What's the advantage of direct deposit vs. a check?

Speed, security, and convenience. The IRS expects to issue 9 out of 10 refunds within 21 days when you e-file and choose direct deposit. A check, however, takes 4–6 weeks to arrive in the mail.

With a direct-deposited refund, you don't need to worry about your check getting lost, nor do you have to go to the bank to deposit or cash it.

You can even split a direct-deposited refund into two or three different accounts, unless you're using the Pay With My Refund option to pay your TurboTax fees.

To help combat fraud, IRS regulations prohibit direct deposits into foreign accounts—only domestic accounts located in the United States are eligible for direct deposit.

Also, the IRS won't deposit more than three refunds into the same bank account during the same year. Additional direct deposit requests will instead be mailed out as refund checks to the taxpayer's address on file.