Making Payment Arrangements

Pay tax bills in full by the deadline if you can. The benefits of doing so are:

  • You’ll avoid interest and penalties. Interest and possibly penalties apply to any balance you have after the deadline. They continue to accrue until the balance is paid.
  • You can avoid a state tax lien (Notice of Lien) on your property. We must record liens for some tax debts.

If you can’t pay your tax bill in full, pay as much as you can by the deadline. Then:

  • For income tax: See Payment plans below to request a payment plan online. This is the fastest method for requesting a plan.
  • For all other taxes: Call us at the phone number on your bill as soon as possible.

Methods of payment

We’ll work with you to find the best way to resolve your tax debt. We’ll analyze your ability to pay and consider different methods of payment.

You can pay by personal check, business check, money order, certified funds, credit card, ACH debit (automatic deduction), or ACH credit. You can pay by payroll deduction (“wage assignment”) at your place of employment if your employer agrees. Otherwise, we might ask you to:

  • Pay in full by credit card if we determine that you’re able to
  • Sell or mortgage assets to secure funds to pay
  • Secure a commercial loan to pay in full (businesses)

If you’re making a payment of $100,000 or more, Idaho law requires you to use ACH debit or ACH credit for all taxes except individual income tax. If you don’t pay by ACH debit or ACH credit when it’s required, we might charge you interest and a $500 penalty.

Payment plans

You might be able to enter into an agreement to pay your debt. To qualify, you must do both:

  • Be up to date on filing all other tax returns and payments
  • Agree to avoid any future tax debts

Businesses that owe for any tax type except income tax: Call us at the phone number on your billing letter to request a payment plan.

Individual and businesses that owe income tax:

You can request a payment plan online if you have one of these:

  • A letter we’ve sent you in the past two years. You can request a plan immediately. However, you must wait until after May 5 for the balance to post if you’re requesting a plan for the current tax year.
  • Your Idaho income tax return from either of the two most recent tax years, that we’ve processed. You can request a plan immediately.
  • Your basic information, if we’ve ever processed one of your returns. You’ll have to wait for a registration code, which takes 10 business days, before you can request a plan.   

When you request a payment plan, you’ll need to set up automatic payments from your bank account. Have your bank’s routing number and your account number ready.

 For married filing jointly: Be sure to request the payment plan using the information for the first person listed on your return. 

To request a plan for income tax using a recent letter

  1. Go to tax.idaho.gov/payplan.
  2. Enter your information. When asked for the Letter ID, look on a letter we’ve sent you in the past two years. The Letter ID is in the upper-right corner and starts with an “L”.
  3. Complete and submit your request.

To request a plan without a recent letter

  1. Go to TAP and click Sign Up (below the Log In button). 
  2. Choose one of these options:
    • Take a quiz for same-day access (if you have your processed return from one of the two most recent tax years)
    • Receive a letter with your registration code (if we’ve ever processed at least one of your returns)
  3. Fill out the registration.
  4. Do one of these:
    • If you got immediate access, go to the next step.
    • If you didn’t get immediate access, wait for your registration code in about 10 business days. Then, go back to TAP, click Sign Up again, and choose Already have your registration code. Finish your registration and then go to the next step, below.
  5. From your TAP account homepage, click More.
  6. Scroll down to the Payment Plans panel and choose Request a Payment Plan.
  7. Complete and submit your request.

See more information in the TAP Guide.

Payment plan requirements

Payment agreements, or payment plans, have strict requirements.  Not everyone qualifies for every plan.

The 24-month payment plan:

  • You must pay the debt within 24 months.
  • You might have to have your payment automatically withdrawn from your bank account.
  • We might have to file a lien to secure the state’s interest until you make the final payment. We don’t act on the lien if you’re in good standing with your payment plan. See Keeping your payment plan below.
  • Periodically, you might have to provide information about your financial situation to determine any change in your ability to pay.

Keeping your payment plan

You must make every payment on time. If you think you’ll be late on a payment, call us immediately at the phone number on your bill or (208) 334-7633.

A payment plan might be cancelled if you:

  • Don’t provide financial information when requested
  • Pay late or miss a payment
  • Don’t file future returns and pay taxes on time

We might have to take Forced Collection Actions if your payment plan is cancelled.