Pitfalls of Paying Taxes with a Credit Card

April 15th is one month away. While many consumers struggle to find ways to pay their income taxes, credit card issuers are encouraging people to use the convenience of paying with their card.

But consumers should avoid paying their income taxes with a credit card.

Credit card payments of taxes are actually made to third-party providers which are contracted by the Internal Revenue Service. Most processors charge a 2.49% fee for processing your credit card payment, making this an expensive convenience. Some, like FileYourTaxes.com, charge as much as 3.93%.

The 2.49% processing fee adds $199 to an $8,000 tax bill. If you don’t immediately pay off the credit card bill, interest charges add even more.

Assume you charge $8,000, your interest rate is 15% and you pay $400 per month–it will take 24 months to pay off the balance and you will pay an additional $1,333 in interest payments.

Along with this significant processing fee, consumers should also consider several other factors before using their credit card to pay their taxes:

• Check your credit limit. If you are anywhere close to your limit, this should not be an option for you. Issuers are now very sensitive about debt loads and customers who are close to their limit. This sends a warning to issuers that you are a risk for default. They could increase your interest rate because of this. Other lenders may subsequently increase your rates.

• Verify that the tax payment will be treated as a purchase and not a cash advance. Cash advances come with a high interest rate and typically a 3% cash advance fee.

• Be careful how you provide your credit card number. The IRS warns filers not to write the credit card number on the return and do not mail in the credit card.

• If you are considering a credit card payment because you don’t have money for your total payment, a better option may be an installment plan with the IRS or a loan from your bank or credit union. You will have to pay fees and interest, but the interest rate is probably lower than your credit card rate, and will not affect your debt utilization ratio.

• Obtaining reward points for using your credit card is not a good reason to charge your income taxes. The typical reward card offers 1% back for cash, points or miles.

"Last year, we recommended the Citi CashReturns card. It offered 5% cash back for three months and there was no limit to the cash you could earn. It was a fairly good deal for paying your taxes, even with that 2.49% processing fee. This year, that same card only offers 1% cash back. This is an example of how issuers have cut back on their rewards," says Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com and author of The Credit Card Guidebook.

"Consumers should not use their credit cards to pay off their taxes. Instead, they should use their tax refund to pay off their credit card bill. Paying down your credit card debt improves your debt utilization ratio, which improves your credit score, which improves interest rates for other loans and that can improve your financial stability," says Hardekopf.

LowCards.com ( http://www.lowcards.com ) simplifies the confusion of shopping for credit cards. It is a free, independent website that helps consumers easily compare credit cards in a variety of categories such as lowest rates, rewards, rebates, balance transfers and lowest introductory rates. It also gives an unbiased ranking and review for each card. The LowCards.com Complete Credit Card Index ( http://www.lowcards.com/CreditCardIndex.aspx ) is the most objective and comprehensive resource on the Internet which allows consumers to compare rates for all 1060 credit cards offered in this country. Created by Hampton & Associates, the company has been analyzing the credit card industry and supplying objective websites on various consumer expenses for eight years.

For more information, contact Bill Hardekopf at 1-800-388-1910 or billh@LowCards.com