How and when you should pay the IRS after filing your taxes.
Your Tax Preparer just completed your taxes and you hear the dreadful words, "I'm sorry but you owe the IRS this year."
Making a payment the IRS is a frustrating and confusing process. This post will help you not only on how to make your payment but how to explore all your options when you have a balance due.
APRIL 15TH - TAXES DUE DATE Before we dive into how to pay the IRS, we need to quickly discuss the due date, your IRS payment is due 4 months and 15 days after the tax year ending for individual tax returns. That's why the April 15th is an important date to the IRS. If the tax due date falls on a holiday or weekend then the next business date becomes that tax years' due date.
MAILING YOUR PAYMENT The easiest method in paying the IRS is to mail your payment to one of their service centers. Your Tax Preparer will provide you and a voucher (Form 1040V) which shows your amount due and some identifying information so that the IRS accurately credits your tax account for your payment. You can pay my check or money order and I highly recommend you track and keep records of your payment just in case of any discrepancies with IRS. When mailing your payment you must make sure that it is post dated at the minimum by April 15 to avoid any failure to pay penalties. For the IRS mailing address in your region click here.
PAYING ONLINE There are a few options in paying your taxes online and what you will need to have before making the payment are, the amount due, the tax year you are paying, your form type (1040 etc), and of course your personal and payment information. Please note that if your tax return is still processing you will not see the balance due in your IRS account and the payment is still required.
DIRECT PAY
You can pay the IRS directly on their site using your banking information. You will have to pass a verification process and once verified you will be allowed to make your payment via bank draft. If you have an IRS account the process will be smoother. You must know the reason for payment, the tax form and the tax year.
PAYING BY CREDIT CARD
You can also make a payment using a credit card to satisfy your IRS balance due. If you choose this option from the IRS website, you will have to choose between 3 options of 3rd Party payment processors that will be able to accept your payment for the IRS. ACI payments Inc., Pay1040, and payUSAtax are the 3 US government approved payment processors for the IRS. Please make sure that you review the credit card processing fees and always make sure you accessing their website from the link on the IRS website to make sure you are on the correct site.
INSTALLMENT AGREEMENT
If you are unable to satisfy your balance due in full, you can request a payment plan with the IRS. Your first option in paying over time is a Short-term Payment Plan (180 days or less) there is no set up fee for this plan but you will be accrue penalties and interest until the balance is paid in full.
Your next option for paying over time is a Long-Term Payment Plan it is an installment agreement and you will have a fixed monthly payment to the IRS. There is a set up fee of $31 if you choose to have the monthly payment auto drafted from your bank account or $130 if you want to receive a voucher and mail your payment into the IRS monthly. You will also accrue penalties and interest until the balance is paid in full.
Setting up a installment plan can be done 2 ways, mail a completed Form 9465 or you can create an IRS account online and request the installment plan in a few clicks.
We hope that this article takes the frustration out of paying your balance due to the IRS, if you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact our office. We'll be happy to help.
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