You might not like paying taxes, but when you pay taxes via credit card can be quite rewarding. The key is to earn credit card rewards that more than offset tax payment fees. For example, if you’ve signed up recently for a card that requires large spend to get a big welcome bonus, paying taxes via credit card can be the solution.
Here’s everything you need to know about paying taxes with credit cards…
Important due dates
(all online payment dates from Pay1040.com)
2023 Tax Year Due Dates
- January 16th, 2024: 4th Quarter 2023 estimated taxes due.
(Payable online from 10/15/23 – 2/1/24)
2024 Tax Year Due Dates
- April 15th, 2024: 1st Quarter 2024 estimated taxes due.
(Payable online from 3/1/2024 – 5/15/2024) - June 17th, 2024: 2nd Quarter 2024 estimated taxes due.
(Payable online from 5/15/2024 – 7/15/2024) - September 16th, 2024: 3rd Quarter 2024 estimated taxes due.
(Payable online from 7/15/2024 – 10/15/2024) - January 15th, 2025: 4th Quarter 2024 estimated taxes due.
(Payable online from 10/15/24 – 2/1/25)
5 reasons to pay federal taxes with a credit card or gift card
1. Profit w/ a 3% Cash Back card
A number of credit cards earn cash rewards greater than 2%. Some even earn 3% cash back:
- The new/updated Paypal Mastercard will earn 3% cash back on all PayPal purchases. Details here. This approach will work only with the services that allow payment through PayPal.
- The Discover It Miles card earns 3% for the first year of card membership (you earn 1.5% and then at the end of the year all cash back earned is doubled).
Since you’ll earn 3% cash back on both the base tax payment and the processing fees with the above cards, your profit will be slightly more than 1% of your tax payment.
Example:
- $10,000 tax payment + 1.96% fee = $10,196
- Cash back earned at 3% = $305.88
- Profit = $305.88 – $196 = $109.88 (1.1% of $10K)
For more examples of cards that earn better than 2% rewards, see: Best Rewards for Everyday Spend.
2. Meet minimum spend requirements
If you recently signed up for new credit cards, chances are good that you have to spend thousands of dollars in order to earn the associated signup bonuses. Paying taxes is a cheap and easy way to accomplish that.
Below are some of the most valuable current welcome bonuses for consumer cards. If you’re interested in business cards, please click here to see the best business card offers.
Click on a card for details; Press “Next” to see more offers:
Card Offer
(Offer Expires 4/17/2024)$550 Annual FeeInformation about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
(Offer Expires 5/22/2024)$250 Annual FeeInformation about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.Recent better offer: 90K after $6K in the first 6 months + 20% back at restaurants for the first 12 months up to $250 back [Expired 6/8/22]
(Offer Expires 5/1/2024)$650 Annual FeeRecent better offer: None. this is the best that we've seen.
(Offer Expires 5/1/2024)$250 Annual FeeRecent better offer: None. this is the best that we've seen.
(Offer Expires 4/17/2024)$150 Annual FeeRecent better offer: 130K + free night certificate after $2K spend in 3 months [Expired 7/19/23]
(Offer Expires 5/3/2024)$450 Annual FeeInformation about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
(Offer Expires 4/17/2024)No Annual FeeRecent better offer: 70K + free night certificate after $2K spend in 3 months. [Expired 7/19/23]
within 90 days of account opening. No Annual Fee
(Offer Expires 4/30/2024)No Annual Fee
![](http://cdn.nextinsure.com/imaging/opt/0fb236dd-aecb-49ed-9f28-94aaf0efd9a2.png?w=300" alt="Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card" />)
![](http://cdn.nextinsure.com/imaging/opt/47dd49f9-d80b-4251-aa8e-2fbf313e6402.jpg?w=300" alt="Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card" />)
3. Buy points cheaply
Several credit cards offer up to 1.5 transferable points or miles per dollar. In these cases, a 2% tax payment fee (rounding up a little) means that you can essentially buy miles for 1.3 cents each. Even better, some cards earn 2 transferable points per dollar for all qualifying purchases. With these 2X everywhere cards you can essentially buy points/miles for 1 cent each. Either way, if you plan to use your points toward high value awards, this is a cheap way to acquire those points.
