DansDeals will receive compensation if you are approved for a credit card via a link in this post. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers, visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Update, 9/16/24: Q3 estimated tax payments are due today. Which card will you use to come out ahead of the fees?
Update, 6/17/24: Q2 estimated tax payments are due today. Which card will you use to come out ahead of the fees?
Update, 4/15/24: It’s tax day, which card will you use to make a payment?
Originally posted on 1/1/24:
Table of Contents
Paying taxes on a credit card:
Credit card processing fees are updated annually on January 1st.
Luckily not everything is subject to inflation. You can now pay just 1.82% to process your tax payment via credit card! You can make estimated payments at any time. 2023 Q4 estimates are due 1/16/24.
If you aren’t able to use your card to make a payment, try paying via Paypal.
Here is a history of what credit card processing fees for taxes have cost:
- 2003-2009: 2.49%
- 2010: 1.95%
- 2011: 1.9%
- 2012: 1.89%
- 2013: 1.88%
- 2014-2020: 1.87%
- 2021: 1.96%
- 2022: 1.87%
- 2023: 1.85%
- 2024: 1.82%
- You can make 2 payments per credit card processor for each quarterly estimate (1040-ES).
- You can make 2 payments per credit card processor for your year end bill (1040).
- You can make 2 payments for an extension of time to file (4868).
- You can make 2 payments for past amended returns (1040X).
- You can make another 2 payments each time by using a spouse’s information to pay, though you may have to call the IRS to confirm that they link that payment to your joint return as that doesn’t always happen automatically. You can also call the IRS to reallocate payments.
You can view all previous tax payments made to the IRS here.
The tax payment fee may be considered a business expense, which will significantly change the math below based on your marginal tax rate. Be sure to speak to a tax professional about that.
Tax payments are considered a regular purchase, not a cash advance.
You can also request a refund for any overpayment and the IRS will cut you a check or a direct deposit into your checking account. You may even wind up getting paid interest by the IRS if the refund check is delayed.
You can also request that up to $5,000 of overpayments per return be converted into I Bonds. That’s on top of the regular $10,000 per person limit for I Bonds purchases.
Best Cards To Pay Taxes With:
If you open a new card, it can be a no brainer to pay taxes to help reach a signup bonus. But even if you don’t have a new card, it can still make sense to pay your taxes with a credit card for the rewards and the extra time to pay.
In order to determine if it’s worth earning miles at a 1.82% rate, you’ll need to assign a value to each currency. Values are highly subjective and will vary based on what you use the miles for, so YVMV (Your valuation may vary!).
- The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card earns 2.5% cash back on $5,000+ purchases and 2% cash back on small purchases, so you’ll come out .68% ahead of the 1.82% tax processing fee on $5,000+ payments. There are no limits on the 2.5% cash back. Note that this card doesn’t earn transferable points like other Chase Ink cards.
- A $5,000 tax payment will cost $91, but you will earn $127.28 cash back.
- A $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn $254.55 cash back.
- A $100,000 tax payment will cost $1,820, but you will earn $2,545.50 cash back.
- The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express offers 2 points per dollar spent everywhere.
- A $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn 20,364 points. If you value your AMEX points at 1.5 cents each, that a value of $305.46 worth of points. You can transfer those points into miles with airlines like Avianca, British Airways, Delta, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic, and more.
- Note that you only earn 2 points per dollar on $50,000 of annual spending, though if you have multiple primary cards they would get 2 points per dollar on $50,000 of annual spending on each card.
- The Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card earns 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent everywhere.
- A $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn 15,273 points. If you value your Chase points at 1.6 cents each, that a value of $244.37 worth of points. If you or someone in your household has a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Preferred then you can transfer points to one of those cards and from there to airlines like United and hotel programs like Hyatt. Alternatively if you have a Sapphire Reserve you can also redeem those points for 1.5 cents each towards travel, while having the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred would also you to redeem those points for 1.25 cents each towards travel.
- The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card earns at least 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent everywhere and 3 points per dollar spent during the first year of cardmembership on up to $20K of spending via this link. No annual fee.
- With an existing card, a $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn 15,273 points. If you value your Chase points at 1.6 cents each, that’s a value of $244.37 worth of points.
