Tip of the Month | March 2026

IRS Moving Away from Paper Checks to Electronic Payments

Written By:Ryan Rink, CFP®, EA, ChFC®, CLTC®

The IRS is moving towards electronic payments to speed up processing and refunds, reduce administrative costs, and enhance security for taxpayers.

You are still able to file your 2025 tax return without providing your bank account information. However, if you choose to not provide it, you’ll receive a notice in the mail requesting that you provide the information to the IRS. If you don’t respond within 30 days, then a refund check will be mailed. It may take up to 6 weeks for them to issue the paper check. That being said, you will receive a refund much faster if you choose the electronic refund option.

Regarding one-time/estimated tax payments, there is currently no set date by which the IRS will not accept paper checks. They are still accepting paper checks, but the process is much slower and creates a higher probability for error since it is being manually entered. You can set up an online account to make payments via the following link: https://www.irs.gov/payments