New IRS Rule Created by Trump Could Delay Tax Refunds for Weeks

Some taxpayers may need to wait longer than usual to receive their IRS tax refunds.

The longer timeline stems from a March 2025 executive order that directs the Treasury Department to stop issuing and accepting paper checks for federal financial transactions. Although it was signed in March, the policy took effect in September 2025.

Taxpayers are encouraged to choose direct deposit, which the IRS says is typically delivered within about 21 days after a return is accepted.

Those who still request a paper check may face delays of up to six weeks, according to the IRS. Refunds can also be held if a taxpayer enters incorrect bank account information for direct deposit. In those cases, the IRS will pause the payment until the correct details are provided.

Taxpayers generally have 30 days to contact the IRS to fix the bank information or request a paper check. If the error isn’t addressed within that window, the IRS will issue a paper check instead—potentially adding several more weeks to the wait.

The executive order was described by the White House as an effort to improve operational efficiency by reducing reliance on paper-based payments, which it said can increase costs, delays, and risks such as fraud, theft, and lost or undeliverable payments. The White House also said Treasury checks are significantly more likely than electronic transfers to be reported lost, stolen, altered, or returned, and noted that maintaining systems for processing paper records cost hundreds of millions of dollars in fiscal year 2024.