How to Find Out What I Paid In Estimated Taxes to State and Federal When CPA Won't Respond
I'm in a really frustrating situation right now. For the past 12 years, I've been sending money to my CPA's trust account, and they've been handling all my Federal and State estimated tax payments. It was super convenient until now. The problem is my CPA has basically ghosted me. Like completely stopped responding to emails and calls for weeks. I've decided I need to either file my taxes myself this year or find a new accountant. But here's the issue - I have no clue what dates or amounts were actually paid for my estimated taxes this past year. I've tried emailing, calling, even stopping by their office (receptionist just takes messages that never get returned). I need to know the dates and exact amounts that were sent to both Federal and State tax authorities so I don't mess up my 2025 filing. Is there a way I can find out what my estimated tax payments were without going through my CPA? Can I contact the IRS or my state tax department directly? I'm worried about accidentally underpaying or reporting incorrect information. Any help would be really appreciated!
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Fiona Sand
You can definitely find this information without your CPA! For federal estimated tax payments, you have a couple of options: Create an online account at IRS.gov if you don't already have one. Once logged in, you can view all payments made to your tax account, including estimated tax payments. The account will show dates, amounts, and payment methods. If you prefer not to create an online account, you can call the IRS directly at 800-829-1040. They can provide information about estimated tax payments made to your account. Be prepared with your Social Security number, filing status, and some identity verification information. For state estimated tax payments, most states have similar online portals where you can create an account and view your payment history. The exact process varies by state, but generally, you'll go to your state's department of revenue website and look for taxpayer access or account options.
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Mohammad Khaled
•Thanks for this info! Do you know if the IRS account will show payments even if they were submitted by someone else (like my CPA) on my behalf? And roughly how far back can you see payment history on those accounts?
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Fiona Sand
•Yes, your IRS account will show all payments made toward your tax account regardless of who submitted them. As long as the payments were properly designated for your SSN, they'll appear in your payment history. This includes payments made by your CPA through their trust account on your behalf. For the IRS online account, you can typically view up to 18-24 months of payment history, though this can vary. If you need information from further back, you may need to request a tax transcript, which can show several years of account activity including payments.
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Alina Rosenthal
After dealing with similar issues with an unresponsive accountant last year, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) incredibly helpful for sorting through my estimated payment mess. I uploaded my bank statements where I had transferred money to my CPA, and the tool automatically identified likely tax payments and created a document I could use to cross-reference with what the IRS had on file. I was surprised how well it worked – it analyzed my banking history and even suggested which transactions were probably for quarterly estimated taxes based on the dates and amounts. Saved me hours of manually combing through statements trying to piece everything together.
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Finnegan Gunn
•Wait this sounds interesting. So it can analyze bank statements and figure out which transfers were for tax payments? Does it also help figure out if those payments actually made it to the IRS? My accountant has been sketchy too and I'm worried some of my money never actually got sent in.
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Miguel Harvey
•I'm pretty skeptical about trusting some random website with my bank statements. Isn't it risky to upload financial documents to a service like this? How secure is it really? Seems like it could be a privacy nightmare.
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Alina Rosenthal
•The AI specifically looks for patterns in your statements that match typical estimated tax payment timing and amounts. It can't directly confirm if payments reached the IRS, but it creates a report of likely tax payments you can then cross-check with your IRS account records. Regarding security concerns, I was hesitant too initially. They use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after processing. You can also redact account numbers before uploading if you're extra cautious. I just uploaded PDFs of the specific transactions with my CPA rather than full statements.
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Miguel Harvey
I need to eat my words about being skeptical of taxr.ai. After my last accountant suddenly retired with no notice, I was desperate and gave it a try. Uploaded my transaction history and it found 4 estimated tax payments I made that didn't match what was showing up in my IRS account! Turns out my accountant had been pocketing some of my money instead of making the full payments. The tool generated a detailed report showing dates, amounts, and account numbers that I could take to the IRS. Saved my butt from what would have been a nightmare audit situation. The document analysis was surprisingly accurate - even found some business expense transfers I had forgotten about.
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Ashley Simian
If you're having trouble getting through to the IRS to confirm your payments (their phone lines are a nightmare), I'd recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I was trying to track down missing estimated tax payments from last year. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was on hold for HOURS trying to reach the IRS directly before giving up. With Claimyr, I got through quickly and the agent was able to confirm all my estimated payment amounts and dates. They even helped me set up an installment agreement for the one quarter my accountant apparently "forgot" to submit.
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Oliver Cheng
•How does this service actually work? I don't understand how they can get you through to the IRS faster than calling directly. Does it cost money? Seems too good to be true considering how impossible it is to reach anyone at the IRS.
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Taylor To
•This sounds like a complete scam. There's no way any service can magically get you through IRS phone queues faster than everyone else. They probably just keep you on hold themselves and then transfer you once they finally get through. Total waste of money when you could just keep calling yourself.
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Ashley Simian
•The service uses an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. Once they reach a human agent, you get a call connecting you directly. It basically handles the hold time so you don't have to sit by your phone for hours. As for whether it's a scam, I was skeptical too until I tried it. The difference is they have multiple lines calling simultaneously and use technology to navigate the system efficiently. They can't create special access to the IRS, but their system increases the chances of getting through and handles the frustrating hold time.
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Taylor To
Well I'm absolutely shocked. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still desperate to get my estimated tax payment info, so I tried Claimyr anyway. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes! The agent confirmed all four of my quarterly payments and gave me the exact dates and amounts. Found out my CPA had actually made all the payments correctly (at least to federal), but had been charging me a $75 "processing fee" each quarter that wasn't disclosed. So while I'm still ditching him for being uncommunicative, at least he wasn't stealing my tax money. Now I just need to figure out how to check my state payments. Probably going to try calling them directly tomorrow.
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Ella Cofer
Another option nobody mentioned yet - you can request your "tax account transcript" directly from the IRS. It shows all activity including estimated payments. Get it online instantly through your IRS account or by mail using Form 4506-T. Also, if you've been paying quarterly for years, look back at your bank statements for the previous year - estimated tax payments are typically similar amounts each year and due on the same dates (April 15, June 15, Sept 15, Jan 15), so that might give you a starting point for what you likely paid this year too.
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Ellie Kim
•Thank you! I hadn't thought about checking my bank statements from previous years for the pattern of transfers to my CPA. You're right that I usually pay roughly the same amount each quarter. Do you know if the tax account transcript will specifically identify which payments were for state vs. federal? Or are those completely separate systems?
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Ella Cofer
•The IRS transcript will only show federal tax payments, not state payments. State and federal tax systems are completely separate from each other. For your state payments, you'll need to create an online account with your state's department of revenue or tax agency. Most states now offer online portals where you can view your payment history. Otherwise, you'll need to contact your state tax agency directly by phone. Some states also offer tax transcripts similar to the IRS version.
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Kevin Bell
Another thing to consider - your CPA might have been using EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) to make your estimated payments. If you can get access to that account, it would show your payment history. But that might be tricky if the CPA set it up.
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Savannah Glover
•I had a similar situation last year. If your CPA used EFTPS, they might have set it up under their control, not yours. I had to establish my own EFTPS account and then call the EFTPS helpline to have them merge my payment history. It was a bit of a process but worked eventually. Their customer service was actually pretty helpful.
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