@ DoninGA wrote:
@ bosmajordan The bank will reject the deposit since the account number is incorrect. They send the tax refund back to the IRS. The IRS will then mail a refund check to the address on the tax return.
NEW this year you may have another option:
Since the IRS is phasing out the use of paper checks in most cases, they now offer an opportunity for you to correct the incorrect direct deposit account info online. If the bank sends the refund back to the IRS, a paper check may not automatically be sent. Instead, it's possible that the refund would be frozen for 30 days, and the IRS may give you a chance to correct it within 30 days by using your Online IRS account (or establishing one) to update the deposit information. The IRS may send you a letter called a CP53E notice. It may take a couple of weeks to arrive after the initial deposit was returned.
IRS: Understanding your CP53E notice
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp53e-notice
If the update in the Online IRS Account is unsuccessful, or if you don't respond to the CP53E notice to update it, the IRS says it will ultimately issue the paper check after 6 weeks have gone by. There are FAQs about the process on that IRS page I linked above.
