Metavante's LINK2GOV Enables Tax Payments Via Debit Cards

“LINK2GOV has added a layer of financial responsibility to card-based tax payments that didn’t exist prior to incometaxpayment.com,” said Ed Braswell, president, LINK2GOV. “With this new service, taxpayers can take advantage of the debit networks and use their debit card to send a balance-due payment that draws directly from their checking account, instead of adding more debt on a credit card. For $2.95, they’re getting savings instead of credit card fees and the peace of mind knowing the bill has been instantly paid.”

LINK2GOV’s incometaxpayment.com also delivers savings when compared with making Federal balance-due tax payments by check. According to U.S. Postal Service pricing, a Federal tax payment sent Certified Mail, with a Return Receipt by mail, costs $4.25 not including postage. Proprietary LINK2GOV user-survey data,1 collected during 2006, reveals a desire for convenience when initiating Federal balance-due tax payments with LINK2GOV. When asked why they used LINK2GOV’s card-based service via the Internet, nearly 87 percent of users pointed to either “convenience” or “running out of time to make the payment.” Less than three percent of the respondents stated that they used the service for short-term financing.

“Research indicates the percentage of Americans owing Federal taxes and the amount owed is on the rise,” said Frank D’Angelo, group president, Metavante Payment Solutions. “With an expanding pool of taxpayers and our own customers voting for convenience, this is the perfect time to make card-based federal tax payments more affordable and financially responsible than ever before.”

Debit cards eligible for use at incometaxpayment.com must participate in at least one of the following payments networks: NYCE, Star or PULSE. Participation is usually indicated by the network logo(s) that appear on the back of a check, debit or ATM card.

The following Individual and Business Federal balance-due tax payments can be initiated at incometaxpayment.com. Individual Tax Payments: 1040 (all types), Balance Due Notice, 1040ES Estimated, Prior Tax Year, 4868 Automatic Extension, Form 1040 Installment Agreement, Form 1040 Advanced Payment of a Determined Deficiency, and Trust Fund Recovery Penalty. Business Tax Payments: Form 941 Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax, Form 940 Employer’s Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax and Form 944 Employer’s Annual Federal Tax. As an added benefit, the convenience fee for business tax payments is tax deductible to the full extend permitted by law.