The IRS is phasing out paper checks for the 2026 tax season (covering 2025 returns), with a general mandate to stop issuing them by September 30, 2025, due to an executive order to modernize, reduce fraud, and speed up payments. While electronic payments (direct deposit) are heavily prioritized for refunds, taxpayers should check the IRS website for specific exceptions, as some limited,, manual exceptions might exist.
All tax payments and refunds processed by the IRS must now be conducted electronically. Paper checks are no longer accepted for any purpose, including: Estimated Tax Payments: All quarterly estimated tax payments, beginning with the fourth quarter payment due January 15, 2026.
For tax year 2026, the standard deduction increases to $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $16,100 for tax year 2026, and for heads of households, the standard deduction will be $24,150.
Washington, D.C.—Workers receiving their first paychecks of 2026 are finding them bigger than ever thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts spearheaded by U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).
Refunds should be larger in 2026 thanks to the tax policy changes under July 2025's federal H.R. 1 legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the government's decision not to factor tax breaks into the amounts withheld from paychecks in 2025, according to an August analysis by David Kelly, chief global strategist ...
The standard deduction is a specific dollar amount that reduces the amount of taxable income. The standard deduction consists of the sum of the basic standard deduction and any additional standard deduction amounts for age and/or blindness. In general, the IRS adjusts the standard deduction each year for inflation.
New tax brackets for 2026
The amount of taxes you will pay depends on how much you make each year. Income under $58,523 will be taxed at 14 per cent. Incomes from $58,523 to $117,045 will be taxed at 20.5 per cent.
The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act significantly affects federal taxes, credits and deductions. It was signed into law on July 4, 2025, as Public Law 119-21, and takes effect in 2025.
2026 IRS Checks: Paper vs.
Generally, after September 30, 2025, the Treasury Department has said that all federal agencies will cease sending and receiving paper checks as a form of payment. However, there are ways to pay the IRS without a check and to get a tax refund without a bank account.
For the most part, the IRS will stop issuing tax refunds in the form of paper checks after September 30, 2025. IRS is also taking steps to require that taxpayers make all payments to the IRS electronically.
Starting September 30, 2025, the federal government will no longer send paper checks for benefits such as Social Security payments, tax refunds, or other government payments.
This policy shift includes phase out of paper tax refund checks beginning Sept. 30, 2025, to the extent permitted by law. The purposes of EO 14247 are to defend against financial fraud and improper payments, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the security of federal payments.
Starting after September 30, 2025, the IRS will process all tax payments and refunds electronically—paper checks will be a thing of the past, except for those who truly don't have access to electronic banking. This change affects everyone: individuals, businesses, estates and trusts.
No, the IRS is not currently sending out new $1400 stimulus checks in 2026, but they did wrap up sending out final automatic payments for unclaimed 2021 Recovery Rebate Credits in late 2024/early 2025, with the deadline to claim these missed payments passing on April 15, 2025; new checks would require new Congressional action, and any texts about current stimulus payments are scams, say FOX 5 DC, CNBC, and IRS.gov.
From October 1 to November 12, 2025, the federal government of the United States was shut down as Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year.
If you don't file your tax return by the October 15 extension deadline, the IRS charges a failure-to-file penalty of 5% per month (up to 25%) on unpaid taxes, plus a failure-to-pay penalty (0.5% per month), and interest on the total amount due, potentially leading to significant costs, though you can request penalty abatement for reasonable cause, and if you're owed a refund, you generally won't face penalties but risk losing your refund if you wait too long (usually over 3 years).
Did the no tax on overtime pass? Yes. The no tax on overtime bill was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill that President Trump signed into law in July 2025. This new law creates a first-of-its-kind tax exemption for certain overtime pay, effective beginning in tax year 2025.
You can typically inherit a large amount without federal taxes because the tax applies to the deceased's estate, not the recipient, and the exemption is very high: $13.99 million in 2025 and $15 million in 2026 per person, meaning most inheritances fall below this threshold. The key is that the estate's total value must exceed these limits for any tax to be owed by the estate. Inheritances themselves (cash, property) are generally not income, but earnings on them (like interest/dividends) or pre-tax retirement funds (like IRAs) are taxable.
The Social Security Administration announced in October that beneficiaries will see a 2.8% increase in their monthly payments, known as the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. Individuals receiving Social Security benefits will notice the increase starting in January 2026.
2026 standard deduction
The standard deduction for 2026 will increase to $16,100 for single tax filers and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. Taxpayers who are 65 or older can take an additional standard deduction, which is also adjusted for inflation.
President Trump has proposed a number of tax proposals, including imposing a universal baseline tariff on all US imports, imposing a 60 percent tariff on all US imports from China, making the individual and estate tax cuts of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent, maintaining the 21 percent corporate income ...