How to get your tax refund if you don’t have a bank account

The 2026 tax filing season is officially underway, but one part of the process will look different for some filers: The IRS is getting out of the business of issuing paper checks.

In a March 2025 executive order, President Donald Trump called on government agencies to stop issuing physical checks for all disbursements by Sept. 30, 2025 — including federal tax refunds, Social Security payments and veteran benefits.

According to EO 14247, "paper-based payments such as checks and money orders impose unnecessary costs, delays and risks of fraud, lost payments, theft, and inefficiencies."

The order directed departments to switch to electronic funds transfers (EFTs), like direct deposit, debit/credit cards and digital wallets. 

Last year, about 94% of refunds were issued by direct deposit, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent arm of the IRS. But 4.2% of Americans (about 5.6 million people) are unbanked, with no access to deposit accounts or credit cards.  

"For these individuals, paper checks are not a preference — they're a lifeline," National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins said in a statement. Other filers, including seniors, may not be educated about electronic payments or know that paper checks are being phased out. 

Collins called for flexibility for these groups, as well as the disabled, religious groups, people living abroad and other vulnerable groups.  

"Otherwise, while the IRS makes the tax system more efficient for some, it will simultaneously make it less accessible for others." 

The IRS has referred to "limited exceptions" to the no-check rule, but guidelines on who qualifies have not been announced.

"The bottom line for 2026 is that while there is not an absolute, immediate ban in every case, the IRS has largely stopped mailing paper refund checks except where legally or operationally necessary," said Kimberlee McKenna, director of product management at IRIS Software Group, an accounting solutions company. "Taxpayers should plan on direct deposit or another electronic refund method.

If you're used to receiving your refund in the mail, there are several ways to avoid running afoul of the new directive.

Prepaid debit cards

Prepaid debit cards aren't linked to a checking account but come with the same $250,000 FDIC insurance and can be used anywhere credit cards are accepted. 

Many can receive payments from the IRS, including the Walmart MoneyCard and PayPal Debit Mastercard, which offers cardholders free federal and state tax filing.

Most prepaid cards charge a monthly service fee, and you'll need to get approved before you file your taxes so that you can include your account and routing numbers on your return. 

H&R Block has its own reloadable Emerald Card. There's no monthly fee, but you'll face an inactivity charge of $9.95 a month if there are no transactions for 60 consecutive days.

Mobile payment app

Peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo and PayPal also come with unique account and routing numbers you can use for direct deposits.

Some have even added tax-prep options: You can submit both federal and state returns through Cash App Taxes and get the refund deposited into your CashApp account. It doesn't cover every tax situation, but you can itemize deductions and list self-employment income, as well as income from stocks and cryptocurrency.

Second-chance checking account

If you don't have a bank account because of bad credit, overdrafts or other marks on your file, you may qualify for a second-chance checking account. Also known as opportunity checking or "rebound accounts," they don't require a review with a reporting agency like ChexSystems.

Chase Secure Banking doesn't charge overdraft fees and account holders can access funds from paychecks or other regular direct deposits two days early. The $4.95 monthly account fee can be waived with $250 in monthly direct deposits.

We also like Chime Checking, which comes with no monthly account fee, overdraft fee or foreign transaction fee, plus access to 50,000+ fee-free ATMs.

What if you owe money to Uncle Sam? EO 14247 also calls for payments to the government to be electronic "where permissible under existing law," but the IRS will still accept physical checks for 2025 tax returns.

Don't count on that lasting much longer, according to McKenna. 

"Paper checks are still being processed for now, but additional rulemaking is expected,"  she said. "The trajectory is clearly toward electronic-only payments."

The IRS already "strongly encourages" taxpayers to use existing electronic options, like Direct Pay, which allows you to make an AHS payment from your bank account. 

A statement on the IRS website says that, over time, the agency will "reduce reliance on paper checks and money orders for receiving payments, with limited exceptions made for specific situations such as those involving hardships, and/or legal and procedural requirements."

In most cases, taxpayers who file accurate returns electronically and request direct deposit can expect their refund within 21 days. 

In the past, filers who requested a paper check could expect to wait eight weeks or longer for a refund. This year, if you don't provide direct deposit details, the IRS said it will send a notice asking you to add or update your information using an IRS Online Account or explain why you need a physical check.

If you don't take any action within 30 days, the IRS will issue a paper check after six weeks. If it has been over 10 weeks and you haven't received your refund, use the "Where's My Refund" tool on the IRS website.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed financial decisions. Every tax article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

At CNBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority, backed by relevant training and experience. For this article, we interviewed Kimberlee McKenna, director of product management at IRIS Software Group.

Kimberlee previously worked as a product manager at ADP. She earned a B.A. in marketing at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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