Methods to pay IRS tax due

[RWG1950]

As expected, customer owes $342 on his recently filed 2023 return. He just got the paper statement from IRS.
He can mail them a check with the coupon they provided but I was wondering if paying by check debit might be better.
Is the payment you can make through the IRS site less secure than using the ETFPS system or is it the same thing ?
Thanks for comments.

[FEDUKE404]

https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay-with-bank-account

Pay taxes from your bank account with Direct Pay.

• Free and secure
• No sign-in required
• Change or cancel within 2 days of scheduled payment

[RWG1950]

This taxpayer had e-filed 2023 in October & received $342 an extra direct deposit refund.
His return contained a number of small passive K-1 forms that had generated net losses - to be carried forward.
I must have completed the "E" page 2 incorrectly (think I did the 8582 OK though) as the IRS "corrected" the return to deduct the net losses.
During the E-file processing period I stayed in touch with the IRS practitioner hotline so I knew in advance of the extra $342 direct deposit
& what had happened. The taxpayer & I made a joint call to the hotline & explained the losses needed to be carried forward & not deducted.
The IRS rep was apparently able to take care of this over the phone.
Customer now has his IRS bill requesting the $342 back. I had been prepared to amend his return.
Was not aware that IRS could handle this type of thing by phone.

[FEDUKE404]

This taxpayer had e-filed 2023 in October & received $342 an extra direct deposit refund.
His return contained a number of small passive K-1 forms that had generated net losses - to be carried forward.
I must have completed the "E" page 2 incorrectly (think I did the 8582 OK though) as the IRS "corrected" the return to deduct the net losses.
During the E-file processing period I stayed in touch with the IRS practitioner hotline so I knew in advance of the extra $342 direct deposit
& what had happened. The taxpayer & I made a joint call to the hotline & explained the losses needed to be carried forward & not deducted.
The IRS rep was apparently able to take care of this over the phone.
Customer now has his IRS bill requesting the $342 back. I had been prepared to amend his return.
Was not aware that IRS could handle this type of thing by phone.

You've moved the goalposts from your original post, and I previously answered that question re making an IRS payment.

If you KNOW what the IRS changed, and apparently you do, you can accept their adjustment changes without further action and just (re) pay the $342. IIRC, the IRS payment page has a pull-down menu with a choice being something along the lines of "payment due to an IRS notice" or something similar. Filing an amended return just muddies up the waters.

Depending on your tax software, and the nature of the many items on a Sch K-1, you should nsure that you entered ALL of the K-1 stuff (including any Form 8582 carryforwards from the prior year) properly. Use of tax software Q&A, without ANY overrides, should have already accomplished that. EVERY box on the K-1, included header checkboxes, is critical.

It does go without saying, that at some point (for 2024) you should have the same Form 8582 carryforward numbers to use that the IRS now has (apparently) calculated a couple of times.