- If you get this card with an offer to earn 3 points per dollar, a $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn 30,546 points. If you value your Chase points at 1.6 cents each, that’s a value of $488.74 worth of points. If you or someone in your household has a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Preferred then you can transfer points to one of those cards and from there to airlines like United and hotel programs like Hyatt. Alternatively if you have a Sapphire Reserve you can also redeem those points for 1.5 cents each towards travel, while having the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred would also you to redeem those points for 1.25 cents each towards travel.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers 1.5 points per dollar spent everywhere on transactions that are $5,000 or more.
- A $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn 15,273 points. If you value your Business Platinum AMEX points at 1.5 cents each, that a value of $229.10 worth of points. You can transfer those points into miles with airlines like Avianca, British Airways, Delta, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic, and more.
- You can earn 1.5 points per dollar on up to $2,000,000 of annual spending.
- Having this card allows you to get 35% of your AMEX points rebated on all business/first paid airfare and on coach airfare with the airline of your choice, up to 1,000,000 bonus points per calendar year.
- The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, and The Capital One Spark Miles for Business earn 2 Capital One miles per dollar spent everywhere.
- A $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn 20,364 Capital One miles. If you value your Capital One miles at 1.5 cents each, that a value of $305.46 worth of points. You can transfer those points into miles with airlines like Avianca, Flying Blue, Turkish, Singapore, Qantas, and more.
- The Citi Double Cash® Card earns 2% cash back, so you’ll come out .18% ahead of the 1.82% tax processing fee. Even if you don’t want to deal with the miles aspect of this, the 2% cash back makes it a no brainer to use.
- You can also transfer points from this card to a Citi Premier® Card Card, from where you can transfer points to airlines like JetBlue, Turkish, Qantas, and more. A $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn 20,364 Citi ThankYou points. If you value your Citi ThankYou points at 1.4 cents each, that a value of $285.10 worth of points. If you also have a Citi Rewards+® Card you’ll get a 10% rebate on point redemptions and transfers, making the points even more valuable!
- Capital One Spark Cash Plus earns 2% cash back, so you’ll come out .18% ahead of the 1.82% tax processing fee. Even if you don’t want to deal with the miles aspect of this, the 2% cash back makes it a no brainer to use.
- A $10,000 tax payment will cost $182, but you will earn 20,364 Capital One points. If you value your Capital One points at 1.5 cents each, that a value of $305.46 worth of points.
Big welcome bonuses:
It can definitely make sense to pay your taxes via credit card if you are signing up for a card and are trying to reach a spend threshold to earn a signup bonus that you won’t be able to reach without some help. The 1.82% fee pales in comparison to earning a mega signup bonus as well as the regular miles for the purchase.
Chase:
If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:- Limited time offer: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 60K signup bonus AND a $300 Chase Travel credit for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a 90K signup bonus for spending $8K in 3 months, and earns 3 points per dollar on up to $150K of annual spending on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
- Limited time offer: Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has a $900 in the form of 90K point signup bonus for spending $6K in 3 months, and earns 1.5 points per dollar on business purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a 35K signup bonus for spending $3K in 3 months and another 40K signup bonus points for spending another $3K in 6 months for a total of 75,000 Chase Ultimate points, plus if you have a Chase business checking account open on the card's first anniversary you will get a 10% points bonus on all earnings from card spending, this card earns 5 points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, and office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas on up to $25,000 in purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
- Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a signup bonus that earns an extra 1.5% cash back in the form of 1.5 points per dollar everywhere on up to $20K of spending during your first year, on top of at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar (marketed as 5% cash back) on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
AMEX:
AMEX cards with transferable Membership Rewards points to miles include, select benefits require enrollment via your AMEX account. Terms apply to offers on this page:- AMEX Blue Business Plus is offering a rare bonus to earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership and offers 2 points per dollar spent on up to $50K spending annually 1 point per dollar thereafter, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive. Read more here.
- AMEX Platinum Business is offering a 150K bonus for spending $20,000 in 3 months and offers over $1,000 in annual credits, lounge access, and much more. Read more here.
- AMEX Gold Business Card is offering a 100K bonus for spending $15,000 in 3 months and offers up to $240 in annual business credits, Walmart+ membership, up to 4 points per dollar spent with a $150K annual spend cap, and more benefits. Read more here.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express is offering a 80K bonus for spending $8,000 in 6 months and offers over $1,000 in annual credits, lounge access, and much more. Terms apply. Read more here.
