You generally cannot change your direct deposit information with the IRS online. The bank details you entered on your tax return are locked in once the IRS posts that return to its system, and there is no settings page in your IRS Online Account for swapping account numbers on demand.1Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 25 Starting with the 2026 filing season, one narrow exception exists: if your bank rejects the deposit, the IRS mails you a CP53E notice that gives you 30 days to add or update your bank information through your Online Account.2Taxpayer Advocate Service. Direct Deposit Changes for 2026 Could Affect How and When You Get Your Refund Outside that scenario, your options are limited to catching the mistake before processing finishes or waiting for a paper check.
Why the Online Account Normally Won’t Let You Change It
Direct deposit information reaches the IRS through your Form 1040, on lines 35b through 35d, or through the equivalent screens in your tax software.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instruction 1040 Once the return is posted, that information travels with your refund. The IRS Online Account lets you view payment history, check notices, and manage some services, but it does not offer a general option to change the account your refund is heading to.1Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 25
If you catch a typo before the return finishes processing, there is one thing to try: call the IRS at 800-829-1040 and ask them to stop the direct deposit. This works only if processing hasn’t completed. After that, the refund goes to whatever account you listed.4Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Refund Faster: Tell IRS to Direct Deposit Your Refund to One, Two, or Three Accounts
The One Online Path: Responding to a CP53E Notice
Under the rules that took effect with the 2026 filing season, the IRS no longer automatically converts most rejected direct deposits into paper checks. If your bank sends the deposit back — because the account is closed, the number was wrong, the name doesn’t match, or the institution won’t accept the transfer — the IRS freezes the refund and mails you a CP53E notice.2Taxpayer Advocate Service. Direct Deposit Changes for 2026 Could Affect How and When You Get Your Refund
The notice tells you to sign into your IRS Online Account and enter new bank information. You have 30 days to respond. Miss that window and the IRS issues a paper check after six weeks.5Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP53E Notice
Two limits make this process unforgiving. You get one attempt. If the second deposit is also rejected, the IRS mails a paper check and gives you no further chance to update the information.5Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP53E Notice And the CP53E notice is issued only once per refund, with no appeal or second notice if you miss the deadline.2Taxpayer Advocate Service. Direct Deposit Changes for 2026 Could Affect How and When You Get Your Refund IRS employees also cannot update bank details for you. The Online Account is the only route.
Setting Up the Online Account Before You Need It
The IRS Online Account requires identity verification through ID.me, a third-party sign-in service.6Internal Revenue Service. How to Register for IRS Online Self-Help Tools Do this before a CP53E notice ever arrives. Creating an ID.me account for the first time while a 30-day clock is running adds pressure that is easy to avoid.
Registration asks for a photo of a government-issued ID (driver’s license, state ID, or passport) and either a selfie or a live video chat with an ID.me agent.7Internal Revenue Service. New Identity Verification Process to Access Certain IRS Online Tools and Services The selfie path is faster. The video chat, which does not use facial recognition, is available for anyone who can’t complete the automated check, though you’ll need two forms of ID and should expect roughly an hour of wait time.
Once ID.me is set up, it works as a single sign-on for Online Account, Get Transcript, Online Payment Agreements, and the Identity Protection PIN tool.6Internal Revenue Service. How to Register for IRS Online Self-Help Tools Biometric data collected during verification is deleted for IRS users unless fraud is suspected.
Bank Information You’ll Need to Enter
Whether you are entering direct deposit details on your return or updating them in your Online Account after a CP53E notice, you need three items from your bank.
- A nine-digit routing number. The first two digits must fall between 01–12 or 21–32. Don’t rely on a deposit slip to find it. Deposit slips sometimes carry an internal routing number that differs from the ACH routing number the IRS needs. Confirm the number with your bank or through its website.8Internal Revenue Service. Electronic Funds Withdrawal Payment Record Instructions3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instruction 1040
- An account number of up to 17 characters, numbers and letters. Enter it left to right, without spaces or symbols, and don’t include a check number.8Internal Revenue Service. Electronic Funds Withdrawal Payment Record Instructions
- The account type: checking or savings. For an IRA, HSA, or brokerage account, ask your financial institution which box applies; the wrong choice can cause the deposit to bounce.9Internal Revenue Service. Form 8888 (Rev. December 2025) Allocation of Refund
The account must be in your name, your spouse’s name, or a joint account with your spouse.4Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Refund Faster: Tell IRS to Direct Deposit Your Refund to One, Two, or Three Accounts It must be at a U.S. bank or a foreign bank that keeps an account at a Federal Reserve Bank. Without a qualifying account, the IRS mails a check to the address on your return.10Internal Revenue Service. Helpful Tips for Effectively Receiving a Tax Refund for Taxpayers Living Abroad If you file jointly and want the refund deposited into an individual account, check with the bank first; some institutions have their own rules about accepting a joint refund into a single-name account.11Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About Splitting Federal Income Tax Refunds
If the Refund Has Already Gone to the Wrong Account
Banks are not required to verify that the name on an incoming ACH deposit matches the name on the receiving account. If a mistyped digit sends your refund to someone else’s account, the bank only has to notify the government if it becomes aware of the mismatch.12Taxpayer Advocate Service. Improve the Filing Process The IRS has no authority to pull the money back or look up who owns the account.
If your direct deposit doesn’t arrive within about 26 days of filing — 21 days for processing plus five more — you can start a refund trace. Single, head-of-household, and married-filing-separately filers can begin one by calling 800-829-1954 or using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool. Joint filers must complete and mail Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund.13Taxpayer Advocate Service. Lost or Stolen Refund The Bureau of the Fiscal Service then contacts the bank, and the trace itself takes about six weeks. If the bank recovers the funds, the IRS sends a paper check to the address on file.4Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Refund Faster: Tell IRS to Direct Deposit Your Refund to One, Two, or Three Accounts
The realistic outcome: if the money landed in an active account belonging to someone else, recovery depends on that person’s bank cooperating. The IRS considers the refund delivered once the bank accepts the ACH transfer.
The Practical Takeaway
Treat the bank fields on your return as your one chance to get this right. Verify the routing and account numbers with your bank before you file. Set up ID.me now so your Online Account is ready if a CP53E notice ever arrives. If a deposit is rejected, respond within 30 days and enter the corrected details carefully, because the second attempt is the last one the system will make.