2X Example:
- $10,000 tax payment + 2% fee = $10,200
- Miles earned at 2X = 20,400
- Cost per mile = $200 / 20,400 = 0.98 cents per mile (round up to 1 cent per mile)
1.5X Example:
- $10,000 tax payment + 2% fee = $10,200
- Miles earned at 1.5X = 15,300
- Cost per mile = $200 / 15,300 = 1.3 cents per mile
Cards that offer 2X transferable points per dollar:
Note that some cards offering 2x everywhere are not included below because their points are worth much less than airline miles. An example is that most Marriott cards offer 2x everywhere rewards.
- Citi Double Cash: Earns 2 cents per dollar, uncapped. Cash rewards can be converted to ThankYou points, and when paired with a Citi Premier or Prestige card, those points can be transferred to a selection of airline and hotel programs.
Card Offer and Details 20K points ⓘ Affiliate$200 cash back after spending $1.5K in first six months. Note: $200 is awarded as 20,000 Citi ThankYou points.No Annual FeeFM Mini Review: 2X rewards for all spend with no annual fee makes this card a winner. Earn 2X everywhere and redeem for the equivalent of 2% cash back or 2X ThankYou points. Pair with the Premier or Prestige card to make points transferrable to airlines. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: 2% cash back everywhere (1% cash back for each purchase + 1% when paying your credit card bill for that purchase). ✦ For a limited time: Earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel portal through 12/31/24.Base: 2X (2.9%)Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.Noteworthy perks: 1X when you make a purchase + 1X when you pay for those purchasesSee also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide - Amex Blue Business Plus: Earns 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar on up to $50K spend per calendar year. Points can be transferred to a large selection of airline programs or to a few hotel programs.
Card Offer and Details 15K points + 0% APR for 12 months ⓘ Affiliate15k points after $3k spend within the first 3 months + 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 18.49% - 26.49%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors at account opening. (Rates & Fees)No Annual FeeAlternate Offer: Some people have been targeted for an offer in their online account for 75K points after $15K in purchases in their first 12 months.FM Mini Review: 2X rewards for all spend (up to $50K per year) with no annual fee makes this card a winner. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: 2X Membership Rewards points on all purchases, up to $50K spend per calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)Base: 2X (3.1%)Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. - Capital One Venture, Venture X, or Spark Miles. Capital One offers three cards that earn 2X “Miles” per dollar on all qualifying spend. These “miles” can be transferred to airline miles & hotel points, usually at a 1 to 1 rate. This means that the following cards are capable of earning 2X miles everywhere:
Card Offer and Details 75K Miles + up to $200 in statement credits ⓘ Non-AffiliateEarn 75,000 bonus miles after $4K spend in 3 months + up to $200 in statement credits when you make an Avelo purchase in your first year + priority boarding on Avelo flights for the first year. (Rates & Fees)$95 Annual FeeAlternate Offer: Airport Kiosk offer of 80K miles after $4K spend in the first 3 months See this post for details.Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.FM Mini Review: This card earns 2 "miles" per dollar, which are worth exactly 1 cent each toward travel. This makes the return on spend similar to a 2% cash back card (though in this case you must redeem your miles to offset travel in order to get 1 cent per mile). One big advantage over cash back: Capital One allows transfering their "miles" to airline miles & hotel points. