No balance on the IRS website

[Emilydngm]

I am self-employed and owe on my taxes this year. Both state and federal. I filed back in March and it was accepted. I keep checking the IRS website to pay my balance and it says there is no balance to be paid. When I click "make a payment" the pay in full option does not let me click it and says "not available at this time". I know the deadline is April 15th but I am not sure what to do. Turbotax shows the file and the balance. The IRS website shows me income. Yet there is no balance on their website and I have no ability to pay. What do I do, 

[xmasbaby0]

Look at your Form 1040.  The amount you owe is on line 37.   It has been there all along--- not sure why you are waiting to see it on the IRS site.

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/prior-year-return/help/how-do-i-get-a-copy-of-a-return-i-filed-thi...

If you owe tax due, you have to pay it yourself by the filing deadline on April 15, 2024.

 If you have federal tax due you can pay by mailing your payment with the 1040V voucher, (which has the address printed on it, having the payment taken out of a designated bank account, or you can pay directly on the IRS website. 

https://www.irs.gov/payments

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-can-i-pay-my-federal-taxes/00/26212

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-do-i-pay-my-irs-tax-due-with-a-check-or-mone... 

To apply for a payment plan with the IRS

Apply Online for a Payment Plan

You must pay your state tax due using the state’s preferred method of receiving payment.  For most states that will be by making a payment to the state’s own tax website, or by mailing a check or money order.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900884-what-are-my-options-for-getting-my-state-refund-or-for-pay...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901670-how-do-i-contact-my-state-department-of-revenue

[LeticiaF1]

If the balance is not reflected on your IRS account yet, you can go to their website to Make a Payment.  You will need a prior-year tax return to verify your information on the page and then you can make the payment there.  I would suggest you pay with a bank account since there are fees if you pay with a debit or credit card.  

@Emilydngm 

[vasile1]

In regards to "The amount you owe is on line 37":

WRONG answer. The line 37 includes also the bogus "underpayment penalty" bull**bleep** that TurboTax adds it to the tax you owe, NO MATTER what. Even during the interview-style questionnaire, the taxpayer specifically told the stupid TurboTax NOT to include that penalty and let IRS calculate it and eventually bill you for it, separately.

I think TurboTax is in bed with IRS, and paying it lipservice, to collect as much as they can. It kind of became a tax collector for IRS.

I'll never use this piece of shaite called TurboTax, ever again!

[MonikaK1]

If TurboTax calculated an underpayment penalty, visit or revisit the Underpayment Penalty section under Other Tax Situations, Additional Tax Payments and answer the questions to determine whether you meet an exception to the penalty, or to ask for a waiver of the penalty. 

When you get to the screen "Possible Penalty Exceptions", you could select "Answer yes to all questions" so that TurboTax will proceed as if you have an exception and won't calculate the penalty.

The IRS may still propose to assess the penalty, in which case you will have the opportunity to respond to them directly.

The IRS levies underpayment penalties if you don't withhold or pay enough tax on income received during each quarter. Even if you paid your tax bill in full by the April deadline or are getting a refund, you may still get an underpayment penalty.

We at Intuit TurboTax want our users to be completely delighted with their experience using our products and services, and successful in their financial lives and businesses. 

Once you file your return, as long as the settings to receive communication from Intuit don’t block it, you will see a pop-up message or receive an email with a survey asking you about your experience. We encourage you to leave your notes and comments there. “Voice of the Customer” notes and comments are read and acted upon.

If you are using TurboTax Desktop, you can also leave feedback at the Final Steps tab:

@vasile1 

[vasile1]

Hi @MonikaK1

Thank you for your comment.

The problem I am currently facing right NOW, as we speak is this:

1. I have already e-filed my 2024 tax return (somewhere in February or beginning of March).

2. Haven't paid the amount I was deemed to owe, right after e-filing it. I preferred to wait for about 2-3 weeks more.

3. Did NOT pay attention to a $251 (ouch!) underpayment penalty, which TurboTax quietly sneaked in behind my back. EVEN though during the Interview-style questionnaire I have SPECIFICALLY indicated that I do NOT want TurboTax to calculate that penalty for me. So I feel CHEATED as we speak!

4. I've waited for my 2024 e-filed tax return to be accepted by IRS, and actually waited even longer (for about 3 weeks).

5. And yesterday, April 4th 2025, I have decided to pay everything I owe to IRS for my 2024 tax return. Before attempting that, I first revisited the PDF copy of what TurboTax has e-filed on my behalf, and then I realized the $251 fee having been tacked in BEHIND MY BACK.

