Form 1040-V: How to Mail a Check With Your Return

Form 1040-V is a payment voucher. You send it with a check or money order for the balance due on the "Amount you owe" line of your 2025 Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. The form is for individuals. It is not a return. IRS: Form 1040-V (2025)

Fill in the voucher

Line 1: your Social Security number (SSN). On a joint return, enter the SSN shown first on your return.
Line 2: on a joint return, the SSN shown second on your return.
Line 3: the amount you are paying by check or money order.
Line 4: your name and address exactly as shown on your return. Print clearly.

If you pay online, do not complete this form. The form says to go to irs.gov/payments for electronic options. IRS: Form 1040-V (2025)

Prepare the check

Make the check or money order payable to "United States Treasury." Do not send cash.
Write your name and address on the check. Write your daytime phone number and SSN too. If you have an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), write it where an SSN is requested.
Write "2025 Form 1040," "2025 Form 1040-SR," or "2025 Form 1040-NR," whichever applies. Use the name that matches the return you filed.
Enter the amount on the right side of the check in this style: $ XXX.XX. Do not use dashes or lines.

Check the form's instructions for the full list. IRS: Form 1040-V (2025)

Send it with your return

Do not staple your payment or Form 1040-V to your return, or to each other. Put them loose in the envelope. Mail your 2025 return, payment, and Form 1040-V to the address on the back of the form that applies to you. IRS: Form 1040-V (2025)

Read the check notice

The voucher includes a notice for people who send a check. When you give the IRS a check, you authorize it to use the check information to make a one-time electronic funds transfer from your account. Or the IRS may process the payment as a check transaction. If the IRS makes an electronic transfer, funds may leave your account as soon as the same day it receives the payment. You will not get your check back from your bank. IRS: Form 1040-V (2025)

Pay online instead

You can also pay online, by phone, or from a mobile device. The IRS says to schedule payments at irs.gov/payments, where all electronic options are listed. Choose the method that fits your records. IRS: Form 1040-V (2025)

Common mix-ups

Use the voucher only for the amount on the "Amount you owe" line. The form is tied to that line.
Do not send cash in the mail. The check or money order must be payable to "United States Treasury."
Do not attach the voucher to your return. The form says to send the pieces loose in the envelope.

Read the check notice above before you give the IRS a check. It explains what can happen to the check after the IRS receives it. IRS: Form 1040-V (2025)

Steps to follow

Confirm the balance due on the "Amount you owe" line of your 2025 return.
Fill in lines 1 through 4 of the voucher.
Write the check, with your name, address, SSN, and "2025 Form 1040" on it.
Put the check and voucher loose in the envelope with your return. Mail it to the address on the back that applies to you.

Read the CP14 balance due notice if the IRS has sent you a notice about a balance. Read Form 9465 basics if you need more time to pay.

General information, not advice for your situation.

Sources: Sources: IRS, Form 1040-V (2025), Payment Voucher for Individuals (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040v.pdf) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.

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