How Do I Find My Checking Account and Routing Number with the IRS?

It is very important that you enter the correct account and routing numbers when requesting your tax refund is directly deposited into your bank account. Failing to enter the right account information could cause delays in you getting your refund. In the event, you entered the wrong information, the bank will send your refund back to the IRS who will send you a paper check to the address you provided.

Adam Goldkamp is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Dec 9, 2022

In this article, you will learn how to find your checking account and routing number with the IRS and more.

What Happens if Your Account or Routing Numbers Are Inaccurate When Requesting Direct Deposit With the IRS?

When you file your tax return, you can add your account and routing numbers to have your return directly deposited into your bank account. If your direct deposit information is inaccurate when filing your taxes, your payment could be delayed.

That's why the IRS recommends you verify that your ACH account and routing numbers shown on lines 25a and 25c are correct before submitting FORM 8038-CP requesting a direct deposit payment. Check with your financial institution to get your ACH account and routing numbers and make sure that direct deposit is accepted.

Your routing numbers will contain nine digits of which the first two will be 01 to 12 or 21 to 32, and your account number will contain up to 17 characters. If your account or routing numbers are inaccurate, your direct deposit request could be rejected. When this happens, the IRS will send you a paper check through the mail to the address shown on Form 8038-CP. If you enter the wrong account or routing numbers, the IRS is not responsible for missing credit payments. If you think you might have provided the wrong account or routing numbers on your documents or have questions, contact the IRS by clicking here.

When the bank receives the direct deposit request, it will first check the name and Social security number, and then the bank account number to verify they match. If your account number is incorrect, the bank will catch the mistake and return your refund back to the IRS. The IRS will issue your refund as a paper check that it will send you through the mail to the address provided on the Form.

How to Find Your Checking Account and Routing Number With the IRS

Look at your tax return. If you filed your taxes electronically, try contacting your tax preparer for a copy of your tax return. Check your computer to see if you have a copy saved on your hard drive. Locate your direct deposit tax refund information to see if you entered the right account information. Check your refund and return paperwork, or you can contact the IRS to find out what numbers they have on file for you. Click here to contact the IRS now. An IRS representative can trace your refund from 72 hours after you filed electronically and four weeks after if filed by mail.

Check the Status of Your Tax Return Online

You can check your tax return status 72 hours after you filed online by going to the IRS website and using the "Where's My Refund" tool. You will need to provide your name, Social Security number, and your exact refund amount.

Further questions?

Ask a followup or related question and we will try to provide an answer in seconds.
Adam has been tirelessly trying to help customers find the best tips and tricks to get through phone trees and writing many guides for prickly customer service problems. He's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inside Edition and Bloomberg.
How Do I Find My Checking Account and Routing Number with the IRS?

Why does GetHuman Write How-to Guides for The IRS Problems?

GetHuman has been working for over 10 years on sourcing information about big organizations like The IRS in order to help customers resolve customer service issues faster. We started with contact information and fastest ways to reach a human at big companies. Particularly ones with slow or complicated IVR or phone menu systems. Or companies that have self-serve help forums instead of a customer service department. From there, we realized that consumers still needed more detailed help solving the most common problems, so we expanded to this set of guides, which grows every day. And if you spot any issues with our How Do I Find My Checking Account and Routing Number with the IRS? guide, please let us know by sending us feedback. We want to be as helpful as possible. If you appreciated this guide, please share it with your favorite people. Our free information and tools is powered by you, the customer. The more people that use it, the better it gets.

The IRS

Asked 4 years ago
Updated 2 years ago
Viewed 1,775,505 times
The IRS
Find my checking account and routing number with the IRS
Locate my checking account and routing number with the IRS
Get my checking account and routing number with the IRS
Uncover my checking account and routing number with the IRS
Was this page helpful?YesNeeds work
Sharing is what powers GetHuman's free customer service contact information and tools. You can help!