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: 2X miles everywhere ✦ 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One TravelCard Info: Visa Signature issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.Noteworthy perks: Receive up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® ✦ Redeem miles for travel at value of 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points ✦ No foreign transaction fees75K Miles ⓘ Affiliate75k miles after $4k spend within first 3 months. (Rates & Fees)$395 Annual FeeRecent better offer: Expired 3/14/22: 100K after $10K spend in 6 months + $200 credit for vacation rental spend in first yearFM Mini Review: This card offers annual rebates that easily mitigate the fee for those who travel often. Authorized users are free and also get access to perks like Priority Pass, Capital One Lounges, Plaza Premium lounges, and more. The card earns 2 "miles" per dollar on most purchases just like the Capital One Venture Rewards card, which are worth exactly 1 cent each toward travel. This makes the return on most spend similar to a 2% cash back card (though in this case you must redeem your miles to offset travel in order to get 1 cent per mile). One huge advantage over cash back: Capital One allows transfering their "miles" to airline miles & hotel points. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel ✦ 5x miles on flights booked via Capital One travel. ✦ 2X miles everywhere else.Card Info: Visa Infinite issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.Noteworthy perks: $300 annual credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel ✦ 10,000 bonus miles each year starting at first anniversary ✦ Up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® ✦ Capital One Lounge access ✦ Priority Pass membership w/ unlimited guests (lounges only) ✦ Plaza Premium lounge access ✦ Cell phone insurance ✦ Trip insurance ✦ Primary CDW coverage ✦ Redeem miles for travel at value of 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points50K Miles ⓘ AffiliateEarn a one-time 50K miles bonus when you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months. (Rates & Fees)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95Note: Most Capital One Business credit cards (including this one) DO count against Chase's 5/24 RuleFM Mini Review: This card is similar to the Spark Cash Plus card, but it has the advantage that "miles" earned with this card can be transferred to a large number of airline & hotel programs.Earning rate: 2X Miles everywhere ✦ Earn 5X miles on hotel and rental car
bookings through Capital One TravelBase: 2X (2.9%)Card Info: Mastercard issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.Noteworthy perks: Redeem miles for travel at value of 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points ✦ No foreign transaction fees ✦ Up to $100 fee credit for TSA Pre✓® application fee or Global Entry application fee
Cards that offer 1.5X points or airline miles per dollar:
- Chase Ultimate Rewards. Two no-fee cards in Chase’s lineup earn 1.5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar for all spend. Pair either one with a premium card (e.g. Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, Ink Business Preferred) to transfer points to several airline or hotel programs:
Card Offer and Details Up to 30K points / $300 cash back ⓘ AffiliateEarn an additional 1.5% on all purchases (up to $20K spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back.No Annual FeeThis card is likely subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details).Recent better offer: Unlimited Double Cash Back for 12 month (expired 1/11/24)FM Mini Review: Great for 3x categories and 1.5X everywhere else. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase Travel℠ ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x drugstores ✦ 1.5X everywhere elseCard Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ✦ $10 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 3 months free Instacart+See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide75K points ⓘ Affiliate75K after $6K spend in 3 monthsNo Annual FeeAlternate Offer: You may be able to get an offer of 120,000 points after $6,000 in purchases via a Business Relationship Manager.Recent better offer: 90K after $6K spend in 6 monthd (expired 1/17/24)FM Mini Review: Great welcome bonus for a fee-free card. Good option for earning 1.5X everywhere. Good companion card to Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: 1.5X on all purchases ✦ 5X Lyft through through March 2025Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide - Amex Membership Rewards. Amex offers two cards that are capable of earning up to 1.5X. In either case, points can be transferred to a large selection of airline programs or to a few hotel programs. Note that the Everyday Preferred card requires 30 charges per billing cycle to earn 1.5x, and the Business Platinum card requires purchases of $5K or more to earn 1.5x when paying taxes. Important: The tax payment and tax payment fee will be charged separately and so the tax payment alone must be $5,000 or more in order to earn 1.5x rewards.
