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I already filed a Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. At the time I sent the extension, before the tax filing deadline, I was not able to pay the full estimated amount that I owe, so I paid as much as I could.

Now I am able to pay the remainder of the estimated amount I owe, and the tax filing deadline has not passed. I can't file another extension, and I'm not ready to file my return, so how do I send in the additional payment?

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You can use either the IRS2Go app or the Internal Revenue Service website to make payments towards your taxes, even if you do not have an IRS.gov account, and even if you've already filed an extension but haven't yet filed a return.

General instructions: "Make a Payment", "Pay Taxes", and "Extension" are the key words and phrases you're looking for.

The specific navigational instructions below for the website are good for 2017. In future years the specifics may change, but the general workflow should be similar. I have not used the IRS2Go app, so I can't describe its workflow, but it is supposed to have this feature as well.

Choose the "Make a Payment" option from the main entry page.

enter image description here Find the "Pay Your Taxes Now" box in the middle of the page and choose your method of payment. "Direct Pay" debits from a checking or savings account and does not charge a fee. "Debit or Credit" allows you to use plastic, but charges a fee. enter image description here

Choosing "Direct Pay", you then select "Make a Payment". On the next page, under "Reason", select "Extension", which will populate the "Apply Payment To" dropdown with the 4868, and the "Tax Period for Payment" dropdown with the most recent year. You probably don't need to change either of these. enter image description here

Clicking Continue takes you to a series of pages where you can enter and confirm your identity and account information. You'll have the opportunity to specify the amount to pay, so it helps if you remember or have at hand the amount that you still owe.

When you're done, a confirmation page will be displayed, and you'll be sent a confirmation email.

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  • Self-answering. I had to call my tax software provider to figure this out. Hope this saves someone else the trouble of dealing with the voice bots!
    – shoover
    Apr 18, 2018 at 17:31
  • Other details not essential to the question so these are in a comment: I was moving money between accounts and didn't have it all in a single account. I could have paid from multiple accounts or put it on a high-limit credit card, but the tax software I was using allows you to debit from only one bank account and does not give the option to pay by credit card. In 2018, the IRS servers experienced crashes and delays due to the heavy load, so they gave everyone an extra day to file and pay. Coincidentally my money transferred that day so I was able to pay the balance in time on the "extra" day.
    – shoover
    Apr 18, 2018 at 17:35

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