- American Express® Gold Card is offering a 60K bonus for spending $6,000 in 6 months, 20% back in statement credits for restaurants worldwide, up to $100 back-Complete Offer: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back. Limited time offer. Offer ends 11/6/24. Terms apply. Read more here.
- AMEX Green Consumer Card is offering a 40K bonus for spending $3,000 in 6 months and offers up to $189 in annual CLEAR Plus® credits, $100 LoungeBuddy credit, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive.
- AMEX Everyday Preferred Consumer Card is offering a 15K bonus for spending $2,000 in 6 months and offers 4.5 points per dollar on up to $6K in annual groceries when you use card 30 times that month, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive.
- AMEX Everyday Consumer Card is offering a 10K bonus for spending $2,000 in 6 months and offers 2.4 points per dollar on up to $6K in annual groceries when you use card 20 times that month, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive. All information about the AMEX Green, AMEX Everyday Preferred, AMEX Everyday has been collected independently by DansDeals.
Capital One:
Capital One cards with transferable points include:- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge membership, Hertz President's Circle status, free lounge access and status for free additional cardholders, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One Venture X Business is offering 150,000 bonus miles for spending $30K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Enhanced Priority Pass Lounge membership, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months, plus 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, transfer points to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $95 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is offering 20,000 bonus miles for spending $500 in 3 months, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No annual fee.
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business is offering 50,000 bonus miles for spending $4,500 in 3 months, 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, Global Entry/PreCheck, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- New offer: Capital One Spark Cash Plus is offering $2,000 cash back (convertible to 200,000 miles) for spending $30,000 in 3 months, plus get another $2,000 cash back for every $500K spent in your first year, 2% back everywhere, $40 MLB redemptions, annual fee refund when you spend $150K/year, and more. $150 annual fee.
Earn Status And More!
Earn Southwest elite status and Companion Pass:
- The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card, Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, or Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card gives companion pass status with unlimited free uses until the end of the next calendar year if you earn 125K points in a year across all Southwest cards if you hold a card by 1/1/24, otherwise you’ll need 135K points. The cards also offer 1.5K tier points towards A-List status for every $5K spent, with no cap on earnings.
- Southwest points are a fixed value currency, so there are no aspirational aspects to this program as points will typically be worth between 1.3-1.6 cents each. You’ll need to determine how to value having Companion Pass and A-List status to see if its worth putting tax payments on this card.
Earn Hyatt elite status, upgrades, and bonus free nights:
- The Chase World Of Hyatt Consumer Credit Card offers a 2nd annual anniversary night if you spend $15K in a calendar year.
- This card also offers 5 elite qualifying night credits every year and you’ll earn an additional 2 night credits towards elite status with every $5,000 that you spend.
- The Chase World Of Hyatt Business Credit Card earns 5 night credits towards elite status with every $10,000 that you spend.
- It also offers a 10% rebate on award stays, up to 20K rebated points, after you spend $50,000 on the card in a calendar year.
I value Hyatt points at about 1.5 cents each, so depending on how many additional free nights and elite status benefits you can rack up and how you value those free nights and benefits, it can make sense to put tax payments on this card.
As of today, you can also earn new milestone benefits described here.
Earn Delta elite status:
- The Delta Platinum Consumer and Delta Platinum Business cards offer 1 MQD per $20 spent and 2,500 MQDs each just for having them. You can earn Silver with 5,000 MQDs, Gold with 10,000 MQDs, Platinum with 15,000 MQDs, or Diamond with 28,000 MQDs.
- The Delta Reserve Consumer and Delta Reserve Business cards offer 1 MQD per $10 spent and 2,500 MQDs each just for having them. You can earn Silver with 5,000 MQDs, Gold with 10,000 MQDs, Platinum with 15,000 MQDs, or Diamond with 28,000 MQDs.
- I value Delta miles at about 1 cent each. You’ll need to determine how to value earning qualifying miles and the flight spending requirement waiver to see if its worth putting tax payments on this card.
- Here is how many MQMs you need to earn Delta status.
- Here is how you can earn Delta status with no spending.
Earn United elite status:
- The United℠ Business Card, Chase United Business Club Card, and United℠ Explorer Card earn 25 PQPs for every $500 spent, up to 1,000 PQP for spending $20K.