Card Offer and Details 150K points ⓘ Friend-Referral150K points after $15K spend in the first 3 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$695 Annual FeeAlternate Offer: Targeted online offer of 170K points after $15K spend in the first 3 months See this post for details.Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.FM Mini Review: This card is absolutely loaded with high end perks. Depending upon your situation, those perks may be worth the annual fee or much more. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: 5X flights and prepaid hotels at AmexTravel.com ✦ 1.5X points per dollar on eligible purchases of $5000 or more (on up to $2 million of those purchases per year) ✦ 1.5x on US construction/hardware stores, US electronic goods, and US shipping ✦ 1X elsewhere ✦ Terms apply.Card Info: Amex Pay Over Time Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.Noteworthy perks: Select one qualifying airline and receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for qualifying charges ✦ Up to $400 a year in statement credits for Dell purchases ($200, twice-yearly) ✦ Up to $120 in wireless services credits per year ($10 per month) ✦ $100 Global Entry fee reimbursement.✦ Priority Pass membership (Lounges only) with 2 guests and other airport lounge benefits (Centurion and Delta) ✦ Rental car elite status ✦ Marriott Gold status ✦ Hilton Gold status. ✦ $189 CLEAR fee reimbursement annually ✦ 35% Airline Bonus: Get 35% points back after you Pay With Points for flights with your selected airline (or premium cabin with any airline). Enrollment required for select benefitsSee also: Amex Platinum Guide15K Points ⓘ Friend-Referral15K after $1K spend in 3 months. Terms apply.$95 Annual FeeAlternate Offer: Some people click through and find that they are targeted for an offer of 30K points after $2K spend in 3 months.Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.Recent better offer: 30K after $2K in first 3 monthsFM Mini Review: Thanks to the 50% bonus on points earned, this is, in my opinion, one of the strongest mile-earning cards available. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: ✦ 3x points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x) ✦ 2x points at US gas stations ✦ 1x points on other purchases.Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.Noteworthy perks: Earn 50% more points: Use your Card 30 or more times on purchases in a billing period and get 50% more points on those purchases less returns and credits. Terms apply. See Rates & Fees - Airline miles. A few airline branded cards offer 1.5 miles per dollar for all spend:
Card Offer and Details Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.Earning rate: 3X Virgin Atlantic ✦ 1.5X everywhere elseCard Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by BOA. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.Big spend bonus: Companion award ticket with $25K annual spend ✦ 7,500 bonus points with $15K cardmember year spend + an additional 7,500 points with $25K cardmember year spend ✦ 25 tier points towards elite status per $2,500 spend (max 50 tier points per month).70K miles + 100XP ⓘ Non-Affiliate70K miles + 40 XP after $3K in the first 90 days + 60 XP upon approval$89 Annual FeeAlternate Offer: Going through the steps to make a dummy booking at the Air France website may result in an offer that also includes a $100 statement credit.Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.Recent better offer: 70K miles + 100XP points [Expired 9/23]FM Mini Review: Valuable primarily only for the welcome offer, then it should go off to the sock drawer unless you're interested in Flying Blue elite status. Click here for our complete card reviewEarning rate: 3X on Air France, KLM, and SkyTeam purchases ✦ 1.5X everywhere elseCard Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by BOA. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.Big spend bonus: 5K after anniversary when you spend $50 or more the previous year ✦ 40XP points towards status after anniversary when you spend $15K or more the previous yearNoteworthy perks: 20 Experience Points every year; Miles don't expire as long as you make a purchase once every 2 years.
4. Earn valuable big spend bonuses: elite status, free nights, companion pass, etc.
Many credit cards offer bonuses for meeting high spend thresholds. You can find a comprehensive list here: Best big spend bonuses. Here are a few examples:
- Southwest Plus, Southwest Premier, or Southwest Business: With Southwest cards, when you earn 135,000 points in a calendar year (including points earned from credit card spend) you get a companion pass good for an unlimited number of flights for the rest of that year and all of the next calendar year.
- Barclaycard JetBlue Plus, or JetBlue Business: Spend $50,000 and get Mosaic status which offers free changes and cancellations; free checked bags; expedited security; early boarding; free drinks; enhanced point earnings; and 15,000 bonus points upon qualifying.
