Summary

Requires the Treasury Secretary (through the IRS) to write regulations so people who are owed replacement paper refund checks for lost or stolen checks can choose to receive the replacement as a direct deposit instead. The Secretary must issue those regulations within six months of enactment, and the change takes effect on the date the Act is enacted.

Key Points

• Requires Treasury/IRS to write regulations allowing taxpayers owed replacement paper refund checks to elect direct deposit for the replacement payment.
• Regulations must be issued within six months of enactment.
• Takes effect on the date the Act is enacted; the regulatory deadline is measured from enactment.
• Applies only to replacement refund checks issued for lost or stolen paper checks, not to all refunds.
• Imposes an administrative rule on Treasury/IRS but does not authorize new spending.
• Expected to speed delivery of replacement refunds and reduce risk of lost/stolen replacement checks.
• May require IRS operational and verification changes to accept direct-deposit elections for replacements.
• Does not require taxpayers to have bank accounts; it provides an optional alternative to receiving a paper check.

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