Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a charge for using Pay.gov? No. Using Pay.gov is free.

Is my personal, bank account, and credit card account information secure? Yes. Pay.gov uses the latest industry-standard methods and encryption to safely collect, store, transmit, and protect all information you submit. Your bank and card account numbers are encrypted and are masked with asterisks (*) when displayed.

When is Pay.gov Available? The Pay.gov website is available 24-hours-a-day, every day of the year including holidays. Occasionally service may be interrupted for maintenance on Sundays between 2:00 AM and 6:00 AM Eastern time.

When is Support available? Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern time, closed on US holidays. Call support toll free at 1-800-624-1373. Outside the U.S.A, call +1-216-579-2112.
To send a message at any time, including after hours, click Pay.gov Support at the bottom of a Pay.gov page.

Questions About Payments and Refunds

Why is my payment rejected or delayed? Contact your bank or credit card company for that information. Pay.gov doesn't have that information. Pay.gov only collects your payment information and then sends it to the bank or card company for processing.

Where is my refund?Contact the agency you paid. Pay.gov doesn't have this information.

Can I pay my taxes or get information about them on Pay.gov. No. Contact the IRS or other taxing agency.

What is the total amount I owe an agency or how much have I already paid? Contact the US Government agency you owe or have paid. Pay.gov does not have that information.

Can I pay my student loan on Pay.gov? No. You must pay the loan processor assigned when the loan was created. The processor can tell you what your balance is and can send you your annual statement.

An ACH Debit Block prevents me from using my business bank account for payments. How do I correct that? Your bank may block automatic debits to your business account. This security feature may be called ACH Debit Block, ACH Positive Pay, or ACH Fraud Prevention Filters.
To correct this, you must add the US Government agency you want to pay to the bank's list of allowed ACH company IDs. Contact Pay.gov Customer Support for the agency's ALC+2 value, and then provide it to your bank.

For credit and debit cards the confirmation page and email is your receipt.
For payments from your bank account, the receipt only confirms you have requested the bank to charge the payment to your account.
For PayPal and Amazon payments, the confirmation and email only confirms your payment request. The service will send you a receipt separately.

Payments from your bank account will be charged the next business day. Weekends and holidays are not business days.
Credit and debit card payments are charged immediately and are visible within 24 hours.
PayPal and Amazon payments are charged according to the service's schedule. This may delay when they appear on your statement.
Generally, the agency will receive your payment on the next business day.

I did not authorize a payment, what do I do? Contact your bank or credit card company. Do not contact Pay.gov.

Can I set up automatic payments or payments that will be paid in the future? Only if the agency allows and only if you have a Pay.gov account. You'll see the option on the payment page.

Questions About Access Codes and Security Questions

If you add the bill to your account, you don't need to enter the access code again. Just view the bill in My Account, My Bills.
If the bill is not added to an account, you must enter the access code and answer the security question each time you want to view the bill.

I forgot my access code or security answer, what should I do? Contact the agency billing you. They can reissue the access code or security answer.

My access code or security answer doesn't work, what do I do? Check the code or answer and enter it again. You have three tries in a row to enter it correctly. After three tries you are locked out for 15 minutes, after which you can try again.

Access codes expire after one year. Contact the agency billing you to request a new access code.

The bill has already been added to an account. The access code is invalid. View the bill in My Account, My Bills.

My Internet Connection Died During A Payment

If you experienced the problem on an agency website, before you started the payment. Contact the agency.

If your connection died while you were making a payment on Pay.gov

If you were signed in on Pay.gov and did not complete the payment (clicked Continue in the Review and Authorize step), restart your Web browser and make the payment again. The first attempt was not accepted by Pay.gov.
If you were signed in on Pay.gov and completed the payment, contact Pay.gov Customer Support. Do not make the payment again until you receive an answer from Customer Support.
If you completed the payment but were not signed in on Pay.gov, contact Pay.gov Customer Support. Supply the name of the payment form or the agency you were paying and the amount you paid. Customer Support will advise you of what to do. Do not make the payment again until you receive an answer from Customer Support.

Questions about ID.me and Login.gov

An ID.me or Login.gov sign in account is required to sign in to Pay,gov. Both let you you create a single sign-in that can be connected to Pay.gov and to many participating US Government agency and service websites.

Once your Pay.gov account is connected to ID.me or Login.gov your old Pay.gov username and password are invalid.

WARNING WARNING WARNING

You have accessed a United States Government computer. Unauthorized use of this computer is a violation of federal law and may subject you to civil and criminal penalties. This computer and the automated systems which run on it are monitored. Individuals are not guaranteed privacy while using government computers and should, therefore, not expect it. Communications made using this system may be disclosed as allowed by federal law.

Note: This system may contain Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) data that requires specific data privacy handling.