Direct Pay for Individual Income Tax Payments
Using IRS Direct Pay is a secure way to pay federal income taxes from your checking or savings account at no additional cost. Taxpayers can pay for Form 1040, estimated tax payments, and other forms with Direct Pay. Setting up Direct Pay happens online and involves verification of your identity and bank information, as well as authorization to debit from your bank account.
Direct Pay is for individual tax returns, and is not available for businesses. Business tax payments are made through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS.)
Along with security and having no cost, there are additional benefits for using IRS Direct Pay:
1. Easy Tracking – Taxpayers can sign up for email notifications for tax payments that includes the confirmation number you receive when a payment is made.
2. Simple Payment Modification – Confirmation numbers can be used to look up payments. They can also be used to modify or cancel scheduled payments up to two days before the payment is due.
3. Accessible Account History – Online accounts provide IRS payment history.
4. Ability to Make Same Day Payments.
5. Opportunity to Schedule Advanced Payments – Payments can be scheduled up to 365 days in advance.
There are a few limitations for IRS Direct Pay.
1. Availability - Taxpayers are responsible for on time payments and should plan ahead in the event that Direct Pay is not available. Direct Pay is typically available during the following hours:
Monday through Saturday, midnight – 11:45 pm EST
Sunday, 7:00 am – 11:45 pm EST
2. Frequency – Taxpayers are limited to two payments in a 24-hour period.
3. Amount – To use Direct Pay, payments must be less than $10 million. EFTPS or same-day wire can be used for payments over $10 million.
4. Payments Via Checking and Savings Accounts Only – If you want to pay via credit card, you can click here and select Pay By Card. However, there will be processing fees.
The benefits significantly outweigh the limitations, so we highly recommend that you make your federal tax payments with Direct Pay. Click here to get started!
In addition to Direct Pay for federal taxes, it is also available for state and school district taxes. Each state has its own website to set up payment. Since the majority of our clients are in Ohio and Kentucky, you will find information about direct pay options for these states below.
Ohio residents can click here to pay with Electronic Check, which is the same as Direct Pay. There is no fee for this payment method. If you want to pay via credit or debit card, you can set that up through the website linked above. However, you will be responsible for paying a fee of 2.5% of your payment or $1 (whichever amount is greater.)
Kentucky residents can click here to complete the Electronic Payment Application. Again, this is the same as Direct Pay and Electronic Check. If you choose to pay with a credit card, there is a 1% service fee per transaction.
Please contact me if you have questions about Direct Pay or any other tax payment method.