5. Liquidate Visa/MasterCard gift cards cheaply
Visa and MasterCard gift cards are debit cards. As such, they qualify for low flat fees for debit tax payments: $2.14, $2.20, or $2.50 (depending upon the tax processor you use). In other words, your cost to liquidate $500 gift cards will be approximately half a percent. That’s pretty cheap.
If you use $500 Visa/MasterCard gift cards, then you can pay the following amounts:
- PayUSAtax.com ($2.14 fee): Make a $497.45 payment with a $500 gift card.
- What is known to work:
- What sometimes works:
- Vanilla brand Mastercard gift cards sometimes work with PayUSAtax and sometimes do not. The ability to pay with these Mastercard gift cards through PayUSAtax seems to come and go.
- What is known to not work:
- Vanilla brand Visa gift cards are not recognized as debit cards at PayUSAtax.com and so they will incur the higher credit card processing fee.
- Metabank/Pathward-issued Mastercard gift cards are reportedly working at PayUSAtax. Jon says you must register them first. Cal provides a recent positive data point.
- Pay1040.com ($2.50 fee): Make a $497.50 payment with a $500 gift card.
- What is known to work:
- Metabank/Pathward-issued Visa gift cards (including from Simon Mall) appear to be working again. Reported by Rosco in July 2023. But Vince reports otherwise in November 2021. YMMV.
- Metabank-issued Mastercard gift cards are not working as debit cards. Reported by Rosco as well 7/23.
- Sunrise Visa working as debit at Pay1040.
- Vanilla brand Mastercard gift cards work at Pay1040. Reported by Yue and JN2
- What is known to work:
- ACI Payments (Previously named “Official Payments”) ($2.20 fee): Make a $497.80 payment with a $500 gift card.
- What is known to work:
- Metabank/Pathward-issued Visa gift cards (including from Simon Mall) appear to be working (note though that this seems to come and go over time). YMMV.
- Metabank-issued Mastercard gift cards are not working as debit cards. Reported by Rosco 7/23.
- Vanilla brand Visa gift cards work at ACI
- What is known to work:
The biggest problem with this (besides the fact that what works and what doesn’t work keeps changing!) is the IRS imposed 2 payments per processor limit. This means that you can liquidate no more than 6 gift cards per type of tax payment. In the past, Official Payments allowed more.
See also: Best options for buying Visa and MasterCard gift cards.
How to pay taxes via credit card: Key Information
Here is key information you’ll need to know about paying taxes with credit or debit cards:
Credit card fee 1.82% to 1.98%
The IRS maintains a list of companies that accept credit and debit cards towards tax payments. You can find the current information by clicking here. Currently there are three separate payment processing companies on the list. At the time of this writing, debit card fees range from $2.14 to $2.50 per transaction and credit card fees range from 1.82% to 1.98%. Alternatively, you can pay taxes via the Plastiq Bill Pay service, but that will cost you more: 2.9% + $1.49 per payment.
Additional Info Direct from the IRS
The IRS page that lists options for paying by credit or debit card also lists the following “Additional Information”:
- No part of the card service fee goes to IRS.
- You don’t need to send in a voucher if you pay by card.
- Card processing fees are tax deductible for business taxes.
- You must contact the card processor to cancel a card payment.
- IRS will refund any overpayment unless you owe a debt on your account.
[Editor’s caution: In recent years the IRS has been very slow to do so] - Your card statement will list your payment as “United States Treasury Tax Payment” and your fee as “Tax Payment Convenience Fee” or something similar.
- Federal tax lien releases can take up to 30 days after we receive full payment; liens may remain for other individuals who haven’t fully paid their portion.
- When you pay while filing your taxes through online software, different card fees apply.
