We told you already back in May 2025, but now it’s a reality. This shift is part of the government’s broader transition to electronic payments—a change we previously warned our readers about in our earlier blog post Federal Payments Are Going Fully Digital.
The IRS and U.S. Treasury have officially announced that paper refund checks have phased out beginning September 30, 2025, under Executive Order 14247. For now, filing procedures remain the same, but taxpayers should expect refunds to be delivered electronically going forward, whether through direct deposit, prepaid debit cards, or digital wallets. Exceptions will be very limited, and the IRS will release additional guidance before the 2026 filing season.
The reasons behind this change are clear: electronic payments are faster, safer, and more cost-effective. Paper checks are more than 16 times as likely to be lost, stolen, or delayed, while direct deposit refunds typically reach taxpayers in under 21 days versus up to six weeks by mail. With nearly 93% of refunds already issued electronically in 2025, the transition will mostly impact the small percentage of taxpayers still relying on paper checks like when the IRS could not deposit via ACH your refund. To avoid any last-minute complications, taxpayers should double-check their banking information or consider opening a free or low-cost bank account as soon as possible and include that information in the e-filed tax return.
Link IRS – IR-2025-94, Sept. 23, 2025 – IRS to phase out paper tax refund checks starting with individual taxpayers
