Filing by mail, but i don’t want to send a check

[Leinarts]

My wife and i were unable to file online and we were told we would have to file by mail.  But we owe money and are not expecting a return and its a pretty large amount of money.  I don’t want to send a check because i know it’s taking the irs a long time to process returns and i dont want to be hit with a huge charge at some random day 6 months to a year from now. I have the money to pay for it now and would prefer to pay for it online. But if i did how would they know what the money is for without the return or if i even was paying the right amount?

[xmasbaby0]

You can pay online and you will be entering your SSN when you do so.  As for mailing a check--you do know it is when the envelope is postmarked that matters, right?  Even if the IRS does not get around to opening your envelope for awhile, if you send it and it is postmarked by the deadline, you are fine.   Whenever I mail ANYTHING to the IRS or state I send it certified mail so I get back a receipt showing when they received it.

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

https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay

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...

But---why could you not e-file?  Was your return rejected?  

Some rejected returns can be fixed and re-filed.  Some have “un-fixable” reasons for the rejection and have to be mailed instead.

You received a rejection email that we cannot see.  Please tell us word for word what it says so we know how to help you.  Or even copy and paste the email message.

Or---did you get some sort of error message when you tried to e-file?

[Leinarts]

When i tried to e file it, it gave me a message saying that i already filed my tax return.  When i called turbotax the person told me it was because i sent my info to the irs in order to receive my stimulus check.
   As far as mailing a check goes, im not worrying about it being late i understand that they honor postmarking.  Im just worried about getting charged for $700 on some random day 6 months or more from  now when i may not be prepared for it.

[DoninGA]

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@Leinarts wrote:

When i tried to e file it, it gave me a message saying that i already filed my tax return.  When i called turbotax the person told me it was because i sent my info to the irs in order to receive my stimulus check.
   As far as mailing a check goes, im not worrying about it being late i understand that they honor postmarking.  Im just worried about getting charged for $700 on some random day 6 months or more from  now when i may not be prepared for it.

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You can pay the federal taxes owed on the IRS payment website - https://www.irs.gov/payments

Using TurboTax just select you will pay by mailing a check and then do not send the check.

[Leinarts]

That would work? They would process the payment without receiving and processing the tax return yet?

[DoninGA]

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@Leinarts wrote:

That would work? They would process the payment without receiving and processing the tax return yet?

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Yes, that would work.  The payment would be on your tax account based on your name and Social Security number.

The IRS is not processing many federal tax return filed on paper at this time due to the pandemic.

Go to this IRS website for information - https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-operations-during-covid-19-mission-critical-functions-continue

We’re experiencing delays in processing paper tax returns due to limited staffing. If you already filed a paper return, we will process it in the order we received it.

Do not file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return.

[Leinarts]

Alright, thank you so much for all of your help. I’ll try that.