contributions) taken between ages 18 and 59 ½ will be subject to ordinary income tax. In most cases, a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty will also apply.
However, the 10 percent penalty may be waived for qualified expenses, such as higher education costs or a first-time home purchase.
Although after-tax contributions may be withdrawn without additional income tax, distributions must be taken proportionally. This means the account holder cannot withdraw only after-tax contributions; each distribution will consist of both taxable and non-taxable amounts. [WW: ‘Cream in the coffee’ rules. Credit to Ed Slott.]
After age 18, Roth conversions are permitted. This strategy may allow after-tax funds to grow tax-free in the future, depending on individual circumstances. Normal distribution rules apply once the child reaches age 59 ½.”
In general, your student should try to fund any education you can’t pay for from 529s, income etc from the lowest interest rate loan available to the highest. The ordering below usually matches that, but make sure to compare each source of available financing.
FAFSA student loans– especially the subsidized ones which don’t begin to accrue interest until you graduate– are almost certainly going to be the best. This is even more true given their historically generous repayment options like ‘Income-Driven Repayment’ as well as public service loan forgiveness, which effectively allow the student to pay less than the stated interest rate. There’s also the chance that a future administration will forgive loans in some way.
Parent Plus loans may be cheaper than private loan options, which parents may have to co-sign (be liable for) anyway. Make sure to see if the (private) school itself offers student loans, and under what terms.
Should you just go to a cheaper school?
If your income/529 plan savings + FAFSA student loans won’t cover the costs of your little Einstein’s 4-year degree, strongly consider going to a cheaper school. Quality in-state, public schools offer a terrific value compared to, say, small liberal arts colleges. Unless you’re doing to a Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, etc, is anyone really going to care about the name brand of your school? Are you really going to increase your earning power or other life satisfaction but such an incredible amount to justify paying, say, $80,000 a year for a small, liberal arts college vs $40,000 for a good state school?
Wouldn’t you rather have (1) an English degree with State U with no debt vs (2) an English degree from Fancy Pants Superior U with $200,000 in debt?
Earnings potential is largely driven by the student themselves, not where they go to school. Expensive schools are usually ranked highly not because they make students smarter, but because the students are smarter to begin with. You need to determine how much your college experience will add to YOUR life, not just the average quality of the students.
Sure, if you want to be CEO of Megahyperglobalcorp (Ticker: EVIL) or a US Senator, go to Harvard or Yale if you can get in. If you just want to be in middle management, or get hired as a crack software engineer by a FAANG firm, any school with a decent business, or computer science program, will do.
Undergrad loan for dependent students
FAFSA student loans, subsidized + unsubsized ($5,500 /year 1st year, $6.5 K 2nd, $7.5 K 3+ for lifetime total of $31 K, or $26 K if your student finishes in 4 years) 6.39% as of March 2026.
Parent Plus loans: $20 K per year max and $65 K lifetime cap (previously unlimited) for new loans after July 1st, 2026 per the OBBB act. 9% as of March 2026. They are also no longer eligible for income-drive repayment past the July 1st, 2026 deadline.
Private student loans from a 3rd party bank: rate dependent on credit score of the student or parents.
Selling a kidney.
Graduate loans for dependent students
Similar ordering list as above for Undergrad, but with different limits.
Gaming the system on subsidized loans
If you have loans that don’t accrue interest until the student graduates, you can play the game of (1) taking out the max in subsidized (or low interest) loans, (2) investing the funds you WOULD have used to pay college in investments (you SHOULD be spending your 529 funds, however, so this assumes your taxable brokerage or income) then (3) re-paying the student loans after graduation around the time the interest starts to accrue, using (2) to pay off (1).
Keep in mind that if you’re investing in anything risky, like stocks, you could lose money via a market downturn during college vs just using that money to pay tuition. The risk-free method would be to invest in bonds or high-yield cash during college, eking out a smaller, but ‘guaranteed’ return over, say, 4 years of undergrad on ~$18 K of subsidized FAFSA loans (at 3%, you might earn a few hundred bucks. Not really a huge reward, but if you like to take advantage of a Federal tax system that privileges the shrewd upper-middle class, go for it.)
Can you use Direct Loans for international degrees or study abroad?
Yes, IF your school is on this list AND noted as ‘Eligible’, then you can take out new loans to pay for education there. If they are on the list with ‘Deferment Only’ as the status, you can only defer payments on old loans (from a prior institution), but can’t take out loans for that institution: https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/international-schools-in-federal-loan-programs.pdf (Updated quarterly, so check back as needed!)