Two payment limit per processor
The IRS maintains a table of frequency limits for paying taxes via credit or debit card (found here). In general, they say you can make up to two payments per tax period per type of tax payment. For example, you can make 2 payments every quarter to your quarterly estimated taxes, and you can make 2 payments every year to your annual taxes. Important: In my experience, these limits are enforced per payment processing company. That means that you can really make up to 6 payments per tax period per type of tax payment (or more if you make Plastiq bill payments as well). An IRS advisor I spoke with several years ago did not think that there would be any problem with making more than 2 payments by using different processors. Since then, I have made more than 2 payments per tax period many times and never had any issues. That is, of course, just my own personal experience. I can’t guarantee that your outcome would be the same.
Twice as many potential payments when filing jointly
If you file jointly with a partner, you can make payments in each person’s name, separately. These payments will still apply to the one overall tax return, but not always automatically. According to reader reports, in some cases the IRS matches these payments to the combined return automatically. In other cases, people have reported the need to call the IRS to ask them to combine the payments. I recommend calling shortly after filing your annual taxes to ensure that the IRS has correctly applied both sets of payments to the same return.
Obviously if you are filing separately, you can each make your own payments without any issues.
Unlimited payments via Plastiq
If you’re willing to incur higher fees, you can make an unlimited number of tax payments via the Plastiq bill pay service. Plastiq usually charges 2.9% + $1.49 to pay bills (including taxes) via credit card, but they occasionally offer lower fees via short term promotions. For details, please see: Plastiq Bill Payment Service.
To pay taxes via Plastiq, use Plastiq’s tax payment screen: plastiq.com/us-taxes.
Pay with Paypal
Both ACI Payments and PayUSATax allow payments via PayPal. Sometimes cards like the Discover It, Discover It Student, and Chase Freedom offer 5% rewards for Paypal purchases (up to $1500 combined spend per quarter). Tax payments during these times should count!
NOTE: There is a weird issue with selecting to pay with PayPal on the PayUSATax website. When clicking the PayPal button, a screen flashes up and disappears. Here is a work-around that has worked for some people, but not all: Put in valid credit card information first (for any credit card) and then press the PayPal button. When doing it this way, I got the PayPal screen to successfully load.
Pay with Samsung Pay & Google Pay
Some tax payment websites support mobile wallet payments such as Samsung Pay or Google Pay. The US Bank Altitude Reserve card earns 3X for mobile wallet payments, so it should be a great match. However, readers have reported that Samsung Pay and Google Pay are only supported through Visa Checkout and that this does not trigger the Altitude’s 3X rewards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I be charged a cash advance fee when paying taxes with a credit card?
I’m often asked whether credit card companies charge cash advance fees when paying taxes by credit card. The answer is no. All three official IRS payment processors agree (via their FAQ pages) that the payment is treated as a purchase not a cash advance. You can find FAQ info here, here, and here.
Are tax payment fees deductible?
Fees are no longer deductible for personal taxes: Tax preparation fees used to be deductible when itemizing deductions for personal tax returns, but that is no longer the case.
Card processing fees are tax deductible for business taxes: This can substantially reduce your net cost of using payment services.
How can I see my tax payment history online?
Once you’ve made payments through online processors, Plastiq, or other means, you may want to see proof that the IRS received the amount you sent. You can view past payments by signing up here: irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account.
When should I report estimated tax payments?
Estimated payments should be reported when filing your annual taxes. In my experience, if you make a mistake and forget to report some of these payments, the IRS will eventually catch the error and refund the difference.
How should I pay end of year taxes?
Tell your tax preparer or tax software that you’ll pay via check. Then, browse to the appropriate tax payment site (e.g. Pay1040.com, OfficialPayments.com, PayUSAtax.com, or Plastiq.com/us-taxes) to pay your taxes. There is no need to mail in the 1040V payment voucher.
What happens if I over-pay my taxes?
Overpayments will be refunded: The IRS will refund any overpayment unless you owe a debt on your account. Update/Caution: In recent years the IRS has been very slow to refund overpayments.
