Recovery of Stolen Checks Act
Key claim: The Recovery of Stolen Checks Act requires the Treasury Department to establish procedures so eligible taxpayers can elect direct deposit for replacement of a federal tax refund originally issued as a paper check that was lost or stolen.
Abstract
(HR1155 · 119th Congress) Recovery of Stolen Checks Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to establish procedures that allow an eligible taxpayer to elect to receive by direct deposit a replacement of a federal tax refund amount that was originally issued as a paper check and was lost or stolen. (Currently, taxpayers eligible to receive a replacement of a lost or stolen federal tax refund check are generally issued another paper check.) Latest action (2025-04-01): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Why this matters
Lost or stolen paper refund checks currently trigger