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1.4 Million TaxpayerThe IRS has now sent refund delay notices to 1.4 million taxpayers, and the number is climbing by 300,000 every week. Why? Because they didn't provide direct deposit info on their tax returns. So the IRS is holding their refunds and asking for bank account details before cutting checks. Two House Democrats just sent a follow-up letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding answers. Treasury still hasn't responded to their first letter from March 9, when delayed refunds numbered 830,000. The root cause: President Trump's March 2025 executive order mandating electronic payments. Treasury stopped issuing paper checks for most federal payments on Sept. 30, 2025. That includes tax refunds. The Notice Is Confusing At a Ways and Means hearing earlier this month, Democrats asked IRS CEO Frank Bisignano for a copy of Notice CP53E (the delay letter). They got an altered version that differs from what taxpayers actually received. Key problems with the notice: No clear timeline. It doesn't say refunds could take 10 weeks. No warning about paper checks. Doesn't mention checks could take another 6 weeks beyond the 30-day response window. Phone number doesn't work. The IRS number listed doesn't connect to a live person. It's an automated message telling you to set up an online account. "The IRS has no publicly established process for taxpayers who lack an online account to request a timely check," wrote House Ways and Means members Danny Davis (D-IL) and Terri Sewell (D-AL). Translation: if you don't have internet access or can't navigate an IRS online account, you're stuck waiting. What the Altered Notice Said (and Didn't Say) The version Treasury sent to Congress was titled "Refund Direct Deposit Issue Notice (Summary Version)." It had a warning at the top: "Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) data: Share only with authenticated authorized persons with need to know." The lawmakers pointed out there's nothing sensitive about the notice. It's been sent to 1

1.4 Million TaxpayerThe IRS has now sent refund delay notices to 1.4 million taxpayers, and the number is climbing by 300,000 every week. Why? Because they didn't provide direct deposit info on their tax returns. So the IRS is holding their refunds and asking for bank account details before cutting checks. Two House Democrats just sent a follow-up letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding answers. Treasury still hasn't responded to their first letter from March 9, when delayed refunds numbered 830,000. The root cause: President Trump's March 2025 executive order mandating electronic payments. Treasury stopped issuing paper checks for most federal payments on Sept. 30, 2025. That includes tax refunds. The Notice Is Confusing At a Ways and Means hearing earlier this month, Democrats asked IRS CEO Frank Bisignano for a copy of Notice CP53E (the delay letter). They got an altered version that differs from what taxpayers actually received. Key problems with the notice: No clear timeline. It doesn't say refunds could take 10 weeks. No warning about paper checks. Doesn't mention checks could take another 6 weeks beyond the 30-day response window. Phone number doesn't work. The IRS number listed doesn't connect to a live person. It's an automated message telling you to set up an online account. "The IRS has no publicly established process for taxpayers who lack an online account to request a timely check," wrote House Ways and Means members Danny Davis (D-IL) and Terri Sewell (D-AL). Translation: if you don't have internet access or can't navigate an IRS online account, you're stuck waiting. What the Altered Notice Said (and Didn't Say) The version Treasury sent to Congress was titled "Refund Direct Deposit Issue Notice (Summary Version)." It had a warning at the top: "Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) data: Share only with authenticated authorized persons with need to know." The lawmakers pointed out there's nothing sensitive about the notice. It's been sent to 1

1.4M taxpayers are waiting on refunds and growing 300K per week. Here is what CPAs need to tell clients.

March 26, 2026