How do I request a refund if it doesn’t come automatically?
Schedule an appointment with the Taxpayer Assistance Center by calling 844-545-5640. When you finally speak to an agent, explain that you overpaid and would like a refund rather than applying the extra to next year’s taxes. Hat Tip: Rapid Travel Chai via personal communication.
Do I need to mail in payment vouchers?
No. No payment voucher is required. You don’t need to send in a voucher if you pay by card.
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Data points for $500 Visa gift cards (Metabank) from Staples:
I just stumbled upon another workaround for the Paypal issue with PayUSATax (where Paypal pops up and disappears before you can pick a card).
Tried two $1k Metabank-issued Simon Mall Visa (both registered on
tcardmall.com/) as debit at Pay1040 today. One went through and the other didn’t.
4/11 and 4/13, I couldn’t make any ACI payments with my Pathward Vanilla Visas
4/14 today and I just made an ACI payment with my pathward mastercard (kroger)
Greg, Found another workaround thanks to a reddit user cwenger that provides a workaround for the PayPal popup error.
Thanks Steve. I tried this and got all the way to the verification page with everything in place but then got an error when trying to finalize it. Luckily I stumbled upon another workaround which I listed above: https://frequentmiler.com/pay-taxes-via-credit-card/#comment-2399926
Vanilla Visa (Sutton Bank) worked at Pay1040 but did not work at ACI Payments
My gift card data points from today:
After the first card rejected due to a zip code mismatch (since there was no address on file), I registered all my cards. Annoyingly I kept getting an error while trying to register online (for all of them!) so I had to call in and speak with an agent to complete the registrations (agent mentioned that their customer-facing system was down all day but he was able to register with my name, address, & phone). Waiting for payments to post in my IRS account.
In addition, I had 2 failures for ACI Payments. Both Vanilla Visa/Sutton Bank (Walgreens) and Vanilla Visa/Pathward (Walgreens) payments failed for me, even after I called in and had initial hold/restriction lifted (registration is not possible on these cards, but apparently I still needed a hold lifted). These cards worked fine elsewhere online.
Has anyone had problems with declined transactions and how to get around it? I have a $500 Vanilla Visa. I am trying to make a $497.80 payment at ACI, with fee $500 exactly. The payment is declined and there’s no record of the decline on the VanillaGift.com website ($500 balance is showing.) The card was purchased about a month ago so it’s not the merchant hold.
I’m going to answer a somewhat different question than you asked. I wouldn’t recommend making a payment that isn’t in whole dollars — because Turbotax doesn’t handle those well (or at least it didn’t a few years ago). Turbotax rounded my payments to the nearest dollar, which meant that what I reported as my total payments and what I actually paid were off by just a couple of dollars. The IRS freaked out about that and delayed my refund (several thousand dollars) for months. So, instead of paying $497.80, I’d suggest paying $495. You can always drain the last few dollars left on the card to your Amazon account. That eliminates the risk that I mentioned with Turbotax, and maybe it will accept your card as well.
The other possibility here, that I can think of, is that it just doesn’t like the Vanilla card. There are a lot of data points in this thread about how those have been working lately.
Vanilla Visas worked at Pay1040 for me today but not ACI or Payusatax. Can’t check balance or register at vanillagift.com, but verified balance on the phone and they did work.
2024-03-11:
Amazing resource!! Thank you FM and community.
Tried to pay today (2023 form 4868) via ACI using Sutton InComm Vanilla physical from WM, purchased a few weeks ago. Failed.
I got to the end of the checkout process, and it said my card couldn’t be charged. Nothing is wrong with the card as far as I know: the full balance shows as available via phone and web interface, I just used it for an online payment yesterday, another online payment the week before. The total amount I tried to pay (including ACI’s fee) was equal to the remaining balance on the card. Total amount was under $50.
