Source: IR-2025-94: Text taken from Spidell article January 2026.

Paper refund checks for individual taxpayers began phasing out on September 30, 2025. (IR-2025-94) The phaseout of refund checks for individual taxpayers is the first step in implementing President Trump’s Executive Order 14274, issued on March 25, 2025, which directed the U.S. Treasury to stop issuing paper checks by September 30, 2025, as well as mandating that all payments to the federal government be made electronically “as soon as practicable.”

CLIENTS SHOULD BRING TO THE TAX APPOINTMENT: BANK NAME, ROUTING NUMBER AND ACCOUNT NUMBER. (Be sure of these numbers as errors delay refunds for many months).

For taxpayers who are unable to receive direct deposits to a bank account, other options such as prepaid debit cards, digital wallets, or limited exceptions to the paper check prohibition are available. However, no additional guidance has been provided yet as to how these alternatives may be requested.

To date, there are no changes being made to how payments to the U.S. Treasury should be made. Taxpayers should continue to use existing payment options until further notice. According to the IRS, additional guidance and information for filing 2025 taxes will be issued prior to the 2026 filing season.