WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Internal Revenue Service is steering taxpayers with U.S. bank accounts toward its Direct Pay system as a fee-free way to make federal tax payments online without creating an account, supporting the agency’s broader shift toward electronic government payments.
Direct Pay allows individuals and businesses to make one-time payments directly from checking or savings accounts through IRS.gov. The service does not require registration or charge taxpayers a payment fee.
“As the IRS continues to support the broader federal effort to modernize payments to and from the government, Direct Pay gives taxpayers a free, secure, and convenient way to pay directly from a bank account,” IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano stated.
Individual taxpayers can use the system for balances due, estimated taxes, amended returns, extensions and other federal income tax payments. Married taxpayers filing jointly must provide information for the spouse listed first on the tax return.
Businesses can use Direct Pay for balances due, federal tax deposits and other federal tax payments.
Identity verification differs by taxpayer type. Individuals provide information from a prior-year tax return they select, while businesses provide a business name and employer identification number that the IRS checks against its records.
Taxpayers can make same-day payments or schedule them as much as 365 days in advance. Scheduled payments can be changed or canceled up to two business days before the payment date.
The system provides a confirmation number after a transaction and offers email confirmation. Payments require routing and account numbers from a U.S. financial institution.
Direct Pay is limited to payments of less than $10 million per transaction. Taxpayers making payments of $10 million or more can instead use a same-day wire or the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System if already enrolled.
The service cannot be used to receive tax refunds through direct deposit. Taxpayers who have never filed a return or have not filed one in more than six years may need another payment method.
Taxpayers can access Direct Pay through IRS.gov and choose either “Pay individual tax” or “Pay business tax.” Additional information about eligible payments, scheduling and confirmations is available through Direct Pay Help at https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay-help.
Support the local news that supports Chester County. MyChesCo delivers reliable, fact-based reporting and essential community resources—free for everyone. If you value that, click here to become a patron today.