M15: Underpayment of Estimated Income Tax (2024)
Minnesota · Minnesota DOR · Used for tax years 2024
Minnesota Schedule M15 is used by individuals to determine whether they owe a penalty for underpaying estimated income tax for 2024. It calculates the required annual payment and any underpayment penalty to report on Form M1.
Who files this form
Use 2024 Schedule M15 to determine whether you owe a penalty for underpaying Minnesota estimated income tax. You may owe a penalty if you have $500 or more of Minnesota income tax due on 2024 income after subtracting withholding, estimated payments, and eligible refundable credits you claim.
You do not owe an underpayment penalty if all three apply:
- You had no Minnesota tax liability on line 17 of your 2023 Form M1.
- You were a Minnesota resident for all of 2023.
- Your 2023 return covered 12 months.
Farmers and commercial fishermen do not have to complete the schedule if they meet the special payment rules listed below. You qualify as a farmer or commercial fisherman if at least two-thirds of your annual gross income comes from farming or commercial fishing.
Do not complete Schedule M15 if the IRS does not require additional charges for underestimating federal tax because you are newly retired or disabled, or because of a casualty, disaster, or other unusual circumstances. Include a copy of your federal request with Form M1.
When it's due
For tax year 2024, the regular-method installment dates printed on Schedule M15 are:
- April 15, 2024
- June 17, 2024
- September 16, 2024
- January 15, 2025
Special rules for tax year 2024:
- Farmers and commercial fishermen: You do not have to complete Schedule M15 if you filed Form M1 and paid your entire income tax by March 1, 2025, or paid two-thirds of your income tax by January 15, 2025.
- Early filing and payment: If you filed your 2024 Minnesota return and paid the tax owed on or before January 31, 2025, you may treat the tax as paid on January 15, 2025.
- Penalty calculation: April 15, 2025, is the cutoff date used in the schedule's payment-date calculations for 2024.
What you'll need
Have these forms and payment details available:
- Your 2024 Form M1, including tax, withholding, and credit amounts.
- Your 2023 Form M1, if filed, for prior-year tax and any refund applied to 2024 estimated tax.
- Your 2023 federal Form 1040 for adjusted gross income on line 11. Nonresidents and part-year residents use adjusted gross income assignable to Minnesota.
- Amounts and dates of your 2024 estimated tax payments, including payments made in 2025.
If you use the annualized income installment method, you will also use Schedule AI of federal Form 2210 and Minnesota income, deduction, addition, and subtraction amounts for each period. Schedule M1MT provides instructions if Minnesota alternative minimum tax applies.
If you qualify for the IRS-related penalty exception, include a copy of your federal request with Form M1.
How to file
Include Schedule M15 with your Form M1.
Enter the penalty from Schedule M15 line 12 or line 22 on line 27 of your 2024 Form M1. If you owe tax on Form M1 line 26, add the penalty and replace line 26 with the total. If you have a refund on line 24, subtract the penalty and replace line 24 with the result.
The supplied text does not give a mailing address or e-filing instructions.
Common mistakes
- Continuing after a stop instruction: You owe no underpayment penalty if line 3 is less than $500, line 6 is no more than line 2, or optional short-method line 9 is zero or less.
- Using prior-year tax without checking the rules: If you did not file a 2023 return, or it did not cover 12 months, skip line 5 and enter line 4 on line 6. If your 2023 federal adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000, the line 5 instructions require 110% of your 2023 tax. Nonresidents and part-year residents use income assignable to Minnesota.
- Using the short method for early payments: The instructions warn that this produces a larger penalty than the regular method when a payment was made before its installment due date.
- Including other amounts on line 7: Enter only 2024 estimated tax payments made in 2024 and 2025.
- Annualizing only some installments: If you use the annualized income installment method for one payment due date, you must use it for all payment due dates.
- Carrying an overpayment forward before covering earlier shortages: Later-quarter overpayments must first cover previous underpayments.
Questions people ask
How much must I pay to avoid an underpayment penalty?
You must have sufficient withholding or timely estimated payments covering the lesser of 90% of your current-year original tax liability or 100% of your prior-year total tax liability. The current-year percentage is 66.7% for farmers and commercial fishermen. The prior-year percentage is 110% if your 2023 federal adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000. Nonresidents and part-year residents use income assignable to Minnesota and must have at least $1 of prior-year Minnesota tax liability to use the 100% rule.
Who can use the optional short method?
You may use it if you made no estimated payments, including when your only payments were Minnesota wage withholding, or if you paid 2024 estimated tax in four equal amounts on or before each installment due date. Otherwise, use the regular method.
What if my income varied during the year?
You may benefit from the annualized income installment method. Complete the worksheet on the back of Schedule M15 and use the method for all payment due dates.
How is withholding divided among payment periods?
Minnesota withholding is treated as paid evenly during the year unless you show otherwise. If you worked all year, divide the withholding amount by four and include that amount in each column.