April, 2002
“Oh, Tax Man, how I love you, let me count the ways to pay you…”
With advances in
technology, come great blessings, not the least of which are several
“alternative” ways to pay your taxes. While
no one has ever told me how much fun it was to write a check to the IRS or FTB,
using one of these alternative methods just might help…
You CAN use your credit card … After holding out for a long
time, VISA has most recently agreed to participate;
so now, you can use your VISA, American Express, MasterCard and Discover
card. A “convenience fee” of
2.5% will be charged by the processor. This
may still be a good deal, however, for people who have cards linked to
“mileage” or “rewards” programs. The maximum payment that can be
accepted is $99,999.
Using a touch-tone phone, dial 1-888-272-9829
(1-888-2-PAY-TAX) and waddle your way through the voice maze of
instructions; or, log onto their website at: www.8882paytax.com.
For those who plan to use the internet as their payment-solution,
however, you might consider registering
at www.eftps.gov.
This is an official federal government website. Advance registration is
required so that your bank account information may be verified and linked.
Your credit card is NOT charged for payments made from this site, and
there are no processing fees
imposed by the government (although your bank may assess a service charge). Some people may appreciate the fact that a payment history is
available in one place, with electronic verification of payments (and receipts
for payment).
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Copyright 2004
Steven L. Jager, CPA, An Accountancy Corporation