U.S. Treasury phasing out tax refunds via paper checks

On March 25, President Trump issued an Executive Order mandating a transition to electronic payments for transactions with the Department of Treasury effective Sept. 30, 2025.  As a result, the IRS, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, will discontinue issuing paper checks for tax refunds as of that date.  

This order also covers tax payments to the Department of Treasury, but the effective date is not as certain.  The executive order mandates that “as soon as practicable, and to the extent permitted by law, all payments made to the Federal Government shall be processed electronically” unless an exception is provided. 

Options for electronic payment include: 

• EFTPS IRS
• DirectPay 
• Same day wire transfers 

While there will be exceptions in certain circumstances, such as taxpayers without bank accounts, taxpayers and practitioners should prepare to transition to electronic forms of payment.  Additional information, is available in this fact sheet .