How long do I have to pay after filing my returns in 2025?
Title: How long do I have to pay after filing my returns in 2025? 1 Just finished filing my 2024 taxes and I owe a few thousand more than I expected. Caught me completely off guard. I submitted my return through TurboTax last night and got the acceptance email this morning, but I definitely don't have the cash on hand right now to pay the full amount. How long do I actually have to pay the IRS after they've accepted my return? Can I set up some kind of payment plan, and if so, when's the deadline for that? I keep hearing different answers from friends - one said pay immediately, another said I have 60 days, and my brother swears I have until next year's filing season (which sounds wrong). I'm stressing out about penalties and interest. Help!
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Marcus Patterson
3 You've got until the filing deadline (April 15, 2025) to pay your tax liability without penalties, regardless of when you submitted your return. So if you filed early, you have until April 15 to pay without incurring the failure-to-pay penalty. If you can't pay in full by the deadline, you can set up an installment agreement with the IRS. There are several options depending on how much you owe. For amounts under $50,000, you can use the Online Payment Agreement tool on IRS.gov to set up a payment plan pretty easily. Just be aware that even with a payment plan, you'll still accrue interest (currently about 8%) on the unpaid balance.
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Marcus Patterson
•17 Does the interest start accruing right on April 15 or is there a grace period? And does the fee for setting up a payment plan differ if you do it online vs. calling them?
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Marcus Patterson
•3 Interest starts accruing from April 15 with no grace period unfortunately. The Federal short-term rate plus 3% is what they charge, which works out to about 8% currently. For payment plan fees, yes there's definitely a difference. Online applications for installment agreements are cheaper - $31 if you set up direct debit payments online versus $107 if you apply by phone, mail, or in-person. You can save a significant amount by using the Online Payment Agreement tool on IRS.gov.
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Marcus Patterson
9 I was in a similar situation last year and found this awesome service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me understand my payment options. I was super confused about the payment plans and whether I should put it on a credit card or set up an installment agreement. I uploaded my tax documents to taxr.ai and got a really clear breakdown of my options, including the exact costs of different payment plans versus paying by credit card.
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Marcus Patterson
•12 How does that work exactly? Do they help you fill out the payment plan paperwork or just tell you what your options are? I'm considering using them but wondering what they actually do.
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Marcus Patterson
•20 Is it secure to upload your tax documents to a third party site? I'm always paranoid about my financial info getting stolen.
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Marcus Patterson
•9 They analyze your tax situation and give you personalized advice on your payment options. They don't fill out the paperwork for you, but they break down the exact costs of each option, including interest calculations for different payment plan lengths versus credit card fees. It makes the decision much easier when you can see the total cost of each approach. They use bank-level encryption for all document uploads and don't store your personal information longer than needed. Their site explains their security measures in detail, but I was impressed with how seriously they take data protection. I felt completely comfortable using the service.
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Marcus Patterson
12 Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the previous commenter mentioned. It was actually super helpful! I was stressing about whether to use my savings, credit card, or payment plan, and they showed me that in my specific situation, a 6-month payment plan would only cost me about $78 in interest and fees total, which was WAY less than the credit card interest I would've paid. Saved me hundreds of dollars and the peace of mind was worth it. They also explained exactly how to set up the payment plan on the IRS website which was way easier than I expected.
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Marcus Patterson
14 If you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS about your payment options (which I recommend), good luck getting through to them. I spent DAYS trying to reach a human being. Then I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an IRS agent in under 15 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically navigate the IRS phone tree for you and call you back when they get a human. I was skeptical but desperate, and it actually worked! The agent helped me customize a payment plan based on my financial situation.
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Marcus Patterson
•8 How does that even work? Sounds like magic lol. I've literally spent hours on hold with the IRS before.
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Marcus Patterson
•6 Yeah right, nothing gets you through to the IRS that fast. Sounds like a scam to me. What do they charge for this "miracle" service?
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Marcus Patterson
•14 It uses a system that continuously calls and navigates the IRS phone tree until it gets through to a human agent. Once it connects with someone, it calls you and bridges the call. It's not magic, just automated persistence! They charge for the service but don't advertise the price on Reddit (probably against rules). I can tell you the time saved was absolutely worth it. When you're facing penalties and need to talk to someone quickly, waiting days or weeks on hold isn't an option.
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Marcus Patterson
6 OK I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate to figure out my payment situation. I got connected to an IRS rep in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. The agent walked me through my options and helped me set up an installment plan based on what I could afford monthly. They even waived one of the penalties since it was my first time owing! Never would have gotten that if I hadn't been able to actually speak with someone. I'm amazed this service actually exists and works.
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Marcus Patterson
22 One thing nobody mentioned yet - if you owe less than $100,000, you can actually pay by credit card. There's a processing fee (around 2% I think), but if you have a good rewards card or a 0% intro APR offer, it might be worth considering instead of the IRS installment plan. Just make sure you can pay it off before any promotional rate expires!
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Marcus Patterson
•19 Isn't the processing fee higher than the IRS interest rate though? I thought IRS interest was like 8% annually which would be less than 2% for a couple months of payments?
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Marcus Patterson
•22 The math really depends on your specific situation. The processing fee is a one-time 2% charge, while IRS interest compounds daily at their current rate. If you can pay off the credit card quickly (especially with a 0% intro APR), the one-time fee might be cheaper than ongoing IRS interest plus the installment plan setup fee. Plus, if you earn rewards on that spending, it can offset some of the processing fee.
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Marcus Patterson
4 Don't forget about state taxes! The IRS payment deadline applies to federal taxes, but your state might have different rules and deadlines for payment. Make sure you check your state's tax website too.
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Marcus Patterson
•15 That's a really good point. I almost got hit with a penalty in California because I assumed the payment date was the same as federal!
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