If you’re waiting until April to think about your taxes, you are already behind.
Most people treat tax season like a root canal — something to be endured and forgotten. But if you are expecting the government to send back a chunk of your own money, you need to understand that the rules of engagement have changed.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) opened the 2026 filing season on Jan. 26, and it’s operating under a new playbook. Between recent executive orders and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the path to your refund looks different this year. If you aren’t paying attention, your money could end up in bureaucratic limbo.
Here are the five things the pros are doing right now to ensure their refunds land in their accounts, not in a backlog.
1. Kill the paper check
This is the single most important step for 2026. The days of waiting by the mailbox are officially over. Under Executive Order 14247, the IRS has effectively stopped issuing paper refund checks for individual taxpayers.
If you file your return without providing direct deposit information, the IRS will temporarily freeze your refund. You will be stuck waiting until you either provide bank details or navigate a complex waiver process.
As we have seen with previous government payments, direct deposit is the only way to guarantee speed and avoid the “lost in the mail” excuses. If you want your money in the standard 21 days, you must ditch the paper.
2. Hunt down Schedule 1-A
The tax code is famous for being complicated, but this year some of the changes are actually in your favor. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced specific deductions that apply to the 2025 income you are reporting now.
You need to look specifically for Schedule 1-A. This is where you will claim the new breaks, including the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime pay, as well as deductions for car loan interest.
If you rush through your software or use a lazy preparer, you might miss this form entirely. Don’t leave that money on the table.
3. Wait for crypto forms
It is tempting to file the second you get your W-2, but patience pays off if you have a diverse portfolio. The IRS is cracking down on digital assets, and for the first time, you might see Form 1099-DA if you sold or exchanged crypto.
If you file before this form arrives and your numbers don’t match what your brokers reported to the IRS, your return will be flagged for manual review. That turns a three-week wait into a six-month nightmare.
Check your email and brokerage accounts to ensure you have every single 1099 before you hit send.
4. Double-check your routing number
It sounds basic, but simple data entry errors are a leading cause of refund delays. Because the IRS is no longer defaulting to paper checks when a direct deposit fails, a typo here is more painful than usual.
If you transpose a digit in your account number, the bank will reject the deposit. In previous years, the IRS would just cut a check. Now, that rejection triggers the freeze mentioned above.
Take the extra 30 seconds to verify your banking details against a physical check or your banking app.
5. Know the PATH dates
Even if you do everything perfectly, some refunds are legally required to be delayed.
If you claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), the PATH Act mandates that the IRS cannot release your refund before mid-February. It gives the IRS more time to thoroughly review early tax returns with these credits.
For 2026, the IRS anticipates these funds will be available in taxpayer bank accounts by March 2. We know that in recent years, changes to these credits have made it harder for families to plan their cash flow, so if you fall into this category, be prepared.
Filing early helps you get to the front of the line, but don’t panic when the money isn’t there on Feb. 15. Use the Where’s My Refund? tool to track it and save yourself the stress.