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Emerging Issues and Insights

September 16, 2025

Paper Checks – A Thing of the Past for the Treasury

Effective September 30, 2025, Treasury will stop issuing paper checks for most federal payments, and federal income tax refunds are not exempt from this new policy. Executive Order #14247 titled “Modernizing Payments to and From America’s Bank Account” was signed by President Trump on March 25, 2025, setting forth this change in policy and setting September 30, 2025, as the transition date. In Treasury’s August 14, 2025, press release discussing the policy change, Scott Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury, said that the change “will help reduce fraud and theft” and will “remove delays that prevent hardworking Americans from receiving their vital payments.”

For the lion’s share of Americans who receive federal benefit payments electronically, no action is required. For Americans currently receiving paper checks for federal payments, in its press release, Treasury provided the following three options: (1) call the Federal agency that pays your benefits and follow their instruction for enrolling in direct deposit, (2) enroll online at GoDirect.gov, or (3) call the Electronic Payment Solution Center at 800-967-6857, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET. The press release can be found at https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0223.

The Executive Order also requires electronic payment for all payments made to the Federal Government. However, the Executive Order did not set a specific effective date for this requirement, and Treasury has not announced a specific date. Rather, the Executive Order says “[a]s soon as practicable, and to the extent permitted by law, all payments made to the Federal Government shall be processed electronically…” This should provide comfort that timely estimated tax payments paid by check on or before September 15, 2025, were properly submitted. However, be prepared for a change in the near future.

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