6. On April 4th 2024, I initiated an electronic payment through IRS My Account, but for the amount WITHOUT the $251 "penalty".

7. I then initiated an amended 2024 tax return, in which I had attempted to tell IRS that due to a TurboTax BUG, the total TAX amount owed was not the amount indicated in the original return, but it should be $251 LESS.

8. The amended return said $0 (ZERO) refund or tax due, but at least did not show any penalty. Probably because it reports a potential penalty ONLY for the amended return, not in the context of the ORIGINAL return!? VERY CONFUSING EXPERIENCE. It did show that the total amount that I should owe (and pay) to IRS is without the bogus $251.

9. I have ALREADY FILED the AMENDED 2024 return. Will it make any difference?

Can I hope that IRS will see the amended, e-filed 2024 return, as TAKING OVER and overriding the amount that was showing with an additional $251 originally asked to be paid, so that after my scheduled e-payment (which is $251 LESS), then IRS will see my balance to $0 for 2024, and then POTENTIALLY bill me separately for the $251 if THEY (and not the crooks from Intuit!) deem appropriate to do so?

Since the 2024 tax season is ending on April 15th 2025, will IRS see the AMENDED 2024 tax return (filed on April 4th 2025) in a timely manner and understand that the total amount that I OWE is ONLY the tax amount owed, without the penalty stuff?

I do not want to pay the $251. Period. Because it feels bogus.

My 2024 total income had some irregular component (a large variable bonus pay from my employer and 12k capital gains incurred by selling some stock at the end of 2024).

And I don't have time to re-calculate the tax withheld (plus about $10K that I made sure to pay additionally and voluntarily in December 2024) via the other "Annualized" method or whatever that other method is called ("recognize income at the time when it was actually incurred, instead of equally distributed in 56 equal bi-weekly payments throughout the year"). I simply don't have time for this - it is too complicated!

When I created the amended return through TurboTax, it did NOT provide me with an OPTION to indicate how much owed balance I have already paid in the context of the ORIGINAL, e-filed, 2024 tax return.

It only asked me for a date when I will pay, which could be only a date in the future, or EMPTY field. It NEVER asked me about an AMOUNT that I have paid, or which I am planning to pay.

WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE ME TO DO TO FIX THIS!?

Is there a way to amend an ... already amended tax return? And if YES, how?

I simply want the $251 taken off my balance on IRS.

IRS's web site still doesn't show any balance in my account for 2024 tax year (shows "information not available yet", and it's sitting like that even after waiting for 3 weeks after my original 2024 return was e-filed). Even when considering we're getting so close to the April 15 2025.

Probably the $251 will still show as "must pay", because of TurboTax's STUPID insistence of having decided to have that penalty added to to the actual tax owed, even when I have told it NOT to. I am now required to pay for a TurboTax MISTAKE / bug made by an INCOMPETENT "software architect" and/or "software engineer" (use of lower caps and double quotes is intentional - they DO NOT deserve to be called otherwise, unfortunately)!

If you can help me to fix this situation I am experiencing, I will be eternally grateful and change my opinion (currently at very NEGATIVE level) about TurboTax.

$251 is a lot of money for a sole breadwinner in a family of four!

Thank you.

[MonikaK1]

If you think you could have benefited from having the penalty calculated using the annualized income method, that is another choice you could have made in the Underpayment Penalty questionnaire.

The underpayment penalty (Internal Revenue Code section 6654) is part of the laws that the IRS is charged with administering. TurboTax simply provides users the chance to calculate it before they submit their return. 

If you don't show the penalty on your return, then the IRS will calculate it and send you a bill if a penalty is due. If you don't agree with the IRS bill, you have the opportunity to respond to the bill. You could submit another calculation using the annualized income method or submit an explanation.

See this TurboTax tips article and this IRS webpage for more information about Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax.

@vasile1 

[vasile1]

Hi @MonikaK1 ,

Regarding your particular statement about "If you don't show the penalty on your return, then the IRS will calculate it and send you a bill if a penalty is due":

YES, that is PRECISELY what I WISHED. I wanted the alleged penalty to be assessed by IRS directly, without any hand-holding from TurboTax (which is also a** kissing IRS!)

And sadly, this software HAS BLATANTLY PREVENTED me from doing so, against my wishes.

I wish to be in control and no hand holding from overzealous piece of cr*p software that licks IRS's ...

