Paying taxes is stressful enough. But what happens when you accidentally charge a five-figure tax bill to your spouse’s American Express Business Platinum Card—without realizing it?
Spoiler: It wasn’t pretty.
This is the story of how a simple mistake led to panic, confusion, and an unexpected lesson in credit card rewards.
The Setup: A Routine Tax Payment Gone Wrong
Every year, like clockwork, I sit down to file my taxes. And every year, I dread the moment I have to pay what I owe. This time, I owed a hefty sum—let’s just say it was enough to make me wince.
I logged into the IRS payment portal, selected credit card as my payment method (because why not earn some points?), and entered my card details.
Or so I thought.
Instead of using my own card, I accidentally grabbed my wife’s Amex Business Platinum.
How?
- Auto-fill betrayed me. My browser had both our cards saved, and I clicked the wrong one.
- I wasn’t paying attention. In my rush to get it over with, I didn’t double-check.
- The damage was done before I realized it.
A few seconds later, my phone buzzed with a text from my wife:
“Did you just spend $XX,XXX on my Amex??”
Cue: panic.
The Aftermath: Confusion, Panic, and Damage Control
1. The Immediate Fallout
My wife, who uses her Business Platinum strictly for actual business expenses, was understandably freaked out.
- “Why is there a massive IRS charge on my card??”
- “Is this fraud??”
- “Did you mean to do this??”
I quickly realized my mistake and fessed up.
Me: “Uh… yeah, that was me. I think I used your card by accident.”
Her: “You think?!”
2. The Points Dilemma
Here’s where it got interesting.
The Amex Business Platinum earns:
- 1.5x Membership Rewards on large purchases ($5,000+)
- 1x on everything else
Since the IRS counts as a “large purchase,” this accidental swipe actually earned us thousands of points.
Silver lining? Maybe.
But my wife was more concerned about:
- Cash flow (since she’d now have a huge balance)
- Business accounting (mixing personal and business expenses is messy)
- Potential card shutdown risk (Amex doesn’t love tax payments)
3. The Fix: Reversing the Charge?
I called the IRS to see if they could cancel or refund the payment.
Spoiler: They couldn’t.
Once a tax payment processes, it’s final. No take-backs.
Our options:
- Let it ride and deal with the consequences.
- Pay off the card immediately to avoid interest.
We chose Option 2—wired the money to Amex the same day to zero out the balance.
Lessons Learned (The Hard Way)
1. Always Double-Check Your Card Before Hitting “Submit”
Auto-fill is convenient… until it isn’t. Now I manually type in my card details for big payments.
2. The IRS Doesn’t Play Around With Refunds
Once they have your money, it’s gone. No do-overs.
3. Amex Might Not Love Tax Payments
While it’s not explicitly against the rules, Amex has been known to claw back points or even close accounts for excessive tax payments.
4. Unexpected Points Are Nice, But Not Worth the Stress
Yes, we earned a ton of Membership Rewards. But the panic wasn’t worth it.
Final Verdict: Would I Do It Again?
Absolutely not.
While the points were a nice surprise, the stress, confusion, and accounting headache made it a net loss.
Moral of the story?
- Pay attention when entering payment details.
- Communicate with your spouse before swiping their card.
- Maybe just use a debit card for taxes next time.
