Refund rejected due to closed bank account - How long for IRS to mail check?
So my tax refund was rejected by my bank because the account I used was closed a few months ago (totally forgot about that when I filed). Does anyone know if the IRS gets notified about the rejection right away? And more importantly, how long will it take for them to process and mail me a paper check instead? I'm tryin to figure out when I can expect to get my money. My refund is about $2900 and I filed in April. Really need this money for some upcoming bills.
54 comments


Jamal Harris
When a direct deposit is rejected due to a closed account, the bank notifies the IRS typically within 1-3 business days. Once the IRS receives this notification, they'll automatically convert your refund to a paper check. According to their current processing times, it generally takes the IRS 2-3 weeks to process and mail out the check after they receive the rejection notice. Then add another 5-7 business days for mail delivery. So in total, you're looking at approximately 3-5 weeks from the time of rejection until you receive your check. This timeframe can vary depending on current IRS workload and your location. You can track the status using the "Where's My Refund" tool on the IRS website, but be aware it might not show the updated information about the check being mailed until it's already in process. If it's been more than 5 weeks, you should consider calling the IRS directly.
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Zoe Stavros
•Ugh 3-5 weeks? That's gonna put me in a tough spot financially. Really wish I had double checked my account info before filing. Thanks for the detailed info!
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Mei Chen
•Thats the BEST case. I've been wating for 7 weeks for mine and nothing yet 🙄
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Liam Sullivan
•Same here. I was told 4 weeks but it's been almost 9 weeks for me. IRS is a mess this year.
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Zoe Stavros
•This is so frustrating. I guess I should prepare for the worst then. 😞
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Amara Okafor
•One tip - call your local post office once it's been about 3 weeks. Sometimes they get the check before the Where's My Refund tool even updates.
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CosmicCommander
Instead of playing the waiting game with the IRS, I finally got clarity on my refund situation using taxr.ai - it actually showed me exactly what was happening with my refund after my bank rejected it. Saved me hours of stressing and wondering. It gives you a complete breakdown of your transcript in plain english instead of those confusing codes and dates. I was able to see exactly when the IRS received the rejection notice and when they scheduled the check to be mailed. https://taxr.ai
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Amara Okafor
•Sounds interesting. How exactly does it work? Does it just read your transcript or does it do more?
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CosmicCommander
•It does WAY more than just read the transcript. It actually interprets all the codes, tells you what each transaction means in normal human language, and gives you a timeline of what's happening with your refund. I was able to see exactly when my direct deposit was rejected and when they scheduled the paper check. It also predicts future dates for processing steps based on current IRS patterns. Saved me from calling the IRS multiple times and getting different answers from different agents. I'm telling everyone I know about this now - it's that helpful.
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Giovanni Colombo
•sounds like an ad lol. does it actually work?
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Amara Okafor
•Just tried it and OMG THIS THING IS AMAZING! I've been trying to decode my transcript for weeks and this tool broke everything down in seconds. It showed me EXACTLY why my refund was delayed and when to expect it. I can't believe I wasted so much time before finding this. I'm telling all my friends about taxr.ai now - it's seriously a game changer for dealing with the IRS!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
After dealing with the same problem (refund rejected due to closed account), I finally found a way to talk to an actual human at the IRS who told me exactly when my check would arrive. I used Claimyr.com and got a callback from an IRS agent within 30 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks on my own. The agent told me my check had actually already been mailed but the online status hadn't updated yet. Worth every penny to finally get a straight answer instead of waiting for months wondering what's happening.
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Dylan Cooper
•This sounds too good to be true. The IRS phone system is impossible to navigate these days.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•I was skeptical too after being hung up on by the IRS automated system like 10 times. But it actually worked... the service basically navigates all those annoying prompts and holds your place in line, then calls you when they get a human. Talking to the agent got my refund situation sorted in minutes instead of waiting weeks for letters or updates.
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Mei Chen
•Does it cost anythingg?
