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If you won’t be getting a tax refund this year, don’t fret too much—you may still be able to get some rewards out of paying your taxes. By using some of the best credit cards for paying taxes in 2023, you may be able to earn points or miles plus limited-time credit card bonuses. These bonuses can get you some cash back or can help you cover travel expenses for the future.
However, be aware that the rewards have to justify the processing fee for using your travel credit card. Although any credit card will pay your taxes, the rewards need to be greater than the additional processing fees you will pay. The IRS won’t collect a penny of the credit card processing fees, but the three payment processors that partner with the IRS will.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Tax Deadlines
Before we get into the best credit cards for paying taxes, it’s important to know that the federal tax filing deadline is April 18, 2023. If you need to file a state tax return, that filing deadline might be the same date (or later). If you have to “pay in” this year, you can make your payments interest-free.
Making any payments after the deadline is subject to additional interest and penalties that can erase any additional rewards after you pay the processing fee. Whether you pay your taxes by credit or not, file your return by end of the day on April 18, 2023, to ensure you don’t get hit with any surprise fees.
The Best Credit Cards for Paying Taxes: Consumer Cards
While many people think that the best time to apply for a new travel credit card is when they book their summer vacation or open their wallets for holiday travel and gifts, tax time can be just as rewarding.
Before you pay your taxes with just any run-of-the-mill credit card, you need to look at two important factors:
- Purchase rewards
- Signup or Welcome Bonus value
Each point you earn must be worth at least 2 cents each ($0.02) to offset the payment processing fees. The sign-up/welcome bonus can make up the difference.
If using a credit card to pay your taxes is the difference between receiving a sign-up bonus or not, paying a 2% processing fee is well worth it to get a mountain of bonus points in return.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
New Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Member FDIC
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a go-to favorite for travelers that want flexible travel rewards without a steep annual fee. Here are three main reasons beyond the sign-up bonus to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card:
- 1:1 Chase travel partners including United, Southwest Airlines, Hyatt, and Marriott
- 25% travel redemption bonus when booking award travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- $95 annual fee, but no foreign transaction fees
By transferring your Ultimate Rewards points to your favorite frequent flyer program, you can easily make each point worth at least 2 cents each—the sweet spot to cancel out the processing fees on your tax bill.
Purchase Rewards
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns unlimited:
- 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit)
- 3x points on dining (including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out)
- 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target®, Walmart®, and wholesale clubs)
- Also 3x points on select streaming services
- 2x points on all other travel purchases
- 1x point per $1 spent on all non-bonus purchases
There is a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit. It comes in the form of a statement credit that will automatically be applied to your account when your card is used for hotel accommodation purchases made through the Ultimate Rewards program, up to an annual maximum accumulation of $50.
Plus, on each account anniversary, you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. So, if you spend $25,000 on purchases, you’ll get 2,500 bonus points.
The annual fee is $95.
The Platinum Card from American Express
Welcome Offer: New The Platinum Card® from American Express cardmembers can earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $8,000 on purchases on their new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Earning this bonus can get you well on your way to many American Express perks. The Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the best credit cards for paying taxes for a number of reasons, including:
- Up to $200 air travel credit (in the form of a statement credit; enrollment required)
- Complimentary access to the Global Lounge Collection
- 1:1 travel partners
The Amex Platinum earns Membership Rewards that can be transferred directly to Delta, Emirates, and Etihad to name a few of the 1:1 travel partners. Frequent flyers will benefit most from this premium travel rewards card.
Cardholders earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, and earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
Cardholders can get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when they pay with their Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
Also, select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Card.
Plus, American Express has expanded The Centurion® Network to include 40+ Centurion Lounge and Studio locations worldwide. Now there are even more places your The Platinum Card® from American Express can get you complimentary entry and exclusive perks.
Benefits
There’s also a digital entertainment credit, making this card one of the best for streaming services. Cardholders can get up to $20 in statement credits each month when they pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
In addition to enjoying TSA PreCheck or Global Entry access, cardholders can also enjoy CLEAR perks. Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card.
The annual fee is $695 (See Rates & Fees) but can be offset with the perks, which are valued at over $1,400. The Amex Platinum Card is worth the annual fee, assuming the cardholder can use and benefit from the extras that come with this card.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card
Welcome Offer: New Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card cardholders can earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after spending $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Here’s everything you can earn with the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card:
- Up to 12x Hilton points for each dollar you spend on eligible Hilton purchases made directly with a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio
- 6x points on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. supermarkets
- 4x points on U.S. online retail purchases
- 3x points for all remaining eligible purchases
The annual fee is $150 (See Rates & Fees).
Cardholders also get up to $200 back each year on eligible Hilton purchases after using their Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. An additional new benefit includes complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status (enrollment in the complimentary Emerald Club® program is required; terms apply).
