Disclaimer: I am NOT a tax professional, so please consult YOUR tax professional before you make any tax-related decisions. Information in this post continually changes, so please double check before applying for cards or making any payments. I get a referral for some of the cards in this post.
Many folks who are self-employed have to pay estimated taxes to the IRS. However, they can make up to 2 payments a quarter using a credit or debit card, but have to pay a convenience fee.
The IRS website suggests that you can only make 2 payments a quarter using a credit card, but it isn’t clear if that is 2 payments per quarter per credit card service provider or if it is a blanket restriction on the number of payments you can make through any credit card service provider.
However, the website for paying my Kansas state taxes did NOT have a restriction on the number of payments which I could make per quarter. So I’d use multiple cards with lower credit limits to pay my state taxes and “save” my cards with larger credit limits to pay my federal taxes.
For paying federal taxes, the lowest fee for using a Visa or MasterCard credit card is 1.89% through Pay USA Taxes and the lowest fee for using an American Express credit card is 2.29% from Value Tax Payment. For Kansas state tax, the lowest fee which I could find was 2.25% for all card types from Pay KS Tax. So try to use your American Express cards for state payments first, and save your Visa/MasterCard for federal payments to take advantage of the lower convenience fees.
For most folks, it could be worth it to pay a convenience fee just to meet the minimum spending requirement for a credit card sign-up bonus. If you’ve got a small tax payment you could even earn 5X points by using a Vanilla Visa and following Frequent Miler’s instructions.
But Big Spenders get to choose from additional benefits! I’ve drawn from my series on Big Spenders to list the best ways to pay your taxes with a credit card if you’ve got tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax payments.
I’ve listed the options according to cost (so American Express cards end up at the bottom because of the additional fee), my preferences and what I value.
Card | Tax Paid | Convenience Fee (%) | Convenience Fee ($) | Benefits |
| Delta Debit Card | $35,000 | - | $3.49 | 35,000 Delta Miles |
| Citi Hilton Reserve | $40,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year) | 1.89% | $756 | 120,000 Hilton Points + Top-Tier Hilton Diamond Status +1 Free Weekend Night |
| Chase Southwest Premier | $110,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year) | 1.89% | $2,079 | 110,000 Southwest Points + 1 Companion Pass |
Chase United Explorer Personal
Chase United Explorer (Business) | $25,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year) | 1.89% | $473 | 35,000 United Miles |
Chase United Club (Personal)
Chase United Club (Business) | $10,000 | 1.89% | $189 | 15,000 United Miles |
| Chase British Airways | $30,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year) | 1.89% | $567 | 1 Travel Together Ticket + 37,500 British Airways Avios Points |
| American Express Premier Rewards Gold | $30,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year) | 2.29% | $687 | 45,000 Membership Rewards Points |
American Express SPG (Personal)
American Express SPG (Business) | $20,000
$30,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year) | 2.29%
2.29% | $458
$687 | - 20,000 Starwood Points (Convertible to 25,000 Airline Miles)
- 30,000 Starwood Points + Starwood Gold Elite Status |
| Bank of America Virgin Atlantic | $15,000
$25,000
(Within 1 Calendar Year) | 2.29% | $344
$573 | - 30,000 Virgin Atlantic Miles (or 60,000 Hilton Hotel Points)
- 52,500 Virgin Atlantic Miles (or 105,000 Hilton Hotel Points) |
| American Express Delta Platinum & Reserve | $55,000
$110,000
$170,000
$280,000
(Within 1 Calendar Year) | 2.29%
2.29%
2.29%
2.29% | $1,260
$2,519
$3,893
$6,412 | - 80,000 Delta Miles & Silver Status
- 160,000 Delta Miles & Gold Medallion Status
-250,000 Delta Miles & Platinum Medallion Status
- 410,000 Delta Miles & Diamond Medallion Status |
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I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! 