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•Yes but it was the best money I've ever spent to finally get answers about my refund. When you think about the hours wasted on hold and the stress of not knowing what's happening with thousands of dollars, it's totally worth it.
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Sofia Ramirez
I had the same issue last year. the IRS got the refund back from my bank in like 2-3 days, then it took about 3 weeks before they mailed the check. THEN it took another 7 days to get to me. So all in, about a month from when the deposit was rejected till I had the check in hand.
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Dmitry Volkov
You can check whats happening with your refund by pulling your transcript from the IRS website. It will show you the exact codes and dates for everything. That'll tell you if they've already scheduled the paper check to be mailed. That's what I did when this happened to me and I could see exactly when they were sending my check.
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Zoe Stavros
•I looked at my transcript but all the codes are confusing. I see a 971 and a 290 code from last week but idk what they mean.
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StarSeeker
•971 is a notice issued and 290 is additional tax assessed (or possibly just zero balance confirmation). neither of those specifically say a check is coming tho. look for code 846 which means a refund has been issued.
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Dmitry Volkov
•You should use taxr.ai to read your transcript. That's what I did and it explained everything in plain english. Those codes are impossible to understand otherwise!
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Ava Martinez
Exact same thing happened to me in 2023. Here's the timeline: - Day 1: Bank rejected deposit - Day 4: IRS received the rejected deposit notification - Day 18: IRS mailed check - Day 25: Received check in mail So about 3.5 weeks total. But I've heard some people waiting 6+ weeks so don't count on my timeline.
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Miguel Ortiz
•This matches my experience too. 4 weeks total from rejection to check in hand.
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Zainab Omar
•how did you know the exact dates? I cant figure out whats happening with mine at all
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Ava Martinez
•I kept checking my transcript on the IRS website. You can see when they get the money back and when they issue the check. But you have to know how to read the codes. Alternatively you can use taxr.ai which explains everything in normal english.
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Connor Murphy
It took the irs 12 WEEKS to send me my check after my direct deposit was rejected. i called them after 8 weeks and they said it hadn't even been processed yet. the system is broken af
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Yara Sayegh
•12 weeks?!?! What did u even do for money during that time?
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Connor Murphy
•i had to borrow money from family and max out my credit cards. irs doesnt care if you have bills to pay 🤡
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NebulaNova
Quick tip - update your address on file with USPS if you've moved recently! The IRS will send the check to whatever address is on your tax return, and they don't always process change of address forms quickly. I learned this the hard way and my check got sent back to the IRS adding another month to the process. 😫
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Keisha Williams
have you tried calling the IRS? sometimes they can expedite the process if you explain your situation. Just be prepared to wait on hold for 2+ hours lol
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Zoe Stavros
•I tried calling but couldn't even get through. It just says high call volume and hangs up on me. So frustrating.
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Paolo Conti
•Thers a trick to getting through. Call right when they open at 7am EST. Select the spanish option even if you dont speak spanish, the hold times are way shorter and they still have english speakers available.
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Amina Diallo
•Or you could just use claimyr.com and skip the headache. Got me through to an agent when I needed information about my rejected refund.
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Oliver Schulz
The IRS is SO SLOW with paper checks. I had the EXACT same situation and it took almost 7 weeks to get my check after my bank rejected the direct deposit. The IRS's official answer is 4-6 weeks but in reality it takes longer.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
Pro tip from someone who works at a bank: in the future, even if you close your account, if the account number is reused by the bank for a new customer, your refund could end up in a stranger's account! Always triple check your direct deposit info when filing.
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AstroAdventurer
•wait is this for real???
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Natasha Kuznetsova
•Yes, 100% for real. Happens more than you'd think. We're supposed to catch it but the system doesn't always flag it, especially if the name is similar enough.
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Zoe Stavros
•Well that's terrifying. Thanks for the heads up, definitely going to be more careful next time.
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Javier Mendoza
just wanna say the irs sucks and i hate them. that is all.
