Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

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Calm Man
Posts: 2917
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:35 am

Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by Calm Man »

HI,
Just a little reassurance is requested. I was looking to do an estimated tax payment on line. I ended up (appropriately) at the IRS website which indicate that one should click the link for the ETFPS. Good enough. But when I did the IRS site indicated that you would be leaving the IRS site and going to the site of a private business. At ETFPS, it indicates that this is how one can make the payments. I see https, which is reassuring but why would IRS call this a private business.

Here is the IRS page that provides the link to ETFPS:
http://apps.irs.gov/app/scripts/exit.js ... com/eftps/

and here is the ETFPS site. (Notice that this has .com)
https://www.eftps.com/eftps/

Is this all ok? Thank you.

Edit:
Then I found this: (This has .gov)
https://www.eftps.gov/eftps/

Did I almost get scammed at a site that looks like the government one? But why would the IRS send me to it??
Last edited by Calm Man on Wed Dec 25, 2013 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Allan
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Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 8:15 pm
Location: Houston

Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by Allan »

EFTPS is administered by the US Treasury, pretty standard and safe way to make tax payments. In fact for my company tax return it is the only way, they don't allow me to mail in my payments or tax deposits. It is also very easy to use, I've used it for years.

Allan
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JamesSFO
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Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:16 pm

Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by JamesSFO »

I have always used the .gov site, though the .com site uses a certificate which like the .gov site is issued to Bank of America.

So go figure.
Sidney
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Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by Sidney »

Calm Man wrote:Edit:
Then I found this: (This has .gov)
https://www.eftps.gov/eftps/
Interesting. I have always used the .gov site.
I always wanted to be a procrastinator.
jeff1949
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Location: Salem, OR

Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by jeff1949 »

Sidney wrote:
Calm Man wrote:Edit:
Then I found this: (This has .gov)
https://www.eftps.gov/eftps/
Interesting. I have always used the .gov site.
I have used the .com site for years with no issues.

Jeff
Last edited by jeff1949 on Wed Dec 25, 2013 8:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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bottomfisher
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Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by bottomfisher »

I've been using the .gov site
Topic Author
Calm Man
Posts: 2917
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:35 am

Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by Calm Man »

jeff1949 wrote:
Sidney wrote:
Calm Man wrote:Edit:
Then I found this: (This has .gov)
https://www.eftps.gov/eftps/
Interesting. I have always used the .gov site.
Like Calm Man I have used that site for years with no issues. Just my two cents.

Jeff
Jeff and others, thanks for your replies.
Jeff, I (Calm Man) the OP, have never used anything. I was asking.
I cannot fathom that the government would have 2 sites available, one with .gov and one with .com. And that when you are directed to the .com site you get warned that you are going to a private business. But seeing how they do things these days, I guess its too much to expect any more.
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VictoriaF
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Location: Black Swan Lake

Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by VictoriaF »

Calm Man wrote:I cannot fathom that the government would have 2 sites available, one with .gov and one with .com. And that when you are directed to the .com site you get warned that you are going to a private business. But seeing how they do things these days, I guess its too much to expect any more.
Here is my guess.
People frequently ignore extensions such as .gov, .mil, .net, etc., and habitually type .com. Some entrepreneurs take advantage of the confusion. In this case, the IRS has reserved both domain names to prevent a potentially costly mix up or even fraud.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
jeff1949
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Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:43 am
Location: Salem, OR

Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by jeff1949 »

Calm Man wrote:
jeff1949 wrote:
Sidney wrote:
Calm Man wrote:Edit:
Then I found this: (This has .gov)
https://www.eftps.gov/eftps/
Interesting. I have always used the .gov site.
Like Calm Man I have used that site for years with no issues. Just my two cents.

Jeff
Jeff and others, thanks for your replies.
Jeff, I (Calm Man) the OP, have never used anything. I was asking.
I cannot fathom that the government would have 2 sites available, one with .gov and one with .com. And that when you are directed to the .com site you get warned that you are going to a private business. But seeing how they do things these days, I guess its too much to expect any more.
Yes, I misunderstood what I was replying to.

For clarification this is the site (.com) I have used for years: https://www.eftps.com/eftps/

Jeff
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BolderBoy
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Location: Colorado

Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by BolderBoy »

This is the login URL that I use from my password manager:

<https://www.eftps.gov/eftps/login/loginInitial>

There is never any mention of some "private business" redirection.
Gus
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Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:06 pm

Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by Gus »

Here's what I think is happening:

eftps.com is registered by MarkMonitor, a company which protects trademarks and brands online. My guess is that a scammer had previously registered it and MarkMonitor captured it, either as a client of the US government or as a public service. The site you reach with eftps.com is the same exact site you reach with eftps.gov. It is surely running on the same server.

My guess is that the person who put the link to EFTPS on the IRS website made a mistake and entered .com instead of .gov. The warning that you're going to the site of a private company is a feature of the IRS website that appears any time that there is a link to a non-.gov website. You aren't actually going to the website of a private company; the IRS website just assumes that you are because of the .com domain name and puts up the warning page.
rustymutt
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Re: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (ETFPS)

Post by rustymutt »

We've been using ETFPS for estimated tax payments for years, without any issues what so ever. It's the easiest way for us to pay our taxes.
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