IRS to Phase Out Paper Tax Refund Checks

📢 Key Update:

• Starting Sept. 30, 2025, the IRS (with Treasury) will phase out paper tax refund checks for individual taxpayers, per Executive Order 14247.
• This is the first step in a broader transition to electronic payments.

💡 Why the Change?

1. Protect taxpayers: Paper checks are 16x more likely to be lost, stolen, altered, or delayed than electronic refunds.
2. Faster refunds: Direct deposit refunds usually arrive in <21 days; mailed checks may take 6+ weeks.
3. Cut costs: Processing electronic payments is cheaper and more efficient.

👩‍👩‍👧 Impact on Taxpayers:

• Filing unchanged — taxpayers continue filing as usual.
• Refunds go digital — mostly via direct deposit or other secure methods.
• For the unbanked: Options will include prepaid debit cards or digital wallets.
• Act now: IRS urges taxpayers to have valid banking info or consider opening a low-cost/free account (FDIC GetBanked, MyCreditUnion.gov).

📊 Context:

• In the 2025 tax season, IRS issued 93.5M refunds → 93% by direct deposit, only 7% by paper check.

🔜 Next Steps:

• Executive Order 14247 also applies to payments made to the IRS (like taxes owed) — current systems remain until new guidance is issued.
• IRS will publish detailed filing/payment guidance before the 2026 season.
• Updates will be posted on IRS.gov and shared nationwide.

👉 Bottom Line: Paper refund checks are ending. The IRS is going digital to boost security, speed, and savings, with special support to help unbanked taxpayers transition smoothly.