VPS fee - what is this???

[tobyf6]

I filed and elected to pay by credit card. I did not notice the processing fee which is a % of the payment I believe.   This must be a processing charge from the IRS.  My payment was significant so the fee is significant, I called the IRS e-file # but they were not able to help.   I want to change my payment method away from credit card given the high fee but have already filed.

[macuser_22]

Too late.  You cannot change what has already been done.    

The fees are not hidden and provided for by law.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-taxes-by-credit-or-debit-card">https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-tax...>

[SweetieJean · Accepted solution]

When you use a card to make a purchase from a store or online, the merchant pays the credit card co's processing fee (which is usually a percentage of the purchase amount).

However, the IRS is forbidden by law to pay this, so the fee must be charged to you.

[dlandes]

I also received a VPS "tax service fee" of $20.17 and I have no idea what that is for?? If it is a "convenience" fee for maybe submitting your taxes online ...well Turbo Tax is an ONLINE service...I already paid almost $70 to pay for their online tax prep. Turbo Tax is just not as affordable or user friendly as they used to be.  Last year I was aware of a lot of people posting that they got hit with a huge fee for Turbo Tax  using a third party to just process their prep fee directly from your refund...it was in the fine print somewhere or was just not clear... but obviously it was missed by a lot of people (which I felt was intentional)  and they made a lot of money off of it...that "convenience" fee was almost as much as the prep fee...so..beware...and check out other tax services like Tax Act..Turbo Tax is taking advantage of their loyal customers in my opinion.

[xmasbaby0]

The VPS fee is charged for using a credit card when you pay on the IRS site using a debit/credit card
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-taxes-by-credit-or-debit-card">https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-tax...>

[dlandes]

The turbo tax website states that debit cards are only charged a flat fee of $2?

[dlandes]

I still don't see any breakdown of any fee other than the prep fee when i look at my "details" online

[xmasbaby0]

You are not going to see the fee for using your card on the IRS site on your TT account.  TT did not assess that charge.  Please see the response below from SweetieJean.

[Jhoward99]

Sorry, but you haven't given enough information to do a proper search.  "VPS fee" doesn't bring up much.  Was this term in TurboTax or on something that you had?  The term may be specific to where you saw it - such as on a paystub, an investment that had, a business expense, etc.

[xmasbaby0]

Are you confused about the Refund Processing Fee  RPF?  

That is a fee that is added if you choose to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your federal refund instead of paying TurboTax upfront using a credit card when you file.  A third party bank receives the refund, extracts the fees for TurboTax and sends you the rest.  The fee for that choice is $39.99  ($44.99 in CA)

[jmdavidson85]

How do you explain a fee of $171.31 that is tagged as "VPS IRS INTUIT"?

[xmasbaby0]

@TurboTaxColeen ?

[xmasbaby0]

The VPS fee is charged for using a credit card when you pay on the IRS site using a debit/credit card
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-taxes-by-credit-or-debit-card">https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-tax...>

[dlandes]

I had two VPS fees, one that was for the prep and another for $20, and it is not specific as to what they are for anywhere...it should have a name......online it says using a debit card has a flat fee of $2 or $2 and change..you can't talk to anyone but some community website to try to get answers so...by the time I figure it out I would have wasted  $20 of my time