If you owe the IRS money, you don’t have to rely on your own record-keeping or a sheaf of old mail to keep track of the details. There’s an online tool that allows you to check your balance due—and work on paying down that amount.
Individual taxpayers can view a bunch of information via the IRS’s free tool: your payoff amount (updated daily), your balance for each tax year, five years of payment history and info from your most recent tax return. If you’re self-employed, you can also see your previous estimated tax payments.
The tool also shows any penalties and interest accrued on top of the amount you owe.
You have to create a login to view your account, which takes about 15 minutes. But once you have a login, it’s your key to a one-stop-shop for your personal tax information. While you’re logged in, you can get a tax transcript or make a payment the IRS.
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The tool is not available 24/7, however: You can only use the “account balance” feature from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST Monday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to midnight EST on Sunday.
To access the tool, you have to verify your identity using the IRS’ Secure Access process, which requires two-step authentication. You then set a username and password you will use to sign into your account. The IRS performs a soft credit pull to verify your identity.
If you previously set up an account on the IRS site but haven’t logged in for a while, you may need to recertify your information by reentering your address, Social Security number and financial verification information again.
This post was originally published in 2016 and was updated on May 5, 2020 by Lisa Rowan. Updates include the following: Checked links for accuracy, changed headline and feature image and revised article to reflect current information.
