The tax season for fiscal year 2024 started on January 27, 2025. That date could look very old or passed away, but it was just the beginning of everything. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the federal agency in charge to collect taxes, disburse them to the government for expenditures and necessities, and to rebate overpaid taxes to citizens.
Electronic returns, which make up more than 90% of this year’s filings, have been coming in fast. The IRS has said that if you filed electronically and chose direct deposit, you’ll get your money in less than 21 days. But in September, the IRS is busy catching up on cases, paper returns, old-year amendments, and some tax credits.
Tax refunds: The “slow” month for the IRS
“September is a slow month for the IRS,” said Carla Davis, a tax expert from Washington. “Most refunds have gone out to people who filed on time, but many people are still getting their refunds now. This is especially true if they asked for an extension until October 15, or had their case delayed by a review.” What makes September more slow is the issuing of refunds on items filed with extensions.
Most of these late filers are small businesses and self-employed taxpayers, so most of these people are filing their forms in August and September. Many taxpayers who filed for extensions in 2024 were over 14 million. This is similar to the number of extended filers in 2025.
This means thousands of refunds are being paid out in September. However, some of these filers are paid out in February to April, which is the most paid out period. What else makes this a slow month is the paper filing.
Tax credits could delay your tax refund
Despite the IRS working to reduce paper filing, seven percent of taxpayers still file a paper return each year. “A paper return can take six to eight weeks or longer, depending on the form,” explains Davis.
“If you filed your return in July or August 2025, then September could be the month you get your refund, assuming your filing was error free.” Yet, other taxpayers are filing and correcting errors on their 2022, 2023, or 2024 returns. These filers are extending into January 2025.
“If you file an amendment to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) or the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), you will undergo more checks to prevent fraud,” said Davis. “The IRS has made more anti-fraud systems.
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One big change is that the IRS will stop issuing paper refund checks on September 30, 2025, per Executive Order 14247, signed by President Donald Trump. The change is a way to modernize the tax system and cut down on fraud.
Paper checks are 16 times more likely to be lost, stolen or forged. In 2024, the IRS paid out more than 130 million refunds. 93 percent of those refunds were issued electronically.
This is the most common type of delivery method because electronic refunds take days to process. “If you don’t have a bank account on file with the IRS, now is the time to get one,” said Davis. “If not, then you could see a long delay after September 30th.”
The move to electronic payments is not without problems. About 5% of American households don’t have a bank account, according to the FDIC. As a result, the elimination of paper check refunds may make it harder for some taxpayers to get their refunds.
The IRS said that they will work with local partners to help people open a free bank account. However, those programs are still being developed. “This is a necessary change.