Nearly 830,000 Americans could experience delays in receiving their tax refunds this season after the Internal Revenue Service stopped issuing paper checks.
According to Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, 500,000 filers have received notices to provide the IRS with direct deposit information. Another 300,000 filers are expected to receive the notices.
The National Taxpayer Advocate estimates that about 10 million Americans received paper checks for their refunds last tax season. The group says 4.2% of U.S. households lack a bank account.
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It said eliminating paper checks particularly affects Americans living abroad, taxpayers with religious constraints, victims of domestic violence, and taxpayers with disabilities.
The IRS says that once a taxpayer provides bank account information, refunds will be released after six weeks.
Democratic Reps. Danny K. Davis of Illinois and Terri A. Sewell of Alabama sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, saying many of the affected Americans lack bank accounts and could struggle to access their refunds.
“Having reviewed the IRS notice and called the IRS phone lines, we learned that there is no simple process for these taxpayers to request an immediate release of their refund by paper check without waiting at least 10 weeks,” the lawmakers wrote. “Effectively, the president, unilaterally through his executive order, is causing undue hardship on millions of Americans by delaying their paper refunds for months.”
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The Trump administration implemented the near-elimination of paper checks in September to cut costs. The Treasury Department estimates it costs about 50 cents to issue a paper check, compared with less than 15 cents for an electronic funds transfer.