If cardholders spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on their Card in a calendar year, they can earn Hilton Honors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year.
If you stay at Hilton Hotels often, this might be the best option for you. However, you can compare the other Hilton co-brand cards in our review of the best Hilton credit cards.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Sign-Up Bonus Offer: Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel, with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns unlimited 2x miles on every purchase, making it easy to earn miles. Cardholders can also enjoy a fee credit of up to $100 for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. Miles can be redeemed on travel and transferred to travel partners.
However, if you are wanting to earn a few more miles on travel, good news—earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
The annual fee is $95. Compare the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture Credit Card if you are debating between the two.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Bonus Offer: 60,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
If you prefer benefits like lounge access, travel credits, and more, this premium card might be perfect for you. Frequent flyers looking for more than 1:1 point transfers can find more value in the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. This is the sister card of another best credit cards for paying taxes option, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
Cardholders can earn unlimited:
- 10x total points on hotels and car rental purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually)
- 10x total points on Chase Dining purchases with Ultimate Rewards
- 5x total points on flights when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually)
- 3x points on other travel worldwide (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually)
- 3x points on other dining at restaurants, including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out
- 1x points for all remaining purchases
Additional Sapphire Reserve Benefits
You will enjoy the following travel benefits with the Chase Sapphire Reserve:
- Global Entry application fee reimbursement
- Priority Pass Select membership
- 50% travel redemption bonus
- 1:1 Chase travel partners
- $300 annual travel credit
You will not receive rewards points on your first $300 in annual travel purchases as the annual travel statement credit reimburses these purchases.
The additional Sapphire Reserve benefits can easily offset the $550 annual fee if you fly on a regular basis. And you get full access to the 1:1 Chase airline and hotel travel partners too.
You can view our Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Sapphire Reserve Review for comparison if you are torn between the two cards.
Bonus: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a great option if you want premium benefits, such as a fee credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, Capital One Lounge, and worldwide Priority Pass lounge access, and $300 back annually for bookings through Capital One Travel.
Cardholders also earn unlimited:
- 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
Plus, get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on the first anniversary. Use the miles you earn to cover your travel expenses. This can include flights, hotels, rental cars, and more. You can also transfer your miles to several Capital One travel partners.
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel, with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
The annual fee is $395, but there are no foreign transaction fees.
The Best Credit Cards for Paying Taxes: Business Cards
If you have a business and will be paying your taxes, one of the options below might work out better for you. You can keep your business expenses separate and earn some rewards in the process. Here are a few business credit card options that might be worth your while.
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Bonus Offer: New Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card cardholders can earn 100k bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card not only has that enticing signup bonus, but it also comes with several perks for your business. This includes Fraud Protection on your card transactions and Zero Liability which means you won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
Cardholders can enjoy Purchase Protection, which covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card cardholders earn 3x points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn unlimited 1x point per $1 on all other purchases. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Travel℠.
The annual fee is $95 and there are no foreign transaction fees, making this one of the best Chase business credit cards.
The Business Platinum Card from American Express
Welcome Offer: New The Business Platinum Card® from American Express cardholders have the opportunity to earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
The annual fee is $695 (See Rates & Fees).
If you prefer more air travel business rewards, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is worth taking note of. Cardholders earn 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com.
Earn 1x points for each dollar spent on eligible purchases.
Flyers can enjoy a 35% airline bonus when paying with their points for all or part of a flight with their selected qualifying airline. They can get 35% of the points back, up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year when booking on amextravel.com.
Other Rewards
Cardholders earn 1.5x points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on eligible purchases at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.
Plus, get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for incidental fees charged by your one selected, qualifying airline to your Card.
Additionally, unlock over $1,000 in annual statement credits on a curation of business purchases, including select purchases made with Dell Technologies, Indeed, Adobe, and U.S. wireless service providers.
Cardholders can get up to $189 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when they use their Business Platinum Card®.
With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, with The American Express Global Lounge Collection®. You have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 03/2023. Enrollment is required for some lounges.
They also have access to the Pay Over Time Option. This is a flexible payment option to help manage cash flow on purchases of $100 or more.
This is one of the best American Express business cards.
Summary
In conclusion, using the best credit cards for paying taxes can set you up for some bonus rewards. Most of us view paying taxes as going to the dentist—something you want to be done as quickly and painlessly as possible. While paying taxes is never fun, using a rewards credit card can actually help you make money by paying your taxes. That won’t happen if you pay your taxes with cash instead.
Related Articles:
- The Best Credit Cards for Millennials
- 8 Best Credit Cards For Everyday Spending (Groceries, Gas, & More)
- Best Credit Cards With Car Rental Insurance
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, please click here.
And for rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
