While Trump Touts Tax Cuts, Some Americans Wait for Their Money

Within hours of filing his tax return, Chris Carroll realized he’d given the IRS the wrong bank account information. It took him weeks to clear up the mistake.

“It was over a $9,000 refund,” he said. “I was nervous—I’m like, what’s going to happen?”

Carroll, who runs his own company and worked with a tax preparer, was far from alone this filing season, the first under a Trump administration plan announced a year ago requiring direct deposit information in an effort to eliminate paper checks.

In the runup to Tax Day on April 15, at least 2 million taxpayers had received letters from the IRS explaining that they failed to list a bank account number on their return, or the information they included was incorrect, according to IRS information provided to members of Congress per a person familiar with the conversations.

For those willing to give bank information, that was their chance to fix the problem. But taxpayers without a bank account or those unwilling to give that information are in for a potential wait to get any paper refund they’re entitled to.

For some Americans, waiting six weeks or more for a refund can mean missing a housing payment or being unable to afford prescription drugs, said top House Oversight Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell, who heard from about 50 constituents ahead of April 15 complaining about the new IRS policy.

“They live month to month, they live day to day,” said the Alabama Democrat. “People can’t wait to receive money that they’re owed from the federal government, and they shouldn’t have to wait.”

The push to accelerate digitization at the IRS has bipartisan support, but some Democrats and advocates say the rollout of paperless returns and refunds was rushed.

Taxpayers who in years past would have received paper checks by default now received a letter—often sent by mail—from the IRS asking for direct deposit information or another digital payment option. The letter gives them 30 days to provide a bank account number via the agency’s website, and includes a phone number sending callers to a recording that, among other options, refers callers to the IRS website.

The letter didn’t mention that taxpayers could call and request a paper check or that, according to an online factsheet, giving no response will result in an automatic paper check after six weeks.

Democrats in Congress and some taxpayer advocates have criticized the letter for lacking clarity.

“Folks are really freaking out because what they’re receiving from the IRS are these notices that say they’ll get back to them in 30 days,” Sewell said.

Americans Getting More in Refunds

While the administration is eager to reduce spending on the IRS and tax enforcement, it’s also hoping to use higher refunds from the 2025 GOP tax-and-spending law to boost the party’s chance in November’s midterm elections.

Average refunds were up compared to last year by about $350 per American, according to the latest information from the IRS.

President Donald Trump took a victory lap after Tax Day, barnstorming through battleground states celebrating that millions of taxpayers utilized breaks on tipped or overtime wages from his 2025 GOP tax law.

The IRS touted a smooth filing season this year, but the flurry of letters and delays on paper checks has been a blemish for the agency that lost a quarter of its workforce since Trump took office and has taken repeated cuts to its annual funding. Roughly 78.5 million taxpayers received refunds via direct deposit, according to the latest numbers from IRS—up 10% from last year—a sign that the digitization push is working.

Trump’s executive order to end most paper refund checks was part of an effort to make it harder for thieves to commit fraud or steal refund checks from mailboxes, said Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chair David Schweikert (R-Ariz.). Legislative solutions to solve the problem have been raised for several years by members on the tax writing committees.

“This is what we asked for,” said Schweikert, who acknowledged the notices could have been clearer. He defended the changes, arguing that not moving to a “safer system” means those problems continue.

“You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” Schweikert said.

Sewell joined Ways and Means subcommittee ranking member Danny Davis (D-Ill.) to send letters to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent seeking a full accounting of impacted taxpayers and mailed checks.

Davis said the IRS provided limited information that included which states had the most impacted taxpayers, but only accounted for about 1 million taxpayers, less than half the number of notices that have gone out.

The White House and Treasury didn’t respond to requests for comment. The IRS declined to comment.

Surprise and Confusion

Taxpayers like Carroll are capable of navigating the IRS online systems to address the problem and get their refund, but others have been less successful, said Masood Chotani, who prepared Carroll’s taxes.

Chotani runs an accounting firm and directs two Los Angeles-area clinics for low-income taxpayers, who sometimes lack bank accounts or the know-how to set up online IRS accounts.

“We have a lady who lives in her car with her dog,” he said. “How do you actually handle that situation?” Others, he said, don’t want to share their bank information with the IRS.

The IRS has gradually improved online resources for taxpayers seeking details about claiming their refunds, but Democratic lawmakers want more answers.

Davis noted a 2025 National Taxpayer Advocate report that said 10 million people got paper checks last filing season and worried the number of taxpayers standing by for refunds could continue to grow.

Davis said he hopes pressure on the IRS improves so that “we’re not doing the same thing” next year.