- United Quest℠ Card earns 25 PQPs for every $500 spent, up to 6,000 PQP for spending $120K.
- United Club℠ Infinite Card earns 25 PQPs for every $500 spent, up to 10,000 PQP for spending $200K.
- The discontinued Presidential Plus Card earns 25 PQPs for every $500 spent, up to 10,000 PQP for spending $200K.
- I value United miles at about 1.4 cents each. You’ll need to determine how to value earning qualifying miles and the flight spending requirement waiver to see if its worth putting tax payments on this card.
- Here is how many PQPs you need for status.
Earn AA elite status and companion certificates:
- The Citi Business AA Platinum card offers a free domestic companion certificate for spending $30K/year and earns 1 loyalty point per dollar spent to earn AA status.
- The Citi AA Executive card earns 1 loyalty point per dollar spent to earn AA status plus earns a bonus 10K loyalty points for earning 50K loyalty points in a year and another bonus 10K loyalty points for earning 90K loyalty points in a year.
- The Citi AA Platinum Consumer card earns 1 loyalty point per dollar spent to earn AA status, plus offers a $125 AA flight discount if you spend $20K/year.
- The Citi AAdvantage MileUp Consumer Mastercard earns 1 loyalty point per dollar spent to earn AA status.
- You’ll need to earn 39K loyalty points for Gold, 74K for Platinum, 124K for Platinum Pro, and 199K for Executive Platinum status after the 1K bonus. At 175K loyalty points you can choose 25K bonus miles or 2 systemwide upgrades, and at 250K loyalty points you can choose 60K bonus miles or 4 systemwide upgrades.
- I value AA miles at about 1.4 cents each, so if you’re paying taxes at a cost of 1.82 cents each, that would be valuing each loyalty point at roughly 0.42 cents each, but at 175K and 250K that cost goes down if you select 25K miles or 60K miles. That would put the cost of Gold status at $168, Platinum at $315, Platinum Pro at $525, or Executive Platinum 200K at $490 after backing out the 25K bonus miles or Executive Platinum 250K at negative $140 after backing out the 85K bonus miles. Status earned starting 3/1/24 would be valid through 3/31/26.
- Read more here.
Earn Marriott elite status and bonus free nights:
- The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offers a 2nd annual free night for spending $60K in a calendar year.
- The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Consumer AMEX offers a 2nd 85K award night for spending $60K in a calendar year.
- The discontinued Ritz-Carlton card offers Platinum status for spending $75K in a calendar year. You’ll need to determine how to value having Platinum status to see if its worth putting tax payments on this card.
- I value Marriott points at about 0.6 cents each, so depending on how many additional free nights and elite status benefits you can rack up and how you value those free nights and benefits, it can make sense to put tax payments on this card.
Earn JetBlue elite status:
- JetBlue cards offer 1 (Mosaic qualifying) tile for every $1,000 spent. Spend $50K for Mosaic Tier 1, $100K for Tier 2, $150K for Tier 3, or $200K for Tier 4.
- JetBlue points are a fixed value currency, so there are no aspirational aspects to this program as points will typically be worth between 0.9-1.3 cents each. You’ll need to determine how to value having Mosaic status to see if its worth putting tax payments on this card.
Earn Air Canada Aeroplan status or a companion pass:
- The Chase Aeroplan® Credit Card offers 25K status for spending $15K/year through the following calendar year.
- If you spend $50K in a calendar year you will gain a level of status.
- Upon spending $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 and $750,000 in a calendar year you’ll earn a 50% off Priority Rewards redemption certificate.
- If you spend a whopping $1,000,000 in a year you’ll get a companion pass that allows unlimited free companion award travel systemwide in any class of service. That pass will be valid for the rest of the calendar year in which you spend the million bucks and for the following calendar year.
- I value Aeroplan miles at about 1.3 cents each. You’ll need to determine how to value earning qualifying miles and the flight spending requirement waiver to see if its worth putting tax payments on this card.
Earn a British Airways companion pass:
- The British Airways Visa Signature® Card offers a free one-time use companion pass for spending $30K/year.
- The free companion pass is valid on BA award tickets worldwide, though fuel surcharges will apply. You can now also get 50% off an award for 1 person if you don’t have a companion.
- I value BA Avios at about 1 cent each. You’ll need to determine how to value the companion pass to see if its worth putting tax payments on this card.
