IR-2014-37: IRS Reminds Taxpayers about Direct Deposit and Split Refunds

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 03/27/2014 02:16 PM EDT

IRS Newswire

March 27, 2014

Issue Number: IR-2014-37

Inside This Issue

IRS Reminds Taxpayers about Direct Deposit and Split Refunds

WASHINGTON — For 57 million Americans, the refund check is no longer in the mail; it’s already in the bank.

So far this year, the Internal Revenue Service has issued direct-deposit refunds valued at more than $170 billion, as a growing number of taxpayers are choosing the speed and convenience of direct deposit, rather than receiving a paper check. So far this year, almost 85 percent of all refunds have been directly deposited into taxpayers’ bank accounts.

Taxpayers can have their refunds directly deposited when they e-file or by including their account information on their paper tax return..

Banks, mutual funds, brokerage firms and credit unions are all eligible to receive direct deposits. Before making this choice, however, taxpayers should make sure the financial institution accepts direct deposits for the type of account chosen.

Taxpayers also have the option and flexibility of splitting refund deposits among two or three different accounts or financial institutions. For instance, a refund could be split between a savings account, a checking account or an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA). Taxpayers can split their refunds when they e-file or by filing Form 8888, Direct Deposit of Refund to More Than One Account.

A taxpayer's refund should only be deposited directly into accounts that are in the taxpayer's own name; the taxpayer's spouse's name or both if it's a joint account.

Those who choose direct deposit get their refunds at least a week sooner, and direct deposit eliminates the chance of a lost, stolen or undeliverable refund.

[The filing season statistics table follows.]

2014 FILING SEASON STATISTICS
Cumulative statistics comparing 3/22/13 and 3/21/14
Individual Income Tax Returns:	2013		2014		% Change
Total Receipts	82,413,000		82,852,000		0.5
Total Processed	77,102,000		81,149,000		5.2

E-filing Receipts:
TOTAL	74,420,000		75,610,000		1.6
Tax Professionals	44,524,000		43,953,000		-1.3
Self-prepared	29,896,000		31,657,000		5.9

Web Usage:
Visits to IRS.gov	234,237,695		209,074,699		-10.7

Total Refunds:
Number	66,429,000		67,383,000		1.4
Amount	$187.788	Billion	$193.543	Billion	3.1
Average refund	$2,827		$2,872		1.6

Direct Deposit Refunds:
Number	56,985,000		57,101,000		0.2
Amount	$170.127	Billion	$170.187	Billion	0.04
Average refund	$2,985		$2,980		-0.2

Thank you for subscribing to the IRS Newswire, an IRS e-mail service.

If you know someone who might want to subscribe to this mailing list, please forward this message to them so they can subscribe.

This message was distributed automatically from the mailing list IRS Newswire. Please Do Not Reply To This Message.

Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com.

This service is provided to you at no charge by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

IR-2014-37: IRS Reminds Taxpayers about Direct Deposit and Split Refunds

News Essentials

The Newsroom Topics

IRS Resources

Issue Number: IR-2014-37

Inside This Issue