Billing and Payments

A bill you can pay on Pay.gov is a notice that you have a payment due to a US Government agency. For security purposes, each bill includes an access code. You will need this code when you pay your bill.

You'll be notified by email when a new bill is available on Pay.gov. Click on the link in your bill to open the Pending tab or other appropriate page.

You may see several different charges or line items on your bill. This is a list of all the fees included in the bill.

If there are checkboxes displayed next to the line items, you may pay individual line items or multiple line items instead of paying the whole bill.

Use the checkboxes to select which line items you want to pay. The amount due will update automatically.

You must still pay all other line items separately.

Some agencies allow you to pay more than the amount billed. Look for the "Add Additional Amount" link, click the link, and enter the amount you want to pay in the box.

Your bill cannot be paid past the due date. If your bill has expired, the agency can issue a new bill that includes the amount due, which may include interest or a late fee. If the expired/unpaid bill was added to your account, it may appear in the Completed tab with a status of Retired. (Click here for more information about tabs and billing status.)

If your payment was declined, you will see a message saying “declined” instead of a payment confirmation message.

You can try to make the payment again with a different bank or credit card.

You cannot delete a bill. If you think you received a bill in error, contact the issuing agency. Pay.gov is a payment portal and does not have access to account information. Only the Federal agency you are working with can answer questions regarding your bill, account balance, loan balance or updating your account address.

Sign in to Pay.gov with your ID.me or Login.gov credentials. Click My Account at the top of the page and select Payment Activity.

You will see four tabs: All, Completed, Rejected, and Pending. Click on a tab to see the status of bills you paid while signed in to Pay.gov.

Your payment might have one of the following statuses:

• Pending — the payment hasn't been sent to the bank or credit card processor.
• Success — the credit or debit card payment has been processed and accepted. Your account has been charged.
• Complete — the payment from your bank account has been processed and accepted. Your account has been charged.
• Canceled — you stopped the payment before it was processed. For automatic payments, all remaining payments were canceled.
• Rejected — the payment was not accepted by the bank or credit card company. Contact the bank or credit card company for more information. Do not contact Pay.gov Customer Support.

What is an access code? Where do I find it?

Your access code is a code provided to you by the agency you owe. It allows you to view and pay bills on Pay.gov.

Your access code is in the email notifying you that you have a Pay.gov bill.

You will also receive a separate email with a security question and answer. You will need all three pieces of information – the access code, the security question, and the security question answer – to pay your Pay.gov bill.

Access codes expire after one year. Contact the agency that sent you the bill to get a new access code.

If your access code doesn't work, check the code 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.

No, only for bills. The access code and security answer must be entered to view the bill for the first time.

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.

Some agencies allow you to make automatic payments or set up recurring payments.

If you set up automatic payments, you will receive a reminder email ten days before your account is charged.

If you set up recurring, non-automatic payments, you will receive a reminder email ten days before your payment is due.

Pay.gov only collects your payment information and then sends it to the bank or card company for processing. Please contact your bank or credit card company to learn why your payment was rejected or delayed.

Pay.gov does not issue refunds. Please contact the agency you paid for more information. You will need:

• A copy of the confirmation page or the confirmation email you received, if one was sent. (If you used PayPal or Amazon payments, there may be a short delay before you receive a receipt or payment confirmation.)
  OR
• If you were logged in when you made the payment, the payment information from the "Completed" tab in your account's Payment Activity
  OR
• The date and amount of the payment, and whether you paid a bill in full or only selected line items.

Your bank may have a security feature that blocks automatic debits to your business account. Contact Pay.gov Customer Support to request the ACH Company ID. You will need to provide the ACH Company ID to your bank for the bock to be removed.

When you complete a payment, Pay.gov displays a confirmation that can be saved or printed. You will also receive a copy by email.

• 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 Pay payments, the confirmation and email only confirm your payment request. The service will send you a receipt separately.

• Payments from your bank account will be charged the next business day. Remember, weekends and holidays are not business days.
• Credit and debit card payments are charged immediately and should be reflected in your account within 24 hours.
• Digital Wallet payments (such as PayPal, Amazon Pay) are charged according to the service's schedule. This may delay when charges appear on your statement.
• Generally, the agency receives your payment on the next business day.

