--- title: The IRS Is Ending Paper Checks for Tax Refunds description: IRS is ending paper tax refund checks for most. Expect direct deposit or other electronic methods. Learn how this shift affects you. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 600 covers: - Taxes - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Taxes - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping published: '2025-09-26T15:07:25.000Z' modified: '2025-09-26T19:43:59.000Z' section: Taxes tags: - News word_count: 483 canonical: https://money.com/irs-ends-paper-checks/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![A photo illustration of a Tax Refund paper check not being offered anymore](https://img.money.com/2025/09/News-Goodbye-Tax-Refund-Paper-Check.jpg?crop=0px%2C267px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will no longer send tax refunds as physical checks (with a few exceptions). For decades, tax refunds arrived as paper checks. And every spring, some lucky households would open their mailboxes to find a refund large enough to splurge on something big, like a [car](https://money.com/tax-refund-buy-used-car-trouble/). But starting next week, a paper check won't even be an option for most people. This year, direct deposit was (by far) the preferred method for tax refunds, used by 93% of people, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That's about 87 million refunds. While it may not be as exciting as opening up a letter with a physical check, the IRS says direct deposit is much quicker, among other benefits. There's also no paper waste, no postage cost and no theft risk. The IRS naturally wants to downplay the potential for disruption of this change. However, even if only 7% of refund recipients receive their checks in the mail, that's still a huge number of people — over 6 million, by our math. Getting that many people set up with a new payment method will not be a seamless process. ## The right Tax Relief firm makes all the difference, especially if you owe over $10,000 in taxes. ### Get the tailored experience that you expect from the tax litigation professionals in your area. Click on your state to get started! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/kc0833a52be9?ap_referrer=%2Firs-ends-paper-checks%2F) ## IRS eliminates paper check option for tax refunds According to a Tuesday [IRS release,](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-to-phase-out-paper-tax-refund-checks-starting-with-individual-taxpayers) paper checks will be "phased out" starting Sept. 30 "to the extent permitted by law." It's a "first step of the broader transition to electronic payments," the IRS said. The release notes that more guidance will be published before the 2026 tax filing season begins. The change is part of a larger, controversial government transition away from physical checks for payments. President Donald Trump signed an [executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/modernizing-payments-to-and-from-americas-bank-account/) on March 25 requiring all federal payments to be made electronically. The impact of this policy on [Social Security recipients](https://money.com/social-security-ends-paper-checks-sept-30/) has been the main flashpoint, with critics of the change stating that the 400,000 people who receive paper benefit checks can't afford to experience any disruptions. But the tax refund implications could soon come into the spotlight, with tax season a few months away. For more information on setting up direct deposit for your next refund, the IRS maintains a [guide](https://www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts) with all the steps. The IRS will provide options for people without bank accounts. "Prepaid debit cards, digital wallets or limited exceptions will be available," the release said. In addition to direct deposit, the IRS says "other secure electronic methods" may be used for refunds. One more thing to watch: Trump's executive order could affect checks sent to the IRS. For now, the IRS release said you can still pay taxes with checks, but restrictions are possible in the future. "Taxpayers should continue to use existing payment options until further notice," this week's IRS release said. ## Say goodbye to tax headaches! ### Anthem's specialists are here to navigate the complexities and secure your relief. Click below to get started today. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/z3848a273330?ap_referrer=%2Firs-ends-paper-checks%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/14979/medium_d9420f2c-6d0b-4726-b903-60fb37740830.png) Owe over $10,000 in taxes? Get Tax Relief with Anthem now! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/l978cd9f37e2?ap_referrer=%2Firs-ends-paper-checks%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/irs-ends-paper-checks/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Taxes", "item": "https://money.com/taxes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "IRS", "item": "https://money.com/irs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The IRS Is Ending Paper Checks for Tax Refunds" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/irs-ends-paper-checks/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/irs-ends-paper-checks/", "name": "The IRS Is Ending Paper Checks for Tax Refunds", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-09-26T15:07:25.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/irs-ends-paper-checks/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/irs-ends-paper-checks/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-09-26T19:43:59.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "The IRS Is Ending Paper Checks for Tax Refunds", "articleSection": "Taxes", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/09/News-Goodbye-Tax-Refund-Paper-Check.jpg?crop=0px%2C267px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "News-Goodbye-Tax-Refund-Paper-Check" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2023/02/peter.png?w=350&h=430&crop=1", "email": "peter.grieve@money.com", "jobTitle": "Lead News Reporter", "alumniOf": "University of Chicago, BA Political Science", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/pete_grieve", "https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138", "https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2025-09-26T15:07:25.000Z", "description": "IRS is ending paper tax refund checks for most. Expect direct deposit or other electronic methods. Learn how this shift affects you.", "abstract": "IRS is ending paper tax refund checks for most. Expect direct deposit or other electronic methods. Learn how this shift affects you.", "@id": "https://money.com/irs-ends-paper-checks/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2025-09-26T19:43:59.000Z", "editor": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katherine Peach", "url": "https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/#author", "description": "Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!)\r\n\r\nKatherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others.\r\n\r\nKatherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.", "jobTitle": "Associate Editor", "alumniOf": "University of Maryland, Baltimore County", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "wordCount": 483, "keywords": [ "News" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tax", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Internal Revenue Service", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service" ] } ] } ] } ```