Everything You Need to Know About Paying Taxes with a Credit Card

Throughout the year, taxes are typically taken out of your paycheck. But there are times when not enough money is withheld — thanks to changes in your tax situation or other factors — and you end up owing when you file your tax return. You could also owe taxes if you’re self-employed and don’t have an employer to withhold taxes from your checks.

When you owe taxes to the IRS or another government entity, there are a number of ways you could pay, including sending in a check or paying with a debit card. Credit cards may also be among the payment methods available to you, depending on who you owe. Yes, paying taxes with a credit card is not only possible, but there could also be benefits under the right circumstances. On the other hand, there could be costs and downsides.

This guide to paying taxes with a credit card will help you determine both whether charging your taxes on your card is possible — and whether it’s advisable given your specific situation.

Can you really pay taxes with a credit card?

While it’s often possible to pay taxes with a credit card, not all taxing authorities are set up to allow this. The IRS and most state governments are, but local governments or municipalities may not be.

Even when taxing agencies accept credit card payments, they tend to do so through third-party processors — all of which charge service fees. You’ll need to pick one of these processors and pay the fee if you want to charge your tax payment.

If you use tax-filing software, the program may also allow you to pay taxes with a credit card. However, you’re generally limited to paying only federal income taxes, you must efile to pay with a card, and you’ll still be charged a processing fee. For example, TurboTax charges a 2.49% transaction fee if you pay your taxes with a card using its service.

Why would you use a credit card to pay taxes?

There are a number of reasons why taxpayers may decide to use a credit card to pay their taxes. Here are a few:

To earn credit card points or cash back 

Many credit cards give you points or miles for each dollar you spend. If you have a hefty tax bill, getting rewarded for the money you spend on it would be nice.

The Citi Double Cash^® Card is one example of a card with generous cash back. You could 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases; plus, for a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24. That means if you owe $10,000 to the IRS and put it on your Citi card, you could earn $200 cash back. If you pay a 1.87% processing fee to pay your $10,000 tax bill, the fee would equal $187. So you’d still come out with an extra $13.

To meet minimum spending requirements for a new cardmember bonus

Many credit card issuers provide a generous welcome bonus if you open a new card and meet a spending threshold in a specific time period. For example, with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card you can earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Depending on how you redeem those bonus miles, that’s worth at least $750 toward travel.

If you don’t usually charge much, earning this spending bonus with a new credit card might not be possible. But if you pay $3,000 of your tax bill on your card, you could fulfill the requirement. If you pay a 1.87% fee to charge this $3,000, you’d pay $56.10. You’d still be $693.90 better off thanks to the $750 toward travel you’d earn.

To save on interest

You could potentially use a balance transfer credit card to buy yourself time to pay taxes without incurring interest or penalties.

If you pay your taxes late, you owe both penalties and interest starting immediately after the deadline. The penalty for late federal tax payments is 0.5% of the unpaid tax balance for each fraction of a month that you’re late — up to a maximum of 25% of the unpaid tax amount. Interest charges on unpaid taxes are set quarterly and equal the federal short-term rate plus 3%. The IRS website publishes the latest interest rates. While you can set up IRS payment plans, interest and penalties still accrue, and you sometimes have to pay a fee to set up the plan.  

State and local governments also typically charge interest on delinquent payments, although the specific amount will vary.

Incurring costs and fees for being late on your taxes can be much more expensive than the fee associated with paying taxes on a credit card. Of course, credit card interest would normally be much higher than the interest the IRS or your state’s revenue department charges — unless you get a card with a 0% intro APR (annual percentage rate).

The Discover it^® Cash Back, for example, offers 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months (then 17.24% - 28.24% Variable). In addition, if you open a Discover it Cash Back Card and charge your taxes on it, the 1% cash back you’d get on your purchase could reduce your fee for processing your tax payment down to just 0.87%. If you’re a new cardmember, Discover also matches your cash back earned in your first year with no limits, which means the fee would be fully covered with cash back to spare.

And you’d have 15 months to pay off the tax bill with 0% intro APR — instead of paying a late payment penalty and interest from day one.

Is it worth it to pay taxes with a credit card?

To decide if paying taxes on a credit card is worth it, simply compare the fee you pay for payment processing with the benefits of using your card. As the examples above showed:

• If you can get more in cash back or rewards than the fee, it’s worth it.
• If you can qualify for a new cardmember bonus or other perks that require a certain amount of spending and the bonus or perks are worth more than the fee, it’s worth it.
• If the cost of processing the tax payment is below the interest and fees for late taxes and you can qualify for a 0% intro APR credit card, it’s worth it.

The more cash back you receive or the higher the value of your rewards or cardmember perks, the more beneficial there is to paying your taxes on a card.

For example, with some Bank of America credit cards — including the Bank of America^® Premium Rewards^® credit card — you can qualify for a Bank of America Preferred Rewards® bonus if you have $20,000 or more invested across Bank of America and Merrill Lynch accounts.

The Bank of America Preferred Rewards® bonus boosts the points this card offers for everyday purchases by 75% if you have at least $100,000 invested with Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. So you could get as much as 2.63 points per dollar spent. Points can be redeemed as a statement credit or deposit into Bank of America or Merrill Lynch accounts. So when subtracting a 1.87% fee for processing your tax payment, you could still get 0.76% back per dollar spent. If you charge a $10,000 tax bill, you’d make $76, even after accounting for fees.

Get more details at our Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card review.

Be sure you can pay off your credit card balance in full

There’s one big caveat when deciding if paying taxes on a credit card is worth it: Credit cards charge very high interest. The standard credit card interest rate would be well above the interest the IRS charges if you’re late paying taxes. And it would dwarf the value of any rewards earned.