Earn an Aer Lingus companion pass:
- The Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card offers a companion ticket good when booking a paid economy Aer Lingus ticket if you spend $30,000 in a calendar year.
Earn a $1,000 Iberia voucher:
- The Iberia Visa Signature® Card: offers a $1,000 discount voucher off 2 tickets on the same Iberia flight if you spend $30,000 in a calendar year.
Earn Hilton elite status and bonus free nights:
- The AMEX Hilton Honors Surpass card offers a free annual night for spending $15K/year and Diamond status for spending $40K/year.
- The AMEX Hilton Honors Aspire card offers a 2nd free annual night for spending $30K/year and a 3rd free night for spending $60K/year.
- Spending on all Hilton cards count towards Elite tier qualification and Lifetime Diamond Status. Learn more about elite status here and lifetime diamond status here.
- Read more on these cards here and here.
- I value Hilton points at about 0.45 cents each. You’ll need to determine how you value the free night and status benefits to determine if it’s worth putting tax payments on this card.
Is it worth it?
If you’re coming out ahead of the cashback earned on a card, this is a no-brainer.
As for earning miles, it all depends on what you do with your miles. This isn’t the cheapest way to earn miles, but it’s painless. The ability to overpay your taxes to reach a threshold is also helpful.
The value of airline miles is huge if you fly last-minute, one-way, or in business or first class internationally.
- If I need a last minute short-haul flight like Cleveland-NYC that can cost $500 each way, I can instantly transfer 6K miles to Air Canada, 6K points to Qatar, 6.5K points to Avianca Lifemiles for travel on United or 8.25K points to British Airways to book a short-haul on American with no last minute booking fees. That’s a value of up to 7 cents per point.
- With 10K Turkish miles I can book a one-way flight on United to anywhere in the US, even Hawaii or Alaska. In business class it’s just 15K miles each way!
- 86K points transferred to Singapore is enough for a ticket in a private couples suite on an A380 one-way from JFK to Frankfurt with no fuel surcharges.
- If I want to fly in a $25,000 ANA First Class Suite round-trip from the US to Tokyo, I can instantly transfer 145K or 170K points to Virgin Atlantic. That’s a value of up to 18 cents per point.
- If I want to stay in a 5 star Park Hyatt in the Maldives, Melbourne, NYC, Paris, Sydney, or Tokyo that would cost over $1,200/night, I can instantly transfer 20K-40K points to Hyatt to do that, a value of up to 6 cents per point.
- Learn more about which points transfer to which airlines and how long those transfers will take here.
Which card do you use to you pay your taxes? Or is it too pricey of a method to get miles? Sound off in the comments!
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71 Comments On "[Q3 Estimates Due Today] It Keeps Getting Better To Pay Your Taxes With A Credit Card, 2024 Is Now The Best Year Ever To Pay Your Taxes On A Card!"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
Is it possible to do tax calculation using any website, say Turbotax.com, and come back to this website and pay that amount? That way, you know your exact tax amount and not really paying that turbotax fees.
Yes, correct. Do not pay via TurboTax even if filing through them. Just file and “pay later”, then go to this website.
Awesome, Thanks a lot!
can you just print money by using 2.5 percent card and then getting back refund for irs? or is there a limit to this
Yes, No limits on it
No, not like that. Theoretically there is no limit to how much you can prepay, but you can only pay a limited number of times. You will also generally have to wait to file your taxes to get the money back. You can’t just pay and then request a refund as much as you want. A) The IRS won’t do it, and B) you are asking for an audit.
Keep in mind the opportunity cost as well. If you pay now and wait until April to file your taxes and get a refund, you are losing out on (at a minimum) 1% interest just from keeping your cash in a checking account for 3+ months, vs. the 0.68% you will earn by this method.
I would give you a better idea than that. Get a 0% 12-15 month credit card or cards. There are several. Prepay your taxes and all your expenses for everythign you spend, insurance, whatever. You can find 12 month or similar CDS at 5% or slightly higher, or possible structure Tbills if you state income tax and clear more than the the example you give. The main thing is you need proper control to make sure you pay those cards 100% when due and not to spend the entire credit line since it dings your score on utlilization.
Can I pay W-2 taxes with a CC?
Yes, you can pay the 941 (payroll taxes) with a cc, if you are the employer.