Tried Pay1040 right after that, it seems to have worked. Again, using up the full balance on the card after fees. Charge shows as pending on Vanilla web interface.
Fees were 2.20 for ACI, 2.50 for Pay1040, as usual. Just did a small payment as a test.
I did not try the click to pay option, or pay through paypal. This was on a laptop through a VPN.
I have never done this before. If I overpay the Q1/2024 estimated tax NOW, how soon can I file to get the refund? Thank you!
Not until 2025. It will be part of any refund when you file your 2024 taxes in early 2025.
When I log onto my IRS account, I see all my previous Estimated Tax and 4868 Extension payments showing as “Pending” going back to October 2023, with no record of any payments made before the September 15 deadline. Under “Processed” payments, only payments for the 2022 tax year are showing.
I’m sure that previously, payments would progress through the Pending/Scheduled/Processed sections. I wanted to wait until all my payments were processed before submitting my 2023 return, so am concerned that payments as far back as October 2023 are still showing as pending.
Anyone else seeing this?
Just a note for those who tend to run things close to the deadline (like me): the payment sites all mention similar wording to
“The IRS takes approximately 5 – 7 business days to post your payment to your account.
Your payment date and time are equal to the time you completed this transaction as indicated by the time stamp below.”
I’ve not figured out whether “Your payment date and time are equal to the time you completed this transaction” includes from AMEX’s perspective or if this means the actual posting date will be several days later. I assume this just means when the IRS will actually mark it as paid (and that you might show overdue for a few days but eventually it will fix itself). However, worth keeping in mind for sign-up bonuses and such. I will try to be a datapoint on this in a few days.
OK here’s the update: Taxes have posted with the same they were charged, despite the fact it was after 5PM ET. Looks like the “post your payment” message above was just in reference to when the IRS will process it (thankfully – this is what I assumed, but it was good to double check)
I just overpaid my taxes today to meet minimum spend ($5000). How long should I wait to file my taxes? I have them sitting ready in HR Block ($3000 refund there too). I just don’t want to float $5000 for too long due to the lost opportunity cost with the current high interest rates.
I would wait until the payment shows up in your IRS account, which you can access online. In my experience, that can take several weeks.
I should still be good, since tax day is April 15, right?
Not true. The issue is having the IRS process your return before the payment hits your account. They will determine that you’ve over-reported your payments, and then you’ll get to go through that hassle. Just wait for the payment to post.
Ok, if I wait for it to post, it should come back to me in the form of a refund in a few weeks after filing?
Correct. Just like every other time you’ve filed your taxes — whatever you’ve calculated as your refund is what the IRS will send you (unless they calculate something different).
You need to include today’s $5,000 payment on your return, which will increase the amount of your refund by $5,000 from what it would have been otherwise.
And you’ll get your refund in “a few weeks”, unless we have a repeat of a few years ago, when it was taking six months. Don’t expect the IRS to follow your schedule or expectations!
Thanks! The IRS website says “you have a pending electronic payment for $5000 made on 2/23/34”
Is this enough or should I wait for it to actually show as posted?
I would also like to know the answer to this. This seems to be the snag for multiple people.
Unable to pay ACI with a Vanilla VISA debit card in Feb. 24
Same issue for me, unable to use vanilla visa gift card at ACI despite a few tries; gave up and was successfully able to use it at pay1040 which wasn’t what I wanted to do since it takes away one good credit card payment option for me
Same, pay1040 worked. 2024-03-11.
Can I also pay property taxes with a credit card too?
That is up to your local city/township. Most of them allow it, but the credit card processing fee will differ depending on where you live. My local township charges a 3% processing fee.
In addition to what Jason said, it is also possible to use a service like Plastiq to pay with a credit card (and Plastiq will mail a check). Note that the fee for Plastiq is about 3% and they charge $1.49 to mail a check, so it won’t be an attractive option unless that spend is helping you meet a welcome bonus, but it’s an option (I regularly pay property taxes for several family members this way).