Can US and Canadians pay their taxes through PayPal?
Tax day though is over in Canada for 2019 but for those who yet have to pay their taxes or wish to know for coming financial year, the good news and answer is yes, business taxes can now be paid through PayPal. One thing to note is that US taxpayers can have the IRS send their refunds through PayPal, with the amount readily available for other transactions, Canadians can also pay their taxes using their PayPal accounts, but it is not clear if the Canadian government will be utilising the payment solution to send refunds. So Canadians are advised to read the terms and conditions before using the feature.
Taxpayers in the United States can now get their tax refund sent to their PayPal accounts. The option is available to PayPal users whether they have a cash card from the payments giant or not. Americans who owe taxes can also use money in their accounts to pay the US government.
It was also noted by the company that PayPal customers located or based in Canada can also do the same when paying for their taxes, but at the time of writing it was unclear if refunds can be received through the payments processor as well. PayPal customers in Canada can pay for CRA taxes through PaySimply.
More than two-thirds of Canadians already file their returns electronically, according to the CRA. As tax filing and payment options evolve, many taxpayers want fast and secure ways to pay tax bills digitally. More than 6.5 million active customer account holders of PayPal in Canada can now use their bank account, credit card, Visa debit card or the balance in their account to pay their federal taxes. PayPal never shares its customers’ financial information with merchants or the CRA thereby protecting the payment information of their users.
This announcement also benefits more than 250,000 Canadian small businesses that use PayPal; they can pay their corporate federal taxes directly with the balance, bank account or credit card in their PayPal account.
According to Paypal Canada President Paul Parisi, Tax season is a stressful time and paypal wanted to ease the pain and make it convenient for customers to use their PayPal account to pay their federal taxes this year.
The new feature is a welcome development in the US, according to experts, as millions use PayPal for paying bills and for purchases online. Around 6 million Americans use PayPal based on 2016 numbers, and this has grown steadily over the years. PayPal now has over 180 million users around the world.
Business owners in the United States will also be able to utilise their PayPal accounts to pay for their taxes, and those taxes can also be paid through PayPal Credit. It said that PayPal users in the United States can pay taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service by logging on to payUSAtax.com. Income taxes can be paid over time through PayPal Credit and it comes with six months promotional financing for payments of $99 and above if the website payUSAtax.com is utilised. Reports note, however, that this is subject to credit approval and that taxpayers need to read the fine print before using this feature. It is also advisable to contact customer care regarding PayPal Credit.
For individuals who do not owe anything to the IRS, refunds can be sent straight to PayPal and can be used for any online transactions or deposited to their cash cards.
PayPal has maintained a steady growth in the past few years thanks to its affordable domestic and overseas transfer rates. PayPal is often used to transfer money internationally as it is one of the most accessible ways to do such transactions. The firm recently partnered with MercadoLibre to increase its share of the global payments market. The American payments giant reportedly invested $750 million in MercadoLibre’s latest funding round. (with inputs from Fx compared Magazine)
