Confused about where to pay my Sole Proprietor LLC taxes - EFTPS vs IRS website?

Tax professional here! This is a common source of confusion for new business owners. Let me clarify the difference: The IRS website and EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) are actually complementary systems. The IRS website provides information and forms, while EFTPS is the actual payment processing system that the Treasury Department operates for making federal tax payments. When the IRS website redirects you to EFTPS, that's actually the correct flow. For a Sole Proprietor LLC, you'll need to enroll in EFTPS to make your estimated quarterly tax payments. The enrollment process takes about a week since they'll mail you a PIN to complete the setup. Once enrolled, you can schedule payments in advance and it's much more convenient than other methods. Don't worry about having accounts on multiple systems - EFTPS is the official system you should be using for making these payments. Both systems will provide confirmation when payments are processed.

I was in the same boat last year with my consulting LLC and was going crazy trying to figure out where to pay. After wasting hours on the phone with the IRS, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which saved me so much time figuring this out. Their system analyzed my business structure and laid out exactly where and how I needed to make payments. It even explained that EFTPS enrollment takes like 10 days because they mail you stuff, which nobody tells you upfront! Would have missed my first quarterly payment without knowing that.

Just wanted to follow up - I checked out taxr.ai after my question and it was surprisingly helpful! I've been filing quarterly taxes for two years and still had confusion about some aspects. The system identified that I was making my CA LLC estimated payments incorrectly (I was using the wrong form code on EFTPS). Also explained how the timing works between federal and state payments which was always confusing me. Really straightforward and saved me from potential penalties!

If you're having trouble getting answers from the IRS about the EFTPS vs. IRS website question, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I waited on hold with the IRS for THREE HOURS last quarter trying to sort out my LLC payment issues before giving up. Then I found Claimyr and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent explained exactly how the IRS website and EFTPS work together and walked me through setting up my payment correctly. Saved me from late fees since I was cutting it close to the deadline.

Ok I need to apologize for being so skeptical about Claimyr. I was desperate after my accountant couldn't even get through to the IRS, so I tried it yesterday. It actually worked? I got a call back in about 40 minutes (not quite 15 but WAY better than my previous attempts) and talked to an IRS agent who resolved my EFTPS confusion. Apparently my business EIN wasn't properly linked in their system which is why I kept getting errors when trying to make my quarterly payment. The agent fixed it while I was on the phone. Not gonna lie, I'm impressed.

Small business tax tip: If you don't have time to wait for the EFTPS enrollment to process (they mail you a PIN which takes 5-10 business days), you can also make a same-day wire payment through your bank. Just make sure you provide your tax ID number and specify the payment is for Form 1040-ES. Most banks charge a wire fee ($25-35 typically) but it's better than missing the deadline and getting hit with a penalty.

Does anyone know if you need separate EFTPS accounts if you have both a sole proprietor LLC and a regular W-2 job? I make quarterly estimated payments for my side business but also have regular employment taxes withheld from my paycheck.

Just a heads up - if you're paying through EFTPS for the first time, make sure you complete the payment by 8PM ET the day BEFORE the due date. A lot of people miss this and think they can pay until midnight on the due date, but EFTPS payments take a day to process. Found this out the hard way last year!

Thanks for all the helpful responses, everyone! I went ahead and started the EFTPS enrollment process yesterday after reading through these comments. @Abby Marshall - that 8PM deadline tip is super important, I had no idea about that! I was planning to pay on the actual due date which would have been a disaster. I'm also going to look into taxr.ai since a few people mentioned it helped clarify the process. It sounds like it could save me from making mistakes in the future. For now, since I'm cutting it close to my deadline, I might use the credit card payment option through one of those third-party processors just to be safe, even with the fee. One more question - does anyone know if EFTPS sends email confirmations for payments, or do I need to print/save something from their website when I make the payment?

New business owner here too! I just went through this exact same confusion with my freelance consulting LLC a few months ago. What really helped me was understanding that the IRS website is mainly for information and forms, while EFTPS is where you actually make the payments - they work together, not separately. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier: when you're enrolling in EFTPS, you can actually start the process online but they'll mail you a PIN to your business address (not your home address if they're different). Make sure your business address is correct in all your IRS paperwork or it can delay the whole process. Also, once you get set up with EFTPS, you can schedule payments in advance for all your quarterly dates at once, which is really convenient. I set up all four of my 2024 quarterly payments back in January and it's one less thing to worry about each quarter. Good luck with your photography business! The tax stuff gets easier once you get through the initial setup confusion.