What to do if you put wrong direct deposit information

For security reasons, we cannot modify the routing number, account number, or the type of account from what was entered when you filed your return. If wrong banking information is given to us, the bank will reject the refund. Once we receive the refund back from the bank, the Comptroller's Office will issue and mail a paper check to you.

I e-filed a return with the wrong bank information on the DD screen. What can I do?

Once a return has been e-filed, it cannot be retrieved or removed. If either the bank routing number or account number is incorrect on an e-filed return,

• If it has not been accepted, contact the IRS. See "IRS and Tax Related Contact Phone Numbers"in Related Links below.
• If it has been accepted, and the destination bank
  • rejects the direct deposit, the taxpayer will receive a check from the IRS.
  • accepts the direct deposit, the taxpayer should contact that bank to determine how to proceed to recover the deposit.

Notes:

• The correct routing and account numbers must be provided for the direct deposit to be accepted and correctly deposited to the taxpayer’s account. The IRS does not accept responsibility for lost refunds if the account information is incorrectly entered. Per the IRS:

"Refunds that are not Direct Deposited because of institutional refusal, erroneous account or routing transit numbers, closed accounts, bank mergers or any other reason are issued as paper checks, resulting in refund delays of up to ten weeks. While the IRS ordinarily processes a request for Direct Deposit, it reserves the right to issue a paper check and does not guarantee a specific date for deposit of the refund into the taxpayer’s account.

Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS) issues federal income tax refunds and offsets taxpayers’ refunds to pay off past-due child support or federal agency debts such as student loans. Neither the IRS nor FMS is responsible for the misapplication of a Direct Deposit that results from error, negligence or malfeasance on the part of the taxpayer, the Provider, financial institution or any of their agents."

Handbook for Authorized IRS e-file Providers of Individual Income Tax Returns, page 13.

• If the taxpayer calls IRS regarding a refund before 21 days have passed, the taxpayer will be referred to "Where’s My Refund".

Mistakes happen in any business, and banks and credit unions are no exception. Although it's unlikely, it is possible for a deposit to be mistakenly credited to the wrong person’s account.

When this happens, whether the bank error is in your favor or someone else's, the bank will eventually reverse the transaction and credit it to the correct account. In the meantime, this type of mistake will affect the amount of cash available in your account and you should make sure the error doesn't end up costing you money. Most important, you should never assume the money is yours and spend it.

Keeping Tabs on Your Balances and Transactions

You should make it a habit to monitor your bank balance at least weekly. And many banks offer apps that make it easy to quickly check recent transactions in your checking, savings, and credit card accounts.

Note

You can set up text or email alerts for whenever a significant amount of money goes into or out of your account or when your account is getting low.

You should also get into the habit of balancing your checkbook regularly, reconciling your record of transactions with those from your bank statements. Doing so can not only help you spot errors; it can also help you make and stick to a budget by identifying how much you spend monthly on particular items.

It's also important to pay attention to your monthly bank statements because the bank will expect you to notify them of any errors within 60 days. Though it's not necessarily germane to the issue of a misrouted deposit, keep in mind that you could be made to pay for the full amount of any fraudulent transaction that occurs after that 60-day period and before the time you notified the bank of a problem with your account.

When Your Money Goes Missing 

If you notice that your bank balance is lower than it should be and see no record of a deposit you made, you should ask your bank to look into why it went missing, either because it went to a different account or for some other reason.

Note

If you report the problem by telephone, your bank may ask you to also notify it in writing.

Your bank has 10 business days to investigate your issue—or 20 business days if your account has been active for less than a month. And once it has determined there was an error, it has one business day to correct the error and three business days to notify you of its actions.

If your bank fails to complete its investigation within the required time frame, it should credit your account for the amount of the missing deposit, minus $50 or less, while it continues its investigation. The bank then has 45 days to conclude the investigation, unless the disputed transaction was conducted in a foreign country or within 30 days of opening your account. If one of those conditions applies, your bank has up to 90 days to resolve the inquiry.

If the bank determines there was no error on its part, it must notify you in writing prior to taking back the provisional credit.

When Unexpected Money Shows Up 

If the reverse situation occurs, and you suspect that someone else's money was mistakenly deposited into your account, don't treat it as an unexpected windfall and spend it. You should pre-emptively contact your bank and let it know you're not sure where the deposit came from.

Note

If your parents or anyone else ever deposit money into one of your accounts, ask them whether they made the unexpected deposit before contacting the bank.

If the bank discovers the mistake before you do or before you notify it of the mistake, it will take back the money and put it in the correct account. The bank does not have to request permission or otherwise notify you that it will be removing the erroneously deposited funds.

If you spent any of this money, you will be responsible for paying it back. And you could also face criminal charges for theft.

In addition, if your balance goes negative, your bank can charge you overdraft fees of $30 to $35 per transaction and an additional extended overdraft fee if you can not quickly reverse the shortfall.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What happens if you accidentally deposit a check twice?

If you accidentally deposit a check twice, the bank will remove the duplicate transaction. It's important not to spend the accidental deposit, and if you discover it before your bank does, contact it right away and report the error.

Can someone else deposit money into your bank account?

Whether someone else can deposit money into your account depends on the policies of the bank involved. Some banks no longer allow deposits into someone else's account. If the bank allows it, the person making the deposit would need your name and account number. A better option may be to send money electronically through a service like Zelle.

What happens if you send direct deposit to wrong account?

How long does it take to reverse a direct deposit?

Can I change direct deposit after filing?

What happens if bank account number is wrong?