IRS Kills Paper Checks: Update Your Bank Details Now or Face Refund Delays

The Internal Revenue Service just pulled the plug on paper refund checks—and millions of taxpayers are racing against the clock.

Why the sudden shift? The agency's digital-first overhaul aims to slash processing times and cut fraud. But for anyone clinging to old-school mail delivery, it means one thing: potential refund purgatory.

Your Move: Direct Deposit or Bust

If your tax return still lists a mailing address instead of bank routing numbers, you're officially on the wrong side of the transition. The fix is simple but urgent: log into your IRS account or file an amended return with direct deposit details. Miss the window, and your refund gets stuck in bureaucratic limbo—because apparently, moving money at the speed of the internet is still a novel concept for some legacy systems.

The Fine Print They're Not Highlighting

While the IRS frames this as a 'convenience upgrade,' the cynical finance mind sees a different playbook. Fewer paper checks mean lower processing costs, reduced mail fraud liabilities, and tighter control over payment flows. It's the same old efficiency grab dressed up as consumer tech—because nothing says innovation like finally catching up to what online banks mastered a decade ago.

Update your details. Secure your refund. And maybe wonder why a system that can track every crypto transaction still struggles to mail a check on time.

KEY TAKEAWAY

• The IRS is moving away from paper refund checks this year, and is asking all taxpayers to include their direct deposit information on their 2025 tax returns.
• Taxpayers who don't include their bank information or report it incorrectly will have their refunds held until they correct it.
• Taxpayers can still request a paper check, but that will delay their refund.

The IRS is asking all taxpayers to include their bank account information on their 2025 tax returns. Failing to do so could delay any refund this year.

Starting in the 2026 filing season, the IRS is transitioning away from paper tax-refund checks to electronic payments, which are less likely to be lost, stolen or delayed, the tax agency said. To prevent refund delays this year, taxpayers should provide accurate bank account information (routing and account numbers) on their returns.

Why This Matters

About 6.5 million taxpayers—roughly 7% of those who received a refund—were mailed a paper refund check during the 2025 tax filing season, according to the IRS. That group represents a small subset of Americans, many of whom are unbanked or underbanked, disabled, elderly, or otherwise vulnerable taxpayers for whom paper checks have often been the only practical way to receive refunds needed to cover basic living expenses

If you do not include your direct deposit information or report it incorrectly, the IRS will still process your tax return, but it will then send you a notice informing you that your refund has been frozen. You will have 30 days from the date you receive the notice to update your online IRS account with the correct bank information.

If you do not want to provide your bank account information, you can also call an IRS customer representative at 1-800-829-1040 to request a paper check, said the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Any taxpayers who don't take action or respond to the notice will be sent a paper check after six weeks.

RELATED EDUCATION

If a taxpayer's bank rejects an electronic refund for some reason, the IRS will issue them a paper check.

Some taxpayers will not be subject to the direct deposit requirement, including:

• International taxpayers;
• Minors;
• Prisoners;
• Taxpayers with religious exceptions; and
• Decedent taxpayers (this refers to deceased taxpayers or the personal representative of the deceased taxpayer).

The federal government as a whole has taken steps to phase out the use of physical checks across all payment types. Early last year, President Donald TRUMP signed an executive order to abandon paper checks and switch fully to direct deposits, card payments, and other digital methods. The government cited check fraud as a motivating factor in the move.