So, unless you can pay off your credit card bill when the statement is due or before the 0% rate expires, never pay your taxes on a credit card.

Be careful of your credit score

There’s one other downside to paying taxes on a credit card: You could hurt your credit utilization ratio. This is an important factor in your credit score. You calculate it by dividing your balance used by credit available. If it goes above 30%, your credit score suffers.

If you have $10,000 in available credit and charge a $10,000 tax bill, you’re using 100% of credit available to you — so your utilization ratio becomes 100%. This could lead to a big drop in your credit score until you’ve paid down your debt.

How to pay federal taxes with a credit card

The IRS lets you pay taxes with a credit card regardless of whether you e-file, submit paper returns, or receive a tax bill. You can pay installment agreements with a credit card as well. But you have to use an approved payment processor, and each processor charges fees. 

Approved processors include:

Using an integrated e-file and e-pay service can also streamline the process of paying with a card, as you can both submit your taxes and submit your payment using the same tax software. The IRS provides information on e-filing services that integrate e-payments. The table below shows the services you can use:

How to pay state taxes with a credit card

State governments also sometimes allow you to pay taxes using a credit card. When they do, they also require you to use third-party payment processing services. The rules vary by state, as do the payment processors you can use.

To find out if your state permits you to charge tax payments, use the following resources: The Federation of Tax Administrators has a listing of taxing authorities for each state. Find your state’s site to check the rules for paying taxes online.

If you use tax filing software to efile your state taxes but want to pay with a credit card, you may have to indicate that you’re going to pay your tax bill with a check in order to complete the efiling process. You could then go to the website of the state’s approved payment processors to submit your card payment.

How to pay local taxes with a credit card

You may also owe local taxes. These could be owed to your township or municipality. Visit the website of the local taxing authority or contact it via phone to find out whether you can pay your taxes with a credit card.

For example, if you live in Hillsborough County, Florida, search “Hillsborough county taxes.” This would bring you to the website of the Hillsborough County Tax Collector. On this website, you’d see services you could use to process payments, including:

• TouristExpress to pay tourist development taxes
• RenewExpress to pay vehicle renewal taxes
• BTExpress to pay business taxes

Each county tax website will have its own payment processors, some of which may facilitate credit card payments.

How to pay quarterly taxes with a credit card

If you’re self-employed, you’re expected to pay taxes to the IRS as you earn income. Because your employer doesn’t withhold these taxes, you have to pay them yourself four times per year in April, June, September, and January.

Quarterly taxes can generally be paid to the IRS or to your state using the same payment processors you use to pay annual taxes. Most payment services give you the option to specify which type of taxes you’re paying when you submit your credit card info for the payment to be processed.

Recommended credit cards for paying taxes

Some of the credit cards we recommend for paying taxes include the following:

Bank of America^® Premium Rewards^® credit card

If you can qualify for the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program by putting at least $20,000 into Bank of America or Merrill Lynch accounts (or both), this is one of the best rewards credit cards for paying taxes. This card will offer you not just 1.5X points per dollar spent on your taxes but also a rewards bonus between 25% and 75%. With this bonus, the cash back should cover or exceed the fees you pay. The card also offers:

• Earn 60,000 online bonus points (a $600 value) after you make at least $4,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
• Up to $100 in statement credits for airline incidentals and up to a $100 statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years

While it has a $95 annual fee, those statement credits more than cover that fee.

Learn more in our Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card review. 

Discover it^® Cash Back

This card is ideal for paying your taxes because Discover matches your cash back earned during your first year, and you get to take advantage of a 0% intro APR for 15 months (then 17.24% - 28.24% Variable). Your fee will be fully covered thanks to the matched cash back, and you’ll get lots of time to pay taxes interest-free. The card offers other great features, too, including:

• Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.
• $0 annual fee

Find out more in our Discover it Cash Back review. 

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

This credit card offers the opportunity to earn 2% cash rewards on purchases, which almost covers the tax payment processing fee. And you get a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening (then 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable), so you have a long time to pay your taxes before the regular APR kicks in. 

All of this, plus a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months, make this an ideal card for paying taxes. The card provides other perks, too, including:

• $0 annual fee
• Rewards can be redeemed at Wells Fargo ATMs

Learn more in our Wells Fargo Active Cash card review. 

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

If you're looking for travel rewards, this card could be a good option. This card has a generous welcome offer, allowing you to earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) along with its regular rewards. 

It also offers a 0% intro APR for 15 months, then it's 20.49% - 29.24% Variable. In terms of ongoing rewards, it offers 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. Its other perks include:

• $0 annual fee
• Flexible redemption options with Chase Travel, including cash back as a statement credit, gift cards, or travel

Learn more in our Chase Freedom Unlimited review.

Methodology

To select the recommended credit cards for paying taxes, we looked for cards with competitive rewards rates and introductory offers that could potentially offset processing fees. This is not an exhaustive list and does not cover all available credit cards.

Bottom line

Now you know about the options for paying taxes on a card, as well as the fees you may pay. If you decide that using a card is a good idea, check out the options mentioned here. One of these cards may be the perfect credit card to use to pay the IRS or your state or local tax bill.

Lucrative, Flat-Rate Cash Rewards

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

5.0

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

Apply Now

Rates and fees

Current Offer

$200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

Earn 2% cash rewards on purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
• Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases
• Intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers
• $0 annual fee

Drawbacks

• Has foreign transaction fee
• No bonus categories

Card Details

• Select “Apply Now” to take advantage of this specific offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
• Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
• 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR thereafter; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5.
• $0 annual fee.
• No categories to track or remember and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
• Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
• Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.