Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)

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Category: Individual Taxes

Written by Madeline Delanni

Hits: 1325

EFTPS is a system offered by the U.S. Department of Treasury for paying federal taxes electronically via the internet, over the phone or through special channels designated for tax professionals, payroll services and financial institutions. You can use EFTPS to make all federal tax payments, including income, employment, estimated and excise taxes. Anyone can use it and it’s absolutely free.

You can make payments whenever it’s convenient for you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Businesses can schedule payments up to 120 days in advance and individuals can set up payments up to 365 days in advance. Be aware that payments must be scheduled at least one calendar day prior to the date the taxes are due and the payment must be scheduled by 8:00pm ET.

You can schedule payments months in advance knowing that your instructions will be executed on the day you choose and your records will be updated with the IRS. As soon as the funds are transferred from your account to the Treasury’s account, you’ll immediately receive an acknowledgement that your payment has been made.

Before you can use the online system to make tax payments, you’ll need to enroll. To do so, you’ll need your tax identification number if you are making a business payment or your social security number if you are making a payment as an individual. You’ll also need a bank account number and the routing number. It takes about a week to receive your PIN in the mail.

Each online transaction requires authentication through both your PIN and password. Without both of these pieces of information, you will be unable to use most of the online EFTPS functions. As with all passwords, keep them in a safe place and don’t divulge this information to anyone.

Because the system retains sixteen months of your EFTPS online payment history, you can retrieve payments data with ease.

The bottom line is that the system is fast and you can make a payment in minutes. You can review all of the payment information for accuracy before sending the payment. It’s convenient because you can access the system from just about anywhere at any time. Lastly, provided you keep your login information private, the system is safe.

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