How to Pay a Form 720 Balance

A Form 720 payment is due with the return. The form's line 10 tells you to pay the full balance when you file, and the IRS gives you several ways to do it. Electronic options are what the IRS recommends. A check or money order also works if you include Form 720-V. Which one fits depends on how you file and whether this is a return balance or a required deposit.

Ways to pay a Form 720 balance

The IRS keeps the current list of options at IRS.gov/Payments. To start a bank transfer without enrolling in anything, use IRS Direct Pay. Pub. 510 says taxpayers have been able to use Direct Pay this way since October 2024.

What to know about EFTPS before you need it

EFTPS, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, is the method many regular excise filers use. Enrollment is the part to sort out ahead of time. The instructions say you are automatically enrolled when you apply for an EIN, and that a separate mailing explains how to activate the enrollment. You might have to look for that mailing.

Timing also matters. For an EFTPS deposit to be on time, you must start it at least 1 day before the due date, before 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The instructions state that rule for deposits. If you plan to pay a return balance through EFTPS on the due date itself, leave the same margin rather than cutting it close. If you miss the EFTPS cutoff for a deposit, a same-day wire is the fallback the instructions name, but it has to be set up with your bank in advance and your bank may charge a fee.

How to pay by check or money order

Mailing a payment has more small rules than any other method, and the voucher instructions spell them out.

1. Make the check or money order payable to "United States Treasury."
2. Write your EIN, "Form 720," and the tax period on it. One-time gas guzzler filers use an SSN instead.
3. Fill out Form 720-V: your EIN, the amount from line 10, one darkened circle for the quarter, and your name and address as on the return.
4. Don't staple the voucher or the payment to the return, or to each other. Don't send cash.
5. Send it with the return to the Where To File address. The instructions list Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0009.

Skip the voucher if you pay by Direct Pay, EFTPS, or direct debit. The instructions say not to file Form 720-V in those cases. The voucher is for check or money order payments.

A balance and a deposit are not the same thing

This is where filers get penalized. The payment options above are for what's left on line 10. Some taxes have to be paid earlier, through semimonthly deposits, and the instructions warn that if you don't deposit as required and instead pay the taxes with Form 720, you may be subject to a penalty.

• Deposits generally required: Part I taxes, when your net Part I liability for the quarter is over $2,500.
• No deposit, pay with the return: Part I taxes of $2,500 or less for the quarter, Part II taxes other than floor stocks, the PCORI fee on a second-quarter return, and gas guzzler tax on a one-time filing.
• How deposits are made: by electronic funds transfer, not by mail. Pub. 510 names EFTPS and Direct Pay, and says a tax professional, financial institution, payroll service, or other trusted third party can deposit for you, possibly for a fee.

Here's a made-up example. A truck dealer's Part I tax for the quarter is $18,000, and it deposited $17,400 on time. Line 3 is $18,000, line 5 is $17,400, and line 10 shows $600. The dealer can pay that $600 by any of the methods above. Whether the deposits themselves were enough is a separate test: generally at least 95% of the net liability for each semimonthly period, unless the safe harbor rule applies. On a PCORI payment through EFTPS, the instructions add that the payment should be applied to the second quarter. Our PCORI fee page has more on that return.

What if you can't pay the full amount?

File anyway, and look at an installment agreement. The instructions say you can apply online if the total you owe in combined tax, penalties, and interest is $25,000 or less ($50,000 for individuals), and you've filed all required returns. That second condition is why filing comes first. The application is at IRS.gov/OPA.

If a penalty notice arrives after you file, the instructions tell you to reply to the notice with your explanation and not to include an explanation with the return.

Two smaller cases round this out. If line 10 is under $1.00, you don't have to pay it. If you paid too much, line 11 lets you apply the overpayment to your next return or have it refunded. Overpayments are applied first to any other federal tax, interest, or penalty you owe.

Get the balance right before you pay

Every option above needs one number, and that number comes from the finished return. With EasyFile720, you prepare and file Form 720 online. The rates are built in, the math is calculated after you enter your figures, and validations catch common mistakes before you submit. Part III then shows what's left after your deposits and claims.

Our fee and your tax are separate things. The $39.95 per filing fee on the pricing page covers the filing service. Your tax balance is what you owe the IRS. Creating an account is free, with no credit card needed to start. For a broader view of which taxes sit behind your balance, see the Form 720 guide, and go to the online filing page when your figures are ready.

FAQ

Sources: Form 720 and Form 720-V (Rev. June 2026); Instructions for Form 720 (Rev. June 2026); Pub. 510 (Rev. December 2025). General information, not tax advice. Confirm how the rules apply to you with a qualified advisor or the IRS.