Contributed by: KristineS, FreeTaxUSA Agent, Tax Pro
One of the traditional ways many individuals make tax payments is through the IRS Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) at www.eftps.gov.
However, the IRS began to transition away from the use of EFTPS for individual taxpayers in 2025. This includes individual business owners that make quarterly estimated tax payments.
According to the EFTPS website, “Effective October 17th, 2025, Individuals will not be able to create new enrollments via EFTPS.gov. If you are an individual taxpayer and are not enrolled in EFTPS.gov by October 17th, you'll need to create an IRS Online Account for Individuals or use the IRS Direct Pay guest path.””
I’m self-employed. How will I make my quarterly payments to the IRS?
If you’re an individual with an existing account through EFTPS before October 17th, you’re still able to login and make estimated tax payments for 2026. In addition, EFTPS remains open to making other tax payment types for individual taxpayers with existing accounts.
The IRS anticipates use of EFTPS for individuals will permanently close by September 2026, meaning all individual taxpayers will be required to transition to another payment method. If you’re a sole proprietorship or Single Member LLC without payroll and used to making quarterly estimated tax payments via EFTPS, the IRS urges you to create an online account at irs.gov.
Business owners with payroll/employment-related taxes will continue to use EFTPS for their business tax payments.
What options are still available to pay my federal tax bill?
Tax payments to the IRS can still be made in a variety of ways:
In addition, the use of paper checks or money orders for estimated tax payments or paying a tax bill will continue to phase out under Executive Order 14247, issued in March 2025. You can read more on this in our article, “Why the IRS is going 100% digital on income tax refunds and payments for tax due”.
Can I still pay my tax bill through FreeTaxUSA?
Yes! FreeTaxUSA will continue to offer our customers options to pay their tax bill. These include credit or debit card payments and bank draft as mentioned above. You can also set up an installment agreement (payment plan) in the Misc section before starting your state return.
Customers can find the links and phone numbers for IRS-approved credit card processors on the IRS website. Digital wallet payments via PayPal and Click to Pay are also options, and cash payments can be made through VanillaDirect.
FreeTaxUSA continually monitors important news from the IRS and will update our customers as more information on EFTPS becomes available. Our Customer Support team is also available to help answer questions and explain payment options.