Many taxpayers won’t receive happy news when the file their taxes this year — so many, in fact, that H&R Block employees are having to play therapist with their clients.
“In most cases, this will wipe out the value of any rewards you would earn,” said Ted Rossman, industry analyst at CreditCards.com. Putting your tax bill on plastic can also help you if you’ve recently opened a new credit card and are trying to meet a certain spending amount to unlock an introductory offer. For instance, as travel and finance website The Points Guy notes, the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card from Chase JPM, +0.07% offers new card holders 80,000 rewards points after they spend $5,000 within three months of opening their accounts.
For instance, if a consumer pays $4,000 in taxes with a credit card that carries 15.59% interest and then pays off that balance over 12 months, they will be forking over $80 for the IRS credit card fee plus more than $350 in interest. Here’s what you should do if you can’t afford to pay your tax bill Some consumers will naturally want to turn to their credit card as a way to pay off their taxes over time if they don’t have enough money in the bank when it’s time to file.