Using the Internet to direct tax payments just got easier. The IRS recently announced a series of new enhancements to its Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) that will make it possible to use an online option to send in your federal tax payments.

Dubbed "EFTP-OnLine," the system doesn't use credit cards; instead, it gathers information for the IRS to debit your bank account. You can use it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it offers an instant, printable EFT acknowledgment number that documents the transaction.

After you enroll on the Internet, the service will mail you a confirmation kit with instructions for obtaining a password.

On the issue of privacy, the IRS says the site exceeds private industry best practices with regard to prevention, detection and containment responses. (See October's "Tax Talk" for more on EFTPS privacy issues.)

These enhancements are good news for users. "For businesses that haven't been using EFTPS, the online service represents an easy way to make the transition into electronic payment," says Mike Dolan, director of IRS policies and dispute resolution with KPMG's tax controversy service. "For those already using the system, the latest developments make EFTPS even more convenient."

Great Falls, Virginia, writer JOAN SZABO has reported on tax issue for more than 14 years.

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