IRS Final Rule on Credit and Debit Card Tax Payment Fees Took Effect October 19, 2026

On October 19, 2026, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department published final regulations, T.D. 10060, on paying federal taxes by credit card and debit card. The rule amends section 301.6311-2 of the federal tax procedure regulations and took effect the same day. It applies to tax payments and related reimbursement fees made on or after October 19, 2026.

Card Payment Fee Limits the Final Rule Removed

Before the change, section 301.6311-2 barred the IRS from imposing any fee or charge on people who paid taxes by card. It also barred the IRS from paying any fee under its contracts related to card tax payments.

The final rule removes both limits. The IRS may now enter into contracts under which it pays a processing fee, but it must recover the full amount from the people paying by card as a reimbursement fee.

The IRS may also keep using contracts under which it pays no fee. Under those contracts, card issuers and other parties to the transaction may still charge their own fees, and the IRS may not receive any part of them.

How the New Reimbursement Fee Works

The reimbursement fee is limited to the amount the IRS pays under the contract. It is paid at the time of the tax payment and in addition to it.

The rule states that the reimbursement fee is not a tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. No part of it is eligible for a refund or credit under section 6402 of the Code.

Card account errors involving the fee, such as an incorrect amount or an unauthorized charge, follow the same error resolution procedures that already apply to card tax payments under the Truth in Lending Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. Those procedures do not cover disputes over the amount of tax owed. In negotiating these contracts, the IRS Commissioner will seek to keep the fees paid as low as possible.

Authority Under Section 6311 and the Taxpayer First Act

Section 6311 of the Internal Revenue Code allows the IRS to accept tax payments by any commercially acceptable means under conditions set by regulation. Before 2019, the statute let the IRS contract for card payment services but prohibited it from paying any fee under those contracts.

Section 2303 of the Taxpayer First Act, enacted July 1, 2019, added an exception when the fee is fully recouped from the people paying by card. The card payment regulations being amended were first adopted in 2001 through T.D. 8969 and still reflected the earlier fee ban.

The IRS proposed these amendments on July 2, 2024, and later reopened the comment period through September 24, 2024. It received eight comments, canceled the public hearing after no one asked to speak, and adopted the proposed text with no change.

What the Rule Means for Individuals, Businesses and Estates

According to the preamble, the change allows taxpayers to pay by card directly to the IRS, such as over the telephone, without waiting to be connected to a third-party processor. The IRS also cited benefits for the government, including guaranteed receipt of funds and lower paper check processing costs.

The final rule does not set up a new payment process or contract on its own. The IRS stated that the regulations do not implement any particular payment process, and the notice gives no date for when direct card payments will begin.

Paying taxes by card remains voluntary under the regulations. The IRS noted that people who pay by card ordinarily pay processing fees to a third-party processor already, and it certified that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

The Federal Register notice lists employment, estate, gift and income taxes among the subjects of the amended procedure rules. Business owners, trustees and personal representatives who pay federal taxes by card are covered by the same fee and error resolution terms as individual taxpayers.