e-filing but cannot pay with debit card

[EricScottJP]

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.

[MichelleLO]

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.

[EricScottJP]

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

[MichelleLO]

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.

[ahsnael]

When I get to that page, it says that debit payment is not available to me (and refunds in past years have been deposited into the same account -- but this year, when I owe due to COVID-19 unemployment, I cannot pay from that account?). TurboTax took me for $88 promising help (they tricked me into $49 of that by making me think I was choosing one over the other, instead of buying both), and all I got was a clueless bot. Even when it gave me the option to speak to a real person, I still got the bot when I clicked that option. TurboTax doesn't give a darn about us. Time to find someone else through whom to file after all these years with TurboTax. They robbed me under false pretences, and then didn't provide the promised services. Screw TurboTax. Greedy bastards is all they are. Gonna go check out HR Block. I filed for YEARS through TurboTax, but they've lost me forever after stealing my money and telling me to go f*** myself when I tried to use the help that I accidentally paid for.

[ahsnael]

Where's the button that says "your answer is COMPLETELY unhelpful and you're a TurboTax shill who has no idea what people are actually seeing?"

[BrandiLO]

In this public forum, we do not have access to your account, so we cannot see what you're seeing. You can provide a screenshot, but please be sure to black out any personal information. Otherwise, you may wish to contact customer care. You can do so by following the instructions here.

[ahsnael]

I cannot say "thanks" because you didn't give me any information. You didn't even tell me how to contact the company directly. You were as useless as TupboTax's own answers. And I cannot, in good conscience, mark you as a "best answer" because it took a direct phone call to TurboTax to get my problem solved -- nothing I could have done online would have helped since their only online help is a bot. It took explaining things to someone over the phone to solve this, and I think it was luck of the draw that I got someone who actually understood the situation and was willing to help me.

The person I spoke to today is a gem, but I have a feeling that they are an anomaly. This is my last time attempting to file my taxes with TurboTax. Glad H&R Block was able to get me the same tax bill (I definitely do owe taxes this year, whether it's with TurboTax or H&R Block) while actually letting me pay it with my debit card instead of having to find other ways to pay them, since TurboTax said I "wasn't eligible" to pay my debt that way. TurboTax can take a hike as far as I'm concerned.

[EricScottJP]

Yeah, I'm going to make the switch as well. None of these answers are ever helpful. The "specialists" or "experts" only provide links to different sections of the website that I've already found.

[Cass0317]

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.

[ralphbegun]

I can't get it to work either

[ralphbegun]

Agree!!