08/12/2025
Please be aware. Electronic refunds and/or payments to the IRS will be required after September 20, 2025. Now is the time to make sure you have a bank account to pay or receive funds for your federal taxes.
IRS discontinuing sending and receiving paper checks after September 30, 2025
On March 25, 2025 President Trump signed Executive Order 14247 entitled "Modernizing Payments To and From America's Bank Account".
The EO directs the Secretary of the Treasury to stop issuing paper checks for federal disbursements, including tax refunds, after September 30, 2025, with limited exceptions.
After September 30, tax refunds are to be issued by an electronic method. Beyond direct deposit, the IRS hasn't yet indicated what other non-electronic refund methods will be available for tax returns, if any, such as debit and credit cards, prepaid cards, digital wallets, etc.
Thus, we await guidance on how the IRS will handle a return still in process after September 30 with a refund to be disbursed by check, as well as how a refund on Form 1041 will be issued.
The EO also directs to the Secretary of the Treasury "[a]s soon as practicable, and to the extent permitted by law, all payments made to the Federal Government shall be processed electronically." This includes payments of balances due as well as estimated tax payments.
The IRS hasn't yet issued guidance regarding the exceptions and accommodations for taxpayers who haven't got a bank account or for whom electronic methods would be a hardship.
If you have any clients that you know don't have a bank account, they may wish to consider opening one prior to September 30 for payments to and from the IRS.
We will continue to monitor communication from the IRS and inform you of changes that will impact how you prepare and file tax returns.
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