What procedure have people used if they owe an amount that exceeds the double-miles limit? For example, SPG gives double miles up to $5K and you owe $8K. You charge $5K. How do you pay the remainder with a check or auto-debit? In other words, can you pay taxes with two different forms of payment?

Yes, I've done that many times. You just process your credit card payment the usual way, and submit a check, auto-debit or whatever else is proper, for the balance. The IRS is keeping score on your payments, so when you claim payments of $x, the computers will add up payments from all sources to be sure that you have, in fact, paid $x.

Is yours a "retrospective" question, one looking back to last April 15? I ask because I thought that unlike the UA Visa double miles offer which is good until the end of the year (and which is not capped at $5K), the AmEx SPG one did not extend beyond last April.

(BTW, I am very eager to know if the UA Visa offer will be extended to or repeated in 2007. Anybody know or have a premonition? Was the offer out there in 2005?)

Twas the same deal in 2005.

Thanks for that info, which encourages me to be optimistic that it will be extended/ repeated in 2007. This deal has been a good one for me this past year.

Are you sure that is correct? I think last year's double miles were only for specific dates. Since the double miles for 2006 was announced at the end of 2005 I made a State tax payment on December 30, in order to have the federal deduction in 2005, charged to my MP Visa and did not receive double miles.

Expecting double miles, then not getting them would be painful, especially if a very substantial payment was involved, since miles for 1.245 cpm are appealing, miles for 2.49 cpm aren't. (Actually a little less than 1.245 and 2.49 because there are miles for the "convenience fee" too, but that is pretty close.)

Goodness, this is so true. Check, double check, and triple check the fine print and everything else before you charge big tax payments.

doesnt work for my taxes, but it amazes me this is :legal: :)

Just WHAT amazes you? What post are you replying to?

I have since checked on two options that may benefit others who don't pay estimated taxes:

1) For paper returns: Charge an amount on a credit card and write the confirmation number and amount on the top of the first page of your 1040. Then enclose a check for the remainder.

2) For e-file or paper: Charge as stated above and debit the remainder using a relatively new service called EFTPS. This site allows you to pay taxes online anytime.

In both cases even if you show a tax balance and enclose no money, the IRS computers will match your account number with the prior-received payments and you should not be sent a tax due notice.

Potential Fee Loophole?
 

I read through the thread and did a search for "debit," but am very surprised no one discussed a point about debit cards.

Early in this thread, there's a link to a NYT article on paying taxes by credit card. It reads, "Link2Gov waives the fee for users of debit cards, though such cards rarely have rewards programs. (Link2Gov is at pay1040.com or 888-658-5465."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/04/bu...Ny+M5wruoDbDpQ

I'm about to upgrade my Citi debit card to a Citi Aadvantage Debit Card.
https://web.da-us.citibank.com/popup...age_Debit.html

If the convenience fee continues to be waived in 2007, I could earn miles for my entire tax bill with no convenience fee. The only potential fee is the annual fee for the card (which I think may be waived depending on your relationship with Citi).

Did anyone try this?
Thanks.

Edited to add: I could not find this documented at the pay1040 site and asked them about it. They said this was offered in 2006 by H and R Block, when filing using tax software and making a debit payment through pay1040.com. They won't know until January whether it will be offered again.


(For the record, I could not find this policy documented at the pay1040 site and am waiting for them to respond to my email.)

Thanks

The NYT article considers it "unusual" to have a credit limit of as much as $24K on own's card. Really?

The article explains to those who cannot figure such simple things out for themselves that it is not worth it to pay 2.49 cpm, maybe not worth it at even half that price (1.245 when getting double miles). But this conclusion is base on using the miles for a saver domestic ticket. (A saver domestic ticket for most will require 25K miles, not 24K, and the cost of miles will actually be just be bit less than 2.49 or 1.245, but we won't quibble with the author over such fine points.) It does not consider what miles might be worth to someone who wanted to top off their balance with just a few thousand miles to get them an award, nor does it consider the much greater value of miles when used for a C or F international ticket. That's good, though, since then there won't be more people encouraged to go after the choicest of award seats.

And if you are the type who makes only the monthly minimum payment and flirts with bankruptcy, then maybe the advice offered in this NYT article will be worthwhile. For those who are more sophisticated about FFPs and personal finance, the article is pretty useless, like so much of the personal financial matters offered in the NYT, WPost, and even the WSJ.

And I very much doubt that there is any way to finesse the "convenience fee" when paying taxes by credit or debit card. And I will believe it is possible to use either a credit or debit card without any such fee and earn miles doing so when I see a working model of a perpetual motion machine.

You are mistaken.

Regardless of the inaccuracies of the NYT article, they were correct about the debit card offer. I already confirmed it. Through this H&R Block software offer, you could use pay1040 to put taxes on your debit card and the convenience fee would be waived. If it's offered in 2007, I will definitely switch to H&R Block.

I don't know why you think it's so hard to believe. H&R offered a gift to help win over customers from TaxAct and TurboTax.

Edited to add: Maybe H&R had a limit on the fee-free payment. I didn't ask, but it would address your "perpetual motion" statement.

If H&R Block is eating the cost to win over customers, fine. But what is so wonderful about paying with a debit card? Don't you have to have the money there in your account at the time you pay, so you don't even get the float the comes with a check payment, as well as the record of payment a check gives. With H&R Block or anyone else, DO YOU GET MILES AND PAY NO FEE ("Tax Payment Bonus Thread", and this is the Miles Buzz forum)? If there really is such an offer out there, that is one gives miles and takes no "vigorish," then that in my view would be the equivalent of a perpetual motion machine.

And note, my focus wasn't the minor inaccuracies in the NYT (e.g., 25K for a domestic saver ticket), but the superficiality of the advice offered.