Payment

debby

I have used 2 different banks to electronically pay 2025 taxes. Both accounts have not had money withdrawn. I also took a check to my local IRS office without the funds being taken out. Now I have an interest amount applied to my online account. What should I do to solve this issue.

Debra

Henry

Hi Debra, I understand how frustrating this situation must be, especially with interest now building up on your account. Since the payments were made directly to the IRS, this is something you'll need to resolve with them directly, but here's what I'd recommend doing right away.

First, log into your IRS online account at https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account to check the status of all three payment attempts. Your account transcript will show whether any of the payments were received and recorded by the IRS, even if the funds haven't left your bank yet.

Second, to stop the interest from continuing to grow, the fastest option is to make a payment right now using IRS Direct Pay at https://directpay.irs.gov. Select "Balance Due" as the reason for payment. Direct Pay is free and processes quickly, so it will get a payment on record immediately.

Third, because you have three separate payment attempts outstanding (two electronic and one check), it's important that you contact the IRS directly to make sure you don't end up paying multiple times. You can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to speak with an agent who can look up all three payment attempts and help you sort out which ones are pending, which may have failed, and whether any need to be canceled.

The IRS charges interest starting from the original due date of the balance, and it continues until the balance is paid in full (https://www.irs.gov/payments/interest), so acting quickly will help minimize the amount that accrues.

If the delay in payment was caused by an IRS processing backlog or error, you may be able to ask to remove the interest charges. If you believe interest was applied incorrectly due to an IRS issue, you can request a review by filing Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement. Here's an IRS link with more information:
https://www.irs.gov/payments/interest-abatement