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Emma Wilson
•louder for the people in the back 👏👏👏
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Malik Davis
•the irs is like that ex who keeps demanding money but never returns your calls 🤣
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Isabella Santos
If ur in a serious financial hardship cuz of the delay, u can try contacting the Taxpayer Advocate Service. They might be able to help expedite the process. But they're also backed up so idk how fast they can actually help.
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Ravi Gupta
My brother's refund got rejected due to a closed account back in February, and he still hasn't received his check as of May. He's called multiple times and they keep giving him different answers about when it will arrive. So frustrating!
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GalacticGuru
•This is why I told him to use Claimyr to get through to the IRS. He finally called them using that service and found out there was an additional verification hold on his account that nobody told him about before. Once that was cleared, he got his check in a week.
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Freya Pedersen
Did you check to see if you can update your banking info on the IRS site? Sometimes if the refund hasnt been processed yet you can change the direct deposit info. Worth a shot!
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Zoe Stavros
•I tried but it looks like it's too late in the process. Once the refund is rejected you can't update the info online unfortunately.
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Omar Fawaz
Same thing happened to me last year and i STILL haven't gotten my refund. the IRS is claiming they sent the check but I never received it. Now I'm stuck in this endless loop of trying to get them to trace the check and reissue it. What a nightmare.
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Chloe Anderson
•You need to request a payment trace. Form 3911. File it ASAP.
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Omar Fawaz
•Already did that twice. Both times they said they'll look into it and I never hear back. It's been over a year now. 😭
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Diego Vargas
I just went through this in March. Took exactly 4 weeks and 2 days from the date my bank rejected the deposit until I had the check in my mailbox. The "Where's My Refund" tool never updated to show it was being mailed as a check though - it still showed direct deposit pending until after I actually received the check.
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Ravi Gupta
I went through this exact situation last year and it was such a stressful waiting game! My bank rejected the direct deposit in late March, and I finally got my check in early May - so about 5-6 weeks total. The hardest part was not knowing what was happening during that time. A few things that helped me get through it: - I called my bank to confirm exactly when they sent the rejection notice back to the IRS - I set up informed delivery with USPS so I could see when mail was coming - I checked the "Where's My Refund" tool obsessively (even though it barely updates) The waiting is brutal when you really need that money, but hang in there! Your check should arrive within the next few weeks. And definitely double-check your address with USPS like someone else mentioned - that's super important to avoid any delivery issues.
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Amun-Ra Azra
•Thanks for sharing your experience! The informed delivery tip is genius - I never thought of that. I'm definitely going to sign up for that so I can at least know when something is coming in the mail. The not knowing is honestly the worst part of this whole situation. Did you end up calling the IRS at all during those 5-6 weeks or did you just wait it out?
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Dylan Mitchell
I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Filed in early April and just found out yesterday that my bank rejected the deposit because I closed that account in February (totally spaced on updating my info). Reading through all these responses is both helpful and terrifying - sounds like anywhere from 3 weeks to 3+ months depending on how backed up they are. I'm really hoping it's closer to the 4-5 week timeline some people mentioned. I've already signed up for USPS informed delivery based on the suggestions here, and I'm going to try pulling my transcript this weekend to see if I can figure out what's happening. Has anyone had success with the Taxpayer Advocate Service for situations like this? I'm wondering if it's worth trying since I really need this refund for some medical bills that are coming due soon.
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Miranda Singer
•I actually contacted the Taxpayer Advocate Service when I was in a similar situation a few years ago - they were helpful but it did take about 2-3 weeks just to get assigned to a case advocate. If your medical bills are urgent, you might want to also try some of the other suggestions people mentioned here like using Claimyr to get through to an actual IRS agent faster. That way you can at least get a definitive timeline instead of just waiting and hoping. The advocate service is great for complex cases but for a straightforward rejected deposit situation, sometimes just talking to a regular IRS rep can give you the info you need. Good luck with everything!
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