As we head towards the April tax filing deadline in the U.S., hopefully you’re working on your calculations or have everything completed by now. If you’ve gotten your total and see that you owe the IRS some money, don’t fret! There are many ways to get the IRS what you owe them in a timely manner.
Make sure that you’re confident of your calculations because the IRS will only allow two payments per year for taxes owed on a 1040 tax form, unless they send you a letter notifying you that you still owe money.
Here are three ways to pay Uncle Sam the taxes that you owe.
3 Ways to Pay Your Taxes
1. Pay by Credit or Debit Card
Don’t pay with just anyone who comes up in a Google search – the IRS has several authorized payment providers for you to choose from. You will have to pay a small fee to use a credit card or debit card, but if you aren’t able to pay your entire tax bill right now (and don’t want to set up a IRS tax payment plan) using a credit card can be a smart decision. You’ll generally pay a flat fee of about $3.85 to use a debit card, and a percentage of the payment between 1.9% and 2.3% to use a credit card. Below are the authorized companies that the IRS will accept payments from.
| Provider | Website | Fee for Credit | Fee for Debit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link2Gov | Pay1040.com, BusinessTaxPayment.com | 2.35% | $3.89 |
| RBS WorldPay | PayUSATax.com | 1.95% | $3.89 |
| Official Payments Corp | OfficialPayments.com/fed | 2.35% | $3.95 |
| Official Payments Corp | ChoicePay.com/mastercard | 1.90% | 1.90% |
In order to pay your taxes using a credit or debit card, you’ll need to provide your Social Security number or EIN, your mailing address, a phone number, and an email address if you pay online.
2. Pay from Your Bank Account
If you use any of the major tax preparation software (e.g. TurboTax, H&R Block, or TaxACT), the program will be able to send the government instructions for directly withdrawing money from your bank account. You aren’t able to do this on an individual basis, however.
The exception is if you choose to pay your taxes using the Electronic Federal Taxpayer Payment System – most individuals who use this system are paying estimated tax payments quarterly online, but it’s free to use. It does take some time to set up an account with this service, so you won’t be able to use it to pay your taxes right away. If you’d like to set this up to pay next year’s taxes, you’ve got plenty of time!
You can pay estimated taxes by check also, using these vouchers. If you’re already enrolled in EFTPS and need to make a same-day wire payment, click here for more information.
3. Pay with a Check
You have two options for paying your taxes with a check: you can either enclose the check with your 1040 tax form when you mail it in (but don’t staple the check to your return!) or you can send the IRS a check directly.
If you don’t have any self-employment income, you can mail your check to these addresses, depending on your state:
| Your State | Send Payments to this Address |
|---|---|
| Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming | Internal Revenue Service Center Austin, TX 73301-0010 |
| Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee | Internal Revenue Service Center Atlanta, GA 39901-0010 |
| Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington | Internal Revenue Service Center Fresno, CA 93888-0010 |
| Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin | Internal Revenue Service Center Kansas City, MO 64999-0010 |
If you do have self-employment income (if you have or will file Schedule C or Schedule F), you will send your check to these addresses:
| Your State | Send Payments to this Address |
|---|---|
| Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin | Internal Revenue Service Center Cincinnati, OH 45999-0010 |
| Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont | Internal Revenue Service Center Cincinnati, OH 45999-0149 |
| Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas | Internal Revenue Service Center Cincinnati, OH 45999-0150 |
| Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming | Internal Revenue Service Center Ogden, UT 84201-0010 |
| District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia | Internal Revenue Service Center Kansas City, MO 64999-0202 |
If you have an APO or FPO address, or live in Guam, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands, you’ll use this address:
Internal Revenue Service Center
Kansas City, MO 64999-0202
U.S.A.
What If I Can’t Pay?
If you aren’t able to pay your tax balance, you should get in contact with the IRS, through your local taxpayer office or your local taxpayer advocate. They will be able to help you work out a payment plan or other measures to ensure you don’t get overwhelmed with fees and penalties. There are a variety of different ways to help you pay your taxes without resorting to tax evasion fraud.
Final Word
If you owe the government money come tax time, there are plenty of ways to send it to them including credit or debit card, a check, or in some cases, a direct draft from your bank account. While it may be a bummer that you owe, at least it’s pretty painless to send it in!
Did you end up having to pay taxes this year? What method did you utilize and how easy or difficult was the process?
(photo credit: Shutterstock)
