Official Payments Offers MasterCard Cardholders Lowest Percentage Convenience Fee on Federal Tax Payments

Official Payments Corp., a leading provider of electronic payment solutions, today announced that MasterCard cardholders can pay personal and business taxes online with the nation’s lowest percentage convenience fee of 1.9 percent. To take advantage of these savings, taxpayers must use a MasterCard card and pay through the ChoicePay.com/MasterCard website.

"No other IRS-authorized payment provider matches our low convenience fee rate of 1.9 percent,” said Alex P. Hart, president and CEO of Tier Technologies, the parent company of Official Payments. "ChoicePay.com allows tax filers to complete the payment process online in minutes, and to avoid writing checks or making trips to the post office.”

Taxpayers who use their MasterCard card to pay their federal taxes at ChoicePay.com can benefit from:

• Rewards – MasterCard cardholders may receive benefits from the reward programs connected with their payment card. Taxpayers should check with the financial institution that issued their MasterCard payment card for specific terms and conditions.
• Payment Verification – When taxpayers use this feature, they receive a confirmation number, the payment date/time and the tax amount paid, providing them with the peace of mind that their payment has been processed.
• Convenience Fee Deductibility – The IRS determines whether convenience fees incurred by qualifying individual taxpayers may be deductible. Taxpayers should contact the IRS to determine if they qualify.

"ChoicePay offers our cardholders a convenient, secure and cost-effective way to pay their taxes,” said Mathias Lilja, vice president, U.S. Market Development at MasterCard Worldwide. "When MasterCard cardholders pay their taxes using ChoicePay, they can benefit from the lowest percentage convenience rate among third party tax providers and reap the rewards that are connected to their card.”

Through the ChoicePay.com website, individual taxpayers can make secure tax payments for the following federal tax types:

• Form 1040 Series (including Prior Year payments)
• Estimated Taxes (Form 1040ES)
• Installment Agreement Payments
• Form 4868 (Tax Extension)
• Trust Fund Recovery Penalty
• Form 1040X (Amended Tax Returns)
• Form 5329 – Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans and Other Tax-Favored Accounts (Return for Individual Retirement Arrangement Taxes)

Businesses can make secure card payments for the following federal tax types:

• Form 940 Series – Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return
• Form 941 Series – Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return
• Form 943 Series – Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees
• Form 944 Series – Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return
• Form 945 Series – Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax
• Form 1065 – U.S. Return of Partnership Income
• Form 1041 – U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts

ChoicePay.com exclusively accepts MasterCard payment cards and was created by Official Payments to help provide taxpayers with a low-cost, convenient and secure federal tax payment service. For more information on the benefits of using your MasterCard card, please visit www.choicepay.com.

About Official Payments Corp.

Official Payments Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tier Technologies, Inc., is a leading provider of electronic payment solutions for the United States Internal Revenue Service, 27 state governments, the District of Columbia, more than 4600 local and municipal government agencies, more than 350 colleges and universities, and other public and private interests in all 50 states. Official Payments customers can pay federal taxes, state and local taxes, and other bills such as utilities and college tuition with credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks and Bill Me Later online, telephone, point of sale, and other channels. Visit www.OfficialPayments.com for more information.

About MasterCard Worldwide

As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2010, $2.7 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network – the fastest payment processing network in the world – MasterCard processes over 23 billion transactions each year and has the capacity to handle 160 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 130 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro®, and Cirrus®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass™ and MasterCard inControl®. MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.