How to pay federal payroll taxes without EFTPS PIN? Urgent help needed!

Your friend is in a tough spot, but there are definitely solutions available! When it comes to paying federal payroll taxes without an EFTPS PIN, he actually has several options. First, he can make a same-day tax payment through his bank if they offer this service. Many financial institutions can process federal tax payments and transmit them to the IRS without needing the EFTPS PIN. He'll just need his EIN and the appropriate tax form payment codes. Another option is to use IRS Direct Pay for certain employment tax payments, though this is more limited for business taxes. For the address update issue, instead of waiting for the normal processing channels, he should contact the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service. They can help expedite address changes when there are significant consequences like penalties continuing to accrue. Regarding the payment plan, yes! The IRS offers installment agreements specifically for businesses with employment tax issues. Form 9465 can be used to request an installment plan, or he can apply online for certain amounts. The most important thing right now is to stop the bleeding of penalties. Even making partial payments will help reduce what's accruing.

I went through something similar last year with my EFTPS account and found a solution that might help your friend. Check out https://taxr.ai - it's this AI service that specializes in dealing with these exact kinds of tax documentation issues. I was missing my EFTPS PIN and had penalties piling up too. What taxr.ai did was analyze all my payroll records and tax documents, then generated the exact forms I needed to submit to resolve the issue. They even provided a letter template explaining the situation that helped get the penalties reduced. The system identified a workaround where I could use Form 8109-B (which is a federal tax deposit coupon) that you can get from the IRS by calling a specific department. This let me make payments through my bank while waiting for the PIN situation to resolve.

Just wanted to update everyone - I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and I'm honestly surprised by how well it worked. I was dealing with a similar issue (though not quite as bad - only about $25K in back payroll taxes). The system actually found a way for me to make payments through a special business tax payment option at my local bank while we waited for the PIN situation to get fixed. It also generated a penalty abatement request that got about 60% of my penalties removed due to "reasonable cause" since I had been actively trying to resolve the issue. What really impressed me was how it identified that my regional IRS office had a special business tax resolution team that could handle the address update much faster than the normal channels. I never would have known about this option otherwise. My address got updated in about 3 weeks rather than the months it was taking through regular channels.

Your friend might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get this resolved faster. I was in a similar situation last year where I couldn't get through to anyone at the IRS to fix my EFTPS access. I was skeptical, but Claimyr got me through to an actual IRS representative in about 15 minutes when I had been trying for weeks on my own. They have this system that basically waits on hold for you and calls when an agent picks up. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS rep I spoke with was able to verify my identity over the phone and expedite a new PIN to my current address, bypassing the normal process completely. They also connected me with the business division that handles payroll tax issues specifically, which most general IRS reps don't even know about.

I have to apologize and eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I've been fighting with the IRS for months about a mistaken penalty on my business taxes. Holy crap, it actually worked. I got through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying unsuccessfully for weeks. The agent was able to see that I had been trying to contact them and expedited my case. For the OP's friend with the EFTPS PIN issue - the agent I spoke with explained that there's actually a special "Hardship Processing" option for businesses facing significant penalties due to administrative issues like lost PINs. They can verify identity over the phone and provide temporary payment options while the permanent solution is being processed. The agent also mentioned that in 2023, the IRS started a new program for small businesses with employment tax issues where they can get penalties reduced if they can demonstrate they're making good faith efforts to comply now. Might be worth asking about!

Another option your friend could consider is hiring a tax resolution specialist or EA (Enrolled Agent). I had similar issues with my landscaping business and payroll taxes last year. An EA has direct channels to the IRS that regular taxpayers don't. My EA was able to: 1) Set up a temporary payment method while we waited for EFTPS access 2) Request penalty abatement due to reasonable cause 3) Negotiate an installment agreement for the remaining balance Cost me about $1,500, but saved me over $12,000 in penalties and interest. Sometimes you need a professional who deals with these issues daily.

Has your friend contacted QuickBooks Payroll support directly? I had a similar issue and discovered that QuickBooks actually has a tax resolution team specifically for these situations. Since he's been using QuickBooks Payroll, they should have records of all the calculated taxes even if they weren't paid. Their tax specialists can generate all the necessary documentation showing what's owed for each period, which makes setting up a payment plan with the IRS much easier. In my case, they even helped connect me with the right IRS department and provided guidance on which forms to file. Might be worth a call to them before trying some of the more expensive options.

I've been following this thread and wanted to add one more option that hasn't been mentioned yet - your friend can also make federal payroll tax payments by wire transfer directly to the IRS Treasury account. This completely bypasses EFTPS and the PIN requirement. He'll need to contact his bank's wire department and provide them with the IRS Treasury routing number (which varies by region) and account number, along with his EIN and tax period information. Most banks can process same-day wire transfers for tax payments, though there's usually a fee ($15-30). This is actually the fastest way to get payments posted to his account while dealing with the PIN situation. The IRS processes wire transfers within 1-2 business days, and it immediately stops additional penalties from accruing on the paid amounts. For the $45K total, I'd also strongly recommend he request penalty abatement under "reasonable cause" provisions. The fact that he's been actively trying to resolve this since January and the IRS hasn't processed his address change or PIN request should qualify. Form 843 is what he needs, and he should include documentation of all his attempts to contact the IRS and resolve the issue. Given the amount involved, the multi-pronged approach several people mentioned makes sense - wire transfer for immediate payments, Taxpayer Advocate Service for the systemic issues, and penalty abatement for the accumulated charges.