The BARCODE Efficiency Act is a companion to 2025 Senate legislation requiring scannable code on paper forms and the use of optical character recognition tech.

IRS will start accepting tax returns on Jan. 26. Use direct deposit for refunds and the "Where's My Refund" tool to track it, IRS says. How it works.

The One Big Beautiful Bill the includes several new deductions and credits that can reduce tax bills or increase refunds. Among the changes are elimination of taxes on tips and overtime, no tax on car loan interest, expansion of Health Savings Accounts and more.

According to the order, it is “16 times more likely” for paper checks and money orders to be lost, stolen, returned undeliverable, or altered than electronically-disbursed funds. The IRS notes that every refund check it issues “costs the nation’s taxpayers more than $1,” while direct deposit refunds cost about a dime.

We knew that it was coming—the IRS has officially announced that paper tax refund checks for individual taxpayers will be phased out beginning on September 30, 2025. This, the agency says, is the first step in the broader transition to electronic ...