Once the IRS accepts your return, you generally cannot change the direct deposit information for your tax refund. IRS phone agents are not permitted to update bank account details, and the Where’s My Refund? tool has no field to edit them. The one exception is a CP53E notice: if the IRS flags a problem delivering your refund electronically, it gives you a 30-day window to add or update bank information through your IRS online account.1Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP53E Notice
The CP53E Exception
A CP53E notice arrives when the IRS detects a problem sending your refund by direct deposit, usually because the bank rejected the transfer. The notice gives you 30 days to log into your IRS online account at irs.gov and enter a new routing and account number.1Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP53E Notice
You get exactly one shot at that update. A mistake on the new information cannot be corrected, and if the second attempt is also rejected by the bank, the IRS falls back to a paper check. This process has taken on more weight since the IRS began phasing out paper refund checks on September 30, 2025 under Executive Order 14247, meaning most taxpayers now need bank details on file to receive a refund at all.2Internal Revenue Service. IRS Opens 2026 Filing Season
Why You Cannot Just Call and Change It
The rule that IRS employees cannot update your bank information exists to block a specific fraud: if callers could redirect refunds by phone, identity thieves could pose as taxpayers and reroute money to their own accounts.1Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP53E Notice The restriction applies regardless of how obvious your mistake is or how quickly you catch it.
The Narrow Pre-Posting Window
There is one situation where a phone call may help. If your return has not yet fully posted to the IRS system, an agent can sometimes stop the electronic transfer before it goes to the bank. Call 800-829-1040 as soon as you realize the problem.3Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 18 This is not guaranteed, and the window closes quickly. Once the refund has been issued, this option disappears.
What Actually Happens If the Bank Information Is Wrong
The outcome depends on which kind of error you made.
If the routing or account number you entered does not match a valid account, the bank rejects the deposit and returns the money to the IRS. The IRS then sends a notice explaining what happens next.3Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 18 With paper checks being phased out, that notice is often the CP53E described above, opening the 30-day online account window.
A closed account behaves the same way. The bank recognizes the account no longer exists, rejects the deposit, and the funds go back to the IRS.
The harder situation is when you accidentally entered valid numbers belonging to someone else. The routing and account numbers check out, so the bank accepts the deposit. From there, you have to work directly with the financial institution to try to recover the money. If the bank has not returned the funds within five calendar days, you can file Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, to open a formal trace.3Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 18
How a Form 3911 Trace Works
Filing Form 3911 authorizes the IRS to contact the bank on your behalf and try to recover the funds. Banks have up to 90 days from when the IRS initiates the trace to respond, and full resolution can take up to 120 days.3Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 18
The limit worth understanding up front: if the bank cannot recover the money or refuses to return it, the IRS has no authority to force the issue. At that point the matter becomes a civil dispute between you and the bank or the account holder who received your refund.3Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 18
If a Refund Was Sent to an Account You Do Not Recognize
If a return was filed in your name that you did not file, and the refund went to an account you do not recognize, this is tax-related identity theft rather than a bank information problem. File Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, and attach it to the back of a paper return if you cannot e-file.4Internal Revenue Service. How IRS ID Theft Victim Assistance Works
The IRS assigns identity theft cases to its Identity Theft Victim Assistance organization, which works to remove fraudulent returns from your account and release your legitimate refund. The IRS targets resolution within 120 days, but as of early 2026 these cases are averaging 623 days.4Internal Revenue Service. How IRS ID Theft Victim Assistance Works Once resolved, the IRS puts an identity theft indicator on your account and enrolls you in the Identity Protection PIN program, which issues a new six-digit PIN each year that must appear on all future returns.
Getting a Paper Check to the Right Address
If your refund converts to a paper check, the IRS mails it to the address on your most recently filed return. If you have moved since filing, submit Form 8822, Change of Address. Processing typically takes four to six weeks, so file it as soon as you know a paper check is coming to an old address.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822 Change of Address On a joint return, both spouses must sign the form unless one spouse is reporting a separate new address.
Getting the Numbers Right the Next Time
Because you have essentially one chance to enter your banking information correctly, verification before filing is where mistakes are prevented.
On Form 1040, the routing number goes on line 35b, the account type (checking or savings) on line 35c, and the account number on line 35d.6Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1040 The routing number is always nine digits and starts with 01 through 12 or 21 through 32. The account number can be up to 17 characters and may include letters as well as numbers.
Check the numbers against a paper check or your online banking, not against a deposit slip. Deposit slips sometimes carry an internal routing number that is different from the ACH routing number the IRS needs.7Internal Revenue Service. Electronic Funds Withdrawal Payment Record Instructions On a paper check, the routing number is at the bottom left and the account number follows it; do not confuse either with the check number printed nearby.
The account should be in your own name, your spouse’s name, or both names for a joint return. Depositing into an account owned by someone else risks a rejected transfer, and some banks require both spouses to be on the account before they will accept a deposit from a joint return.8Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About Splitting Federal Income Tax Refunds One transposed digit at filing time can send your refund to a stranger’s account, and as the trace process makes clear, the IRS cannot always get that money back.