Not worth paying with an IHG card to possibly get Diamond status? Any easier way to get it if you can’t stay the nights?
“This isn’t the cheapest way to earn miles, but it’s painless.” What’s the cheapest way?
I am getting an error cannot pay personal taxes with a business card. How can I get around this?
Use PayPal.
I tried and got the same error
Is there a fee for Paypal if I pay via credit card?
Same as the regular fee.
worked for me w/ AmEx Blue Business Cash (2% back)
This is disheartening to hear. My plan is to apply for a Southwest biz card (I’m chasing the companion pass) and pre pay taxes. I hope we hear some more data points about paying with business cards.
I have to pay $30K in taxes at the moment and suffering sever analysis paralysis from these posts. Any one care to be my expert on this?
Probably your best bet for simplicity is the Venture X or Citi Double Cash. Both give 2% flat transferable miles. The Chase Ink Premier would get you 2.5%, but that is cash back vs. transferable miles. (Although glitches do occur!)
With $30K you can score some nice signup bonuses – Chase Ink cards (90K/120K for $6K spend, 100K for $8K spend) would be a good place to start. Or the Cap One Business Venture X (150K for $30K spend).
TY!
paid on the ink unlimited (targeted spend 6k receive 120,000 and blue business plus targeted spend 15k in first 12 months receive 50,000 + 2 MR points per dollar first 50k – plus added employee card)
and both have 12 months 0% so in addition to meeting the sign up bonuses, the 1.82% is def worth it for me.
Anyone else having issues processing a second payment under the same SSN. It is not working for me
I keep on getting an error message on PayUSATax.com when trying to pay with a credit card – any advice?
Try Paypal via them?
doesn’t PayPal charge an additional ~2% fee?
I thought PayPal charged an additional fee to process business tax payments (including payroll)?
Hi Dan,
Does paying property tax through paypal incur processing fee ?
Nope.
I normally file taxes once a year (and get a refund). Where would I “pre-pay”, under estimated tax?
keep in mind that if you are trying to hit a bonus, or for any other reason for that matter, paypal algorithms and policy and back end will not automatically decline your payment if your card is declined. eg, if its over the limit or simply declined as fraud by your bank. rather, paypal will automatically, and without notice, try additional backup payment methods, such as an alternate card, bank account etc, to process the payment. this can lead to paypal charging the smaller fee to the intended card and the larger amount to a backup card. and if your backup isnt 0%, that can be financially harmful
How much can be charged on the card/ payment. Is there a cap? If so how can i spend 100k on a tax payment on the cap one card?
Anyone?
“You can also request a refund for any overpayment” How does this work ? Can you only do it while you file your annual taxes ?
Im getting a 1.87% being charged
You’re selecting the wrong processor.
On Friday, I tried to use a business card to pay Q1 estimated taxes for 2024. The site I was using was official payments.com. It didn’t allow me to use a business card and said I had to use a personal card. Never had that happen before, has anybody had that happened to them this year??
Not sure why you’d use that site, but either way, if you aren’t able to use your card to make a payment, try paying via Paypal.
It happened to me on Friday and just today I decided to try through PayPal and it worked
Turbo tax was definitely charging more than 1.8% processing fee
So don’t use them to make the payment.
Are they legally allowed to charge a higher processing fee than what it actually costs them?
Sure, but why use them? Just pay via PayUSA and file with TT.
I tried using business premier and it kept giving errors. But it worked through PayPal
BOA w/bonus, 2.625%. Not as good as the 6.125% during the coin days.
U need to update the 6k aeroplan transfer last minute. You wrote the other day how it doesn’t apply anymore as united is blocking space
That is not what I wrote.
I have a Chase credit card that cannot be expedited and can ONLY be added to GPay, not PayPal (UGH!). Anyway, is there a way to do Tax Payment with GPay? Does anyone know if you can use GPay for the existing sites to pay federal taxes?
The only options I see, when using my phone, on the websites, are plain old CC, PayPal, and Click to Pay (which requires the CC Info). Do any of the 3 payment processors accept GPay? TIA!
There is a bit of risk that the payment processor does not correctly transfer the funds to the IRS, or that the IRS takes too long to credit, and you end up getting an unpaid letter. Check reddit for several nightmare stories. This seems great when it works, but if something goes wrong it sounds like a major headache to try and get it resolved.
I’ve been doing this for years and never ran into that.
