Article: 50035
There are several options available for your refund.
Direct deposit
- When e-filing your return, you can select up to three different accounts to have your refund deposited into. You can choose to deposit your refund into one or more checking, savings, IRA (Individual Retirement Account), or HSA (Health Savings Account) account.
- Choose the option Yes, I want to receive my federal refund by direct deposit on the Receiving Your Refund page.
e-Collect
- e-Collect allows your tax return preparation fees to be taken out of your refund, so you do not have to pay for your return up front. The balance of your refund is then issued to you by being either:
- Deposited directly into your personal bank account
- Loaded onto a Visa® card and mailed to you
- Note that there are fees for using e-Collect. The total fees are displayed when you view your return before e-filing it.
Paper Check
- You can choose to receive a paper-check instead of using one of the options above. Note that your check will be mailed to the address you provide on your tax return, so make sure it is correct and that you can receive mail there.
- Choose the option I want to receive a check by mail instead on the Receiving Your Refund page.
NOTE: Executive Order 14247 mandates the transition to electronic payments and phases out disbursements by paper-check. In accordance with this order, the IRS will be phasing out paper-checks beginning on September 30, 2025. See the news alert IR-2025-94 for details.
Important This change does not currently have any impact on returns filed through 1040.com.
Direct deposit and disbursement via paper-check are both available for returns filed through the October 15, 2025 deadline.
We are awaiting further guidance from the IRS as to how this may impact returns filed in tax year 2025. More information will be added here when available.
The IRS provides several options for taxpayers at IRS.gov/modernpayments.