Can I Pay My Taxes With a Credit Card? 

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  Robin Saks Frankel

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  Robin has worked as a personal finance writer, editor and spokesperson for over a decade. Her work has appeared in national publications including Forbes Advisor, USA TODAY, NerdWallet, Bankrate and HerMoney. She holds an M.S. in Business and Economic Journalism from Boston University, a Poynter ACES Certificate in Editing and is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®).

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  Emily Gadd

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  Emily Gadd is a certified credit counselor, editor and personal finance expert responsible for writing about personal finance and credit cards. She got her start writing and editing at Healthline. She is passionate about creating educational content that makes complex topics accessible. Emily holds a credit counselor certification, accredited by the National Association of Certified Credit Counselors (NACCC). She lives in Seattle with her husband and two cats.

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  Jasmin Baron

  Credit Cards, Travel Rewards, Loyalty Programs, Family Travel, Credit Building, Credit Scores

  Jasmin Baron is CardCritics’ senior editor, responsible for editing and writing credit cards, travel rewards, loyalty program, and other credit-related content. She is passionate about personal finance education and enjoys sharing tips and tricks for making the most credit card points and miles with her readers. Her expertise in maximizing credit card travel rewards originated from over two decades of aviation industry experience, including 18 years working as a pilot and college professor/flight instructor in her native Canada. Her work has appeared on sites such as CNN Underscored Money, Business Insider, The Points Guy, and point.me. When she’s not planning her next trip with credit card rewards, you’ll probably find her tinkering around in the kitchen, hanging out with her three kids, or playing with her dog, Benji.

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• Last Updated Nov 24, 2025

If you’ve ever been hit with a big tax bill and wondered if you can pay your taxes with a credit card, the short answer is yes. But deciding if you should will depend on your goals, whether you’re trying to take advantage of a 0% APR offer, meet a welcome bonus requirement on a new rewards credit card, or just need a longer runway to pay down what you owe.

“As with many financial things, it comes down to math — both present and future,” said Bobbi Rebell, CFP® and founder of Financial Wellness Strategies.

How To Pay Taxes With a Credit Card

Unlike most other types of purchases, you can’t pay the Internal Revenue Service directly with your credit card. The IRS uses third-party processors to accept your payment and there’s a small fee attached to paying your taxes this way. Here’s how to pay your taxes with a credit card.

1. Choose an IRS-approved payment processor. The IRS only offers two choices of payment processors: Pay1040 and ACI Payments Inc.
2. Go to the website of your preferred processor and choose the type of federal tax bill you’re paying. Eligible types include personal income tax, estimated payments, installment payments, automatic extensions to file and personal income tax from previous years. You can also pay your business taxes this way, and some state taxes. You can also call Pay1040 or ACI Payments and pay by phone.
3. Enter your card details and the amount you’d like to pay. Before processing the transaction, you’ll be shown the service fee that applies to your payment. 
4. Submit the payment. After you complete the payment, you’ll receive a confirmation for your payment. Be sure to hold on to this receipt for your records.

What It Costs To Pay Taxes With a Credit Card 

The two payment processors you can use to pay your taxes have different processing fees. As of this writing, here’s what you’ll pay with each one:

Payment Amount	Pay1040 Processing Fee	ACI Payments Inc. Processing Fee
$50	$2.50	$2.50
$100	$2.50	$2.50
$250	$4.37	$4.62
$1,000	$17.50	$18.50
$2,500	$43.75	$46.25
$10,000	$175.00	$185.00

Perks of Paying Taxes With a Credit Card 

If you have excellent credit, it’s possible to make paying your taxes with your credit card work to your advantage. Here are some of the biggest potential perks.

You Can Earn Rewards

If you have a cash-back card or travel credit card, you can accrue valuable rewards by paying taxes with a credit card. The bigger the bill you pay, the more you can earn in rewards. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that it only makes sense to employ this strategy if you’ll earn more in rewards than you’ll pay in processing fees.

You Can Use an Intro 0% APR Offer To Spread Out Payments

Taking advantage of a card with an introductory 0% APR offer allows you to spread out your credit card payments without accruing interest during the promotional period. This can be less expensive than the installment payment plans offered by the IRS, as long as you pay off the entire balance before the promo offer expires. 

“It can make sense if you need short term cash flexibility, run the numbers, and the cost of using the credit card is lower than the fees and penalties you will incur from the IRS,” said Rebell. “Keep in mind that for it to make sense, you still have to be paying off the balance in time to avoid interest charges.”

Consider a card like the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card, which comes with one of the longest low-interest offers you’ll find: 0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening on purchases and on qualifying balance transfers, then a 17.74%, 24.24%, or 28.49% Variable APR. This no-annual-fee credit card gives you nearly two years to pay down your bill without accruing any finance charges. If you pay off your debt within that time frame, it’s less expensive than the set-up fees and potential interest charges you’ll incur with an IRS payment plan.

You Can Unlock a Welcome Bonus

Some of the biggest and best welcome offers require a hefty amount of spending within the first few months of opening a new card. Generally, the bigger the bonus, the bigger the spending requirement. For example, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers 100,000 miles after spending $10,000 on purchases within the first six months of account opening — worth at least $1,000 in travel. 

A welcome bonus allows you to amass a pile of points more quickly than you’d be likely to earn through everyday spending, so it can make sense to use a credit card to pay your taxes if it means you’ll reap ample rewards for doing so.

Drawbacks of Paying Taxes With a Credit Card 

Using a credit card to pay your taxes isn’t a no-brainer. Several caveats could make using a card a poor choice.

Processing Fees Will Eat Into Your Rewards

The processing fees to pay your taxes by credit card will make a serious dent in your rewards-earning potential. For example, if you have a card like the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, which earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, and you pay a $10,000 tax bill, you’ll earn $200 in rewards. But you’ll also have paid $175 or $185 in processing fees, depending on which company you used to pay your taxes. You’ll still come out ahead, but the processing fees can eat into the benefit.

Interest Charges Can Pile Up Fast

Credit card interest rates are some of the highest of any type of loan, typically 18% and higher, so when you pay for your taxes with a card and you carry that balance, it’s expensive. 

The exception is using a 0% APR card, but you’ll run into the same high-interest problem if you don’t pay off the entirety of the balance before that low-interest period expires. The IRS interest rate for payment plans for individuals in 2025 is 7%, far less than typical credit card interest rates.

You May Harm Your Credit Through Greater Credit Utilization

Making a large tax payment on your credit card could eat up a big portion of your available credit. The amount of credit you use relative to what you have available is known as credit utilization, and this factors into your credit score. If you have a high credit utilization ratio, it can signal to lenders that you’re maxed out or close to it, and that will hurt your overall score.

Should I Pay My Taxes With a Credit Card?

Paying your taxes with a credit card can make sense if you: 

• Earn more in rewards than what you’ll pay in processing fees
• You’re using a card with a 0% APR offer on purchases and can pay the balance before the intro period expires
• You want to earn a welcome bonus on a new card, and you can pay the balance in full after you’ve made the purchase

“In general, there are better ways to pay your tax bill that avoid the heavy costs of throwing it on a credit card,” said Rebell.

Simply using a card to finance the bill over time is an extremely expensive proposition, and you’d likely be better off financing your bill through an IRS payment plan. Make sure to do the math before proceeding to make sure you’re making the most financially sound decision for your situation.