e-filing but cannot pay with debit card

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
January 21, 2021
11 replies
79 views

Hello,

I'm e-filing my taxes but I can't pay my Federal taxes with my debit card.

For some reason I keep getting this message: "The direct debit option is not available to you."

I had no problem paying online last year and nothing has changed this year. What should I do?

A bit of background; I'm overseas and have been all year. My wife is self employed and thus has to pay taxes on her income while I do not (because it's below the threshold). We are trying to make sure that our taxes are deducted via direct deposit so that our stimulus checks can be deposited into our American bank account. The IRS website won't allow me to create an account with them for some reason and keep directing me back to my 'tax preparation software' which is TurboTax. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The last stimulus check took literal months to arrive and we didn't see the money till late November. Please advise.

TurboTax Self Employed Online

MichelleLO

Level 15

Direct debit is a way for you to pay your IRS taxes directly from your checking or savings account not your debit card. You'll need your bank's routing number and your account number to have your IRS taxes debited.

Please see What is direct debit and how does it work? for more information.

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EricScottJPAuthor

Level 2

So I have my routing and account number. How do I pay?

MichelleLO

Level 15

In TurboTax, you should see the payment option Withdraw the money from my bank account when asked how you want to pay your federal taxes. This is the direct debit option.

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Cass0317

Level 10

First, getting the message: The direct debit option is not available... You will get this message if you have selected file by mail. Direct debit through the TurboTax system is not available if you do not file electronically.

Another reason this message can appear is if you waiting on a form to be finalized and available by the IRS. If you see a form you need to file is not available for e-filing, it will not give you the option to Direct Debit your payment yet. Once the form becomes available, Direct Debit for paying taxes owed should become available to you. You can check the IRS form availability in the link below, in case there is a form that is holding up that option for you:

IRS forms availability table for TurboTax individual (personal) tax products

Last, you will be asked how you want to pay in the File section in TurboTax, you'll see the payment option Withdraw the money from my bank account when we ask how you want to pay your federal taxes. This is the direct debit option. This is where you will enter your routing and account number.

Please reach out to us if you continue to have issues, so that we may look into it further for you.