NJ Taxpayers Will No Longer Receive Paper Tax Refund Checks

Maybe you’re already receiving your tax refund electronically. However, those who still prefer paper checks are out of luck.

The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury just made the announcement.

Beginning Tuesday, September 30^th, paper tax refund checks for individual taxpayers will start being phased out. This is the first step of the broader transition to electronic payments.

According to the IRS, they “will publish detailed guidance for 2025 tax returns before the 2026 filing season begins. Until further notice, taxpayers should continue using existing forms and procedures. This includes those filing their 2024 returns on an extension of a due date before Dec. 31, 2025.”

 The IRS says there are several reasons for the change. The first is to protect taxpayers. Paper checks are over 16 times more likely to be lost, stolen, altered, or delayed than electronic payments. Direct deposit also avoids the possibility that a refund check could be returned to the IRS as undeliverable.

Secondly, it speeds up refunds. Electronic refunds give you faster access to refunds. Electronic payments can be issued in less than twenty-one days if you file electronically. You’ll get you money much faster if you choose direct deposit, and there aren’t any issues with the return.  Non-electronic payments usually take 6 weeks or longer to get your refund by snail mail.

The new policy also saves money because they’re more efficient and cost less than paper.

Filing for individual taxpayers stays the same. Taxpayers should continue to file their returns as they normally would, using one of the existing filing options. However, your refund will be delivered by direct deposit or other secure electronic methods.

For those who don’t have bank accounts the IRS will offer the choice of prepaid debit cards or digital wallets. On rare occasions, exceptions will be made for those who qualify.

The IRS urges taxpayers to make sure they know their banking information or consider opening a free or low-cost account.

This will affect a low percentage of us because most individual taxpayers already receive their refunds by direct deposit into their bank accounts

During the 2025 tax filing season, the IRS issued more than 93.5 million tax refunds to individual income tax filers, and 93% of those, almost 87 million refunds, were issued through direct deposit. Only 7 percent of individual refund recipients received their refunds by check through the mail. 

There is updated guidance on IRS.gov