How you change direct deposit information with the IRS depends entirely on where you are in the process. Before you file, you can edit the routing and account numbers on your return as many times as you want. After the IRS accepts your return, you generally cannot change them, though a notice called CP53E, new for 2026, now opens a narrow window to fix bank details on an accepted refund. For tax payments rather than refunds, you update the account through IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS, each with its own rules.
Before You File
Up until you submit your return, the bank account is fully under your control. Tax software prompts you for a routing number and account number during the e-file steps, and you can overwrite them freely before hitting submit. On a paper Form 1040, you write the numbers directly on the return.1Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Refund Faster: Tell IRS to Direct Deposit Your Refund to One, Two, or Three Accounts
If you want the refund split across two or three accounts, attach Form 8888, Allocation of Refund, to your return. Each deposit must be at least $1.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 8888 – Allocation of Refund
Prepaid debit cards and some mobile payment apps work for direct deposit if they have a routing and account number you can enter on the return. Confirm those numbers with the provider, because they often differ from the card number printed on the front.1Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Refund Faster: Tell IRS to Direct Deposit Your Refund to One, Two, or Three Accounts One cap to keep in mind: no more than three refunds can be deposited into the same account or prepaid card in a single tax year. A fourth refund is converted to a paper check, adding about four weeks to delivery.3Internal Revenue Service. Direct Deposit Limits
After the IRS Accepts Your Return
Once your e-filed return is accepted, the default rule is that the bank account tied to that refund is locked in.4Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 25 There are three situations where you can still act.
The CP53E Notice
Starting in 2026, if the IRS spots a problem with the bank information on your accepted return, it may mail you a CP53E notice. The notice gives you 30 days to log into your IRS Online Account and enter a new or corrected bank account. You get one attempt. If the deposit still fails, the IRS issues a paper check.5Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP53E Notice
A few things to know about this process. Phone representatives cannot update the bank details for you; the change has to be made through your online account. If you miss the 30-day window, the IRS issues a paper check after six weeks. You can check whether a CP53E has been issued by signing into your online account and reviewing your refund status.5Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP53E Notice
If Your Return Was Rejected
A rejected return is the easiest fix. Correct the bank numbers (or whatever caused the rejection) in your tax software and resubmit. If you end up filing on paper instead, the paper return must be postmarked by the later of the original due date or 10 calendar days after the IRS notified you of the rejection.6Internal Revenue Service. Age, Name or SSN Rejects, Errors, Correction Procedures
If the Bank Rejects the Deposit
If the IRS accepted your return but your bank can’t post the deposit, usually because the account is closed or the numbers are wrong, the money bounces back to the IRS. The IRS then researches the account to decide what to do next, and you may receive a CP53C notice explaining the situation. If you haven’t received your refund or a follow-up letter within 10 weeks, the IRS says to call the number on the notice.7Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP53C Notice Open audits, balance-due situations, and bankruptcy can stretch that timeline out further.
If the Refund Already Went to the Wrong Account
This is the painful scenario. Financial institutions are not required to verify that the name on an incoming deposit matches the account holder.8Taxpayer Advocate Service (IRS). Improve the Filing Process – Authorize the Treasury Department to Recover Misdirected Deposits If you entered a valid routing and account number that happens to belong to someone else and the bank accepts the deposit, you’re the one who has to recover the money.
The IRS has no authority to pull funds back out of someone else’s account and won’t share information about that account owner with you.8Taxpayer Advocate Service (IRS). Improve the Filing Process – Authorize the Treasury Department to Recover Misdirected Deposits Your recourse is to work directly with the financial institution.9Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 18
Stopping a Deposit Before It Posts
If the return hasn’t posted to the IRS system yet, call 800-829-1040 (Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and ask the IRS to stop the direct deposit. The IRS will not reroute the refund to a different bank account, but it can convert the payment to a paper check.9Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 18
Starting a Refund Trace
If the refund has already been sent to the wrong account, you can start a refund trace by calling the IRS or submitting Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, by mail or fax. Wait at least five days after the IRS says the refund was issued before beginning a trace. The IRS typically responds within six weeks, though peak filing season extends that. Check the Where’s My Refund tool first.10Internal Revenue Service. Refunds
Changing Bank Information for Payments You Owe
Updating the account you pay the IRS from is a separate process from your refund account. The two main systems handle it very differently.
IRS Direct Pay
Direct Pay is a free tool for individual taxpayers that requires no registration. You enter bank information fresh each time you pay, so there’s no stored profile to edit. If you’ve scheduled a payment and realize the account was wrong, you can cancel or modify it until 11:45 p.m. ET two business days before the scheduled withdrawal date. After that cutoff, the payment processes as entered.11Internal Revenue Service. Direct Pay With Bank Account
EFTPS
EFTPS is the enrollment-based system used mostly by businesses and by individuals paying quarterly estimated taxes. It stores your bank information in a profile, so changing accounts takes more steps. You have three options:
- Online: Log into eftps.gov, go to “My Profile,” and select “Edit Financial Institution Information.” Once verified, a new PIN arrives by mail.
- Phone: Call 800-650-3345 and follow the prompts to add new bank information. Each bank account gets its own PIN, mailed to you.
- Mail: Use the Confirmation/Update Form from your original enrollment materials to submit corrected bank details.
If you have scheduled payments running on the old account, keep that account open until they clear, or cancel and reschedule them under the new one. You can skip verification and self-select a new PIN immediately, but if the new information turns out to be wrong, the payment bounces and the IRS may assess a penalty.12Treasury Fiscal Service. EFTPS Payment Instruction Booklet Changes you make in Direct Pay or EFTPS have no effect on the account tied to your annual refund; those are separate systems.
Penalties If a Payment Bounces
When bad bank information causes a payment to fail, the IRS treats it the same as a dishonored check. The penalty depends on the payment amount:
- For payments under $1,250, the penalty is the payment amount or $25, whichever is less.
- For payments of $1,250 or more, the penalty is 2% of the payment amount.
Interest accrues on the penalty itself. If the failure was a banking error rather than insufficient funds, you can ask for the penalty to be removed by sending a written explanation with supporting documents, such as a bank statement showing the account had adequate funds.13Internal Revenue Service. Dishonored Check or Other Form of Payment Penalty
Keep Your Mailing Address Current
Every failed direct deposit eventually becomes a paper check, and that check goes to whatever address the IRS has on file. A post office change-of-address isn’t always enough, because not every post office forwards government checks. Notify the IRS directly by filing Form 8822, by using your new address on your next return, by sending a signed written statement with your name, Social Security number, and both addresses to the service center where you last filed, or by calling or visiting in person after verifying your identity. Form 8822 takes four to six weeks to process, so if you know a refund is coming, send it in early.14Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes
Amended Returns
A paper-filed Form 1040-X cannot direct-deposit a refund; any refund from a paper amended return is issued as a paper check. Filing an amended return does not let you change the bank account on a refund already being processed from your original return. The IRS treats those as separate transactions.