Either way, you get an email confirmation, so it shouldn’t be a big deal at all if you get a letter. Just respond with a copy of the confirmation.
It takes several days to finalize. On the IRS website it always shows credited on the day I made the payment. Never an issue going back several years.
1. If it’s due tomorrow, won’t it be too late till I get one of these cards in the mail to pay?
2. If I need funds to show for a mortgage..and don’t want to spend lots now in taxes… I should probably get a card that has 0% apr… Which card would be most recommended?
Shkoiach.
Too late to get a card now as you said, but best for you would probably be 0 APR Ink. Carrying large balance on a personal card will dent your credit score, but on a business Ink, it won’t.
Shoots. I just got 2 new cards to cover the full balance. I managed to get the card numbers without waiting for the physical card.
But I didn’t know that I’d do better on a business card, as you said.
Thanks!
Don’t think it would have been possible with Chase (the Inks). Be careful with your credit utilization and credit score if you’re applying for a mortgage soon.
I used this offer https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/register-bonus-miles-pqps-united-card-spending/ . May not be the best value, but with this offer, I should be able to book a flight with the points that cost more than the fees did.
I have boa premiere card with 2.65% but worried about paying 10k plus and messing up my credit score for high utilization.
If you pay it off as soon as it posts it shouldn’t be a problem.
Very strange but when the 1.82% processor kept denying my chase business card and wouldn’t let me connect tho PayPal either…I tried the 1.87% processor and it worked!
what number do I call at the
IRS to ask for a refund?
’ My upcoming real estate payment on 5/10 is for the school tax & is for $8516. They charge a fee of 2.3% to pay by credit card ($295). Assuming my Chase points are worth 1.5, I would earn 12,774 points. How do I determine if the 22,774 points are worth $295? I could use either Chase Ink Cash or Business Unlimited, and I have a Sapphire Preferred card. Thanks for advice.
Anyone?
No one.
Probably not. it has to offer you much more than your OOP cost. in my opinion, not kedai.
I am waiting for a new credit card to arrive. My estimated taxes are due on June 17. When is the latest date I can make a credit card payment? If I make a charge on Friday June 14, Will it post for June 17th? I don’t want to pay a 5 percent late fee.
Apparently, the fee is considered an expense – you just have to be eligible and itemize to claim it.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-09-037.pdf
It looks like the rules changed and you can’t deduct these Misc fees
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p529–2020.pdf
I want to pay my property tax, but credit line isnt enough, and they allow only one payment, can I prepay (citibank), to get more available funds? e.g. my tax is 10k and my credit line 8k, can I prepay 2k and charge a transaction of 10k? anyone knows??
For those who don’t want to or can’t use credit cards, you can try a debit card strategy (feel free to comment if you think I made any mistakes here): Discover Cashback debit gives 1% up to $30 per month. You are allowed 2 per quarter for each of the 3 processors but the fee for debit transactions are fixed. 2 payments times 4 quarters is 8 payments and when you multiply that by 3 for the 3 processors you have a total of 24 payments. Assuming you and your spouse both have those debit cards, you should be able to make a total of $72,000 in estimated tax payments per year and earn 1% cashback. You may not even need to go through the potential hassle of linking your spouse’s tax info to your joint tax return if you just use your name with your spouse’s debit card for the second 12 payments (assuming it goes through with when the addresses are the same).
In this scenario, the 24 fees would be a total of $54.72 ($2.14 + $2.50 + $2.20 x 8).
1% of $72,000 is $720, so you may be able to get $665.28 after subtracting the $54.72 for paying $72k of estimated taxes per year.
I was successful paying with Discover as a debit card with the first of the 3 processors, I can only assume it would be the same for the other 2. Also keep in mind that PayPal will likely always incur the credit card fee so it wouldn’t be an option here.
There’s also The Axios Bank Cashback checking that actually allows up to $2000 of cashback per month (much better and easier than Discover). The terms stipulate that you’d need to “select the signature option for your debit card transactions” so I don’t know if it includes these tax payments but I suppose it can be tested out.
I spoke with Payusatax this morning regarding an issue with my Chase Ink card, and they informed me that they no longer accept Chase or Discover cards. However, they do accept Amex and other Visa cards. When I asked for the reason behind this change, they were unable to provide an explanation.
I just paid with Chase today.
If you’re having issues, use Paypal.