WASHINGTON, Feb 12, 2026, 05:23 EST
- Under new procedures set for 2026, the IRS has authority to put a temporary hold on refunds if direct deposit details are missing or invalid.
- The “Where’s My Refund?” tool refreshes once each day, typically displaying your status about 24 hours after the IRS gets your e-filed return.
- Taxpayers receiving a CP53E notice typically have a 30-day window to update their bank information online—otherwise, the refund defaults to a paper check in the mail.
This filing season, the Internal Revenue Service has the authority to put tax refunds on hold if taxpayers miss or miskey their bank routing or account numbers needed for direct deposit.
With refunds shifting ever further from paper checks, it’s become more of a sticking point—especially as early filers start checking on their status just days after hitting “submit.”
The IRS kicked off the 2026 filing season on Jan. 26, with about 164 million individual tax returns for 2025 projected before the April 15 deadline. IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano pressed filers to “speed the processing” by opting for e-filing and direct deposit. 1
Refunds tend to fill gaps in household budgets, covering things like rent, old bills, or repairs that couldn’t wait any longer. With the new system, there’s one more place where that cash can get stuck. Suddenly, a detail most filers ignore—routing numbers for banks, account numbers for where the money lands—takes on far more importance. Miss it, and the process can jam up fast.
“A lot of taxpayers still haven’t caught on to the change,” said Mitchell Gerstein, senior tax adviser at Isdaner & Company in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Jacob Cohen, a CPA in Philadelphia, pointed out that folks who won’t share their bank info can wait weeks for a refund, with the IRS pushing for electronic payments. 2
The Taxpayer Advocate Service, which operates independently inside the IRS, said the agency plans to keep processing Form 1040 returns even if filers leave out direct deposit information. In those cases, refunds get frozen unless the taxpayer steps in—either by supplying their bank info or opting for a paper check. Most times a direct deposit bounces back from the bank, the refund will be frozen too; the taxpayer will have to act before anything moves forward, instead of the IRS just mailing a check automatically. 3
If you’re looking for your tax refund, the IRS points taxpayers to its “Where’s My Refund?” online tool and the IRS2Go app. The agency says updates happen just once daily, overnight. For e-filed returns, expect refund status to show up roughly 24 hours after filing. Mailed paper returns take longer—around four weeks for any status to appear. 4
There’s a federal effort underway to shift payments to electronic systems. According to the IRS, Executive Order 14247 directed the move to electronic federal disbursements, triggering the phase-out of paper tax refund checks starting Sept. 30, 2025, where the law allows. The agency points out that paper checks are “over 16 times more likely” to be lost, stolen, altered, or hit with delays compared to electronic methods. Mailed refunds can drag on for six weeks or even longer, the IRS said. 5
The IRS says taxpayers lacking a standard bank account still have options—some mobile apps and prepaid debit cards come with routing and account numbers that work for direct deposit. Filers can also divide their refund among as many as three separate financial accounts, which the agency claims speeds things up compared to a paper check. 6
The system isn’t forgiving. According to the IRS, taxpayers typically get a single shot to add or update their bank details online after getting a CP53E notice—this is the letter that goes out when a direct deposit refund hits a snag. There’s a 30-day window to make the fix and keep the refund flowing electronically. Worth noting: IRS staff can’t make bank account changes over the phone. Plus, even after all that, refunds may still face “offset”—that is, they can be diverted toward certain unpaid debts. 7
The IRS is urging taxpayers to use its status-tracking tools instead of submitting duplicate returns, warning that filing more than once can actually delay things. According to the agency, even those who opt for direct deposit may face longer waits if their returns require additional checks or corrections.
