Thanks a lot Julie.
I saw in this thread Solved: How to enter into TurboTax an IRS Direct Pay payme... (intuit.com) , that the best answer mentioned in OP's situation (paid 2019's tax in March 2020, prior to filing the tax), it would be best for him to report that payment in the tax forms under "estimated tax payments". Also, other users were saying just pick "pay by check" and not to report. Which one is correct?
It makes more sense to me to report it under "estimated tax payments" if it is paid prior filing the tax return (to get the exact number of owed tax), and that should be counted as credit to offset the owed tax right? Say, in my case, if the software says I owed $5000 in tax, and I pay it right away at IRS direct pay, and then put the $5000 in "estimated tax payment", the updated final calculation of tax owed/tax credit should be exact zero. Is that right?
Of course, by doing this it does not change any outcome other than having to enter one extra line. But if one decides to overpay that amount, he/she could get the extra payment back in cash in the tax return format. Maybe it would be faster than waiting IRS to cut a refund check directly after matching your online payment and the number owed in the filed tax return? Other than that I could not think any benefits of paying it prior to filing the tax.
Do I get this right?