If you suspect unauthorized payment activity, contact your bank or credit card company immediately.

Pay.gov is a payment portal and does not have access to account information. Only the Federal agency you are working with can answer questions regarding your bill, account balance, loan balance or updating your account address.

Only if the agency allows and only if you have a Pay.gov account. You'll see the option on the payment page.

Payment limits vary depending on the payment method used.

ACH (bank account) payment limits

• A single transaction is limited to $99,999,999.99 or less but is restricted to the amount available in your bank (ACH) account.
• Agencies may allow only minimum or maximum payment amounts.
• Agencies may allow only ACH or debit card payments for some transactions, including paying a debt.
• Always read the "Before you begin" page to understand any instructions or restrictions.

Credit card payment limits

• All transactions using the same credit card to pay any US Government entity are added together, including online and payments made directly to an agency, such as over-the-counter purchases. The combined daily limit is $24,999.99.
• You cannot split payments between two or more credit cards. To split payments, use ACH.
• Agencies may allow only minimum or maximum payment amounts.
• Always read the "Before you begin" page to understand any instructions or restrictions.

Debit card payment limits

• There is no maximum dollar limit for transactions paid with a debit card, but the amount you pay is restricted to the amount available in your bank account.
• Agencies may allow only minimum or maximum payment amounts.
• Always read the "Before you begin" page to understand any instructions or restrictions.

Amazon Pay payment limits

• A single transaction is limited to $10,000 or less. You can make any number of transactions in a day,
• Not all agencies accept Amazon Pay.
• Always read the "Before you begin" page to understand any instructions or restrictions.

PayPal Payment limits

• A single transaction is limited to $10,000 or less. You can make any number of transactions in a day.
• Not all agencies accept PayPal.
• Always read the "Before you begin" page to understand any instructions or restrictions.

You cannot make same-day payments on Pay.gov. Take the following steps to avoid making a late payment:

• Make your payment on the business day before the due date. For example, if your payment is due on a Monday, plan to make the payment the previous Friday.
• If the payment is due on a holiday, make your payment at least two business days early. For example, if a holiday falls on a Thursday, plan to make the payment on Tuesday.
• If you make a payment on a holiday, make sure there is at least one business day before the payment is due.
• Complete your payment before the daily cut-off time for the payment method you are using:
• Bank accounts: 8:55 PM Eastern time
• Credit and debit cards: 11:59 PM Eastern time
• Amazon Pay and PayPal: 11:50 PM Eastern time

If you start making a payment before the cut-off time and complete the payment after the cut-off time, the payment will be late if it is due the following day. If you enter a payment date and the cut-off time has passed, you will be prompted to enter a new payment date.

You can only cancel a Pay.gov payment if:

• You used a bank account, credit card, or debit card, and
• You were signed in to Pay.gov when you paid, and
• The payment's transaction status is Pending

To cancel the payment, login to Pay.gov with your ID.me or Login.gov credentials. Click My Account at the top of the page and select Payment Activity.

Click the Pending tab. If your bill is still Pending, you can cancel it and the agency will not be paid. The transaction status will change to Canceled.

If you paid without signing in, and you need to cancel the payment, contact Pay.gov customer support. You will be asked to provide information from the payment's confirmation.

If you used Amazon Pay or PayPal, contact the payment service.

Pay.gov customer support cannot correct payments. You can only correct a payment if:

• You used a bank account, credit card, or debit card<, Additional/li>
• You were signed in to Pay.gov when you paid, and
• The payments transaction status is Pending

Sometimes you might need to attach files — additional information in text, spreadsheet (CSV) file, or PDF format — to supply an agency with additional information about your payment.

To attach a file, click the option. In the Attach File box, enter or browse your device for the correct file. Click Attach. Click Next. Only TXT, CSV, and PDF files are allowed.

You can view summaries of payments made when you were signed in to your account. Payments made when you were not signed in are not included.

To see payment details, view receipts, and cancel pending payments, sign in to Pay.gov with your ID.me or Login.gov credentials. Click My Account at the top of the page and select Payment Activity.