Any chance for solving my $251 situation as exposed in my previous 9 bullet-point post?

Or all is lost now and I am on the hook with having to pay the real tax that I owe plus the $251?

What happens if I wait the $251 payment after the April 15 2025 deadline? Will IRS notice that that "remaining" amount (created by TT!) is not to cover actual tax payment but some bullshaite created by TurboTax which kisses IRS a...? And maybe not subject me to further interest penalties asked to be paid for the unpaid "penalty"? Can I get some room to breathe to re-evaluate, i.e. if I wait IRS to mail me a notice that I have balance unpaid, for what is deemed to be a penalty, will that be subject to a different time window within which I would not be subject to additional interest? Or will the interest begin to accrue starting April 16th 2025?

I really need to go for a better tax software going forward! H&R Block, HERE I COME!

Thank you.

[MonikaK1]

The IRS can be expected to assess the underpayment penalty if it applies based on the information in your tax return and your IRS account about your income and payments. If you receive a penalty notice from the IRS, you can respond with your reason for having the penalty abated. Form 543 is used to submit requests for penalty abatement after the penalty is assessed.

Form 1040X is designed to report changes to tax. 

The IRS charges underpayment interest when you don't pay your tax, penalties, additions to tax or interest by the due date of the tax or penalty. 

If you receive a notice for the underpayment penalty, you will not be charged interest on the amount shown for the penalty if you pay the amount owed in full on or before the "pay by" date.

@vasile1 

[vasile1]

Hi @MonikaK1 ,

Re: 'If you receive a notice for the underpayment penalty, you will not be charged interest on the amount shown for the penalty if you pay the amount owed in full on or before the "pay by" '

No problem with that at all. Because that is exactly the way I wished it to happen.

But, in the light of what I have already done (e-filing 1 x 2024 original tax return showing the $251 penalty included in the total amount owed, followed by 1 x amended 2024 return e-filed 3 weeks after the 1st and showing no tax difference in total tax owed, but showing the amount WITHOUT the $251 penalty), the key question is:

IS IT OK if I paid the total amount due MINUS $251 (on April 4th 2025) without being charged additional interest after April 15th 2025? In the context of the "damage" already made by TurboTax (but which I tried to mitigate via the amended 2024 tax return), will IRS see a $251 as outstanding balance (even if it's for something different than the tax owed itself, i.e. for a "penalty" not a tax remaining to be paid)? And then charge me interest for not having it paid ALSO before the April 15th 2025 tax season deadline?

OR, will IRS recognize that $251 is something different? And which they will have to FIRST understand what is it about, and probably through the help of the 2nd e-filing of mine, understand much quicker that it's about an ALLEGED penalty? And then IRS will either deem it correct to charge or let it pass? And if not letting it "pass", at least can I hope that they will recognize it as a separate chargeable thing, bill me separately (via a letter sent by MAIL) and then - as you suggested - imply some form of separate time grace period for such expected bill, without interest incurring within such period?

My main fear right now is this: By excluding the $251 penalty from my yesterday's (April 4th 2025) payment, shortly after April 15th 2025, I might expect a bill from IRS telling me that I did not pay everything that was expected of me to be paid, and that I owe not only $251 but an additional interest (which will probably be non-negligible due to their letter and bill "conveniently (to them)" being mailed out probably long enough after April 15 2025 (i.e. one month after)?

And that amended e-filed return of mine, I'm not sure if it is helpful in any way.

While you DID imply throughout your last post that Form X1040 is only for amending resulting TAX values, technically speaking, the outcome of my amended return no longer shows any suggested penalty, which is exactly what I have expected from the first, original return e-filed. Yes, the TAX value owed did NOT change at all. BUT, the TOTAL AMOUNT OWED has now changed, for better. It shows it without the pesky $251 penalty. Will this amended e-filed return take precedence and show in "My Account" on IRS web site, the balance without the penalty? And which I have already paid yesterday? Or it will continue to show the original balance, the one prior to the amendment?

Thank you again.

[MonikaK1]

You could try calling the IRS at 800-829-1040 (it may be very difficult to get through at this time) and explaining the situation. Otherwise, I am not sure what they will do with your 1040-X, since there is really no place on it to enter a penalty, just changes to income, deductions, credits, tax, and payments. I assume you entered an explanation in Part II.

If you later receive a notice requesting payment for the underpayment penalty, you should not be charged interest on the amount shown for the penalty if you pay the amount owed in full on or before the "pay by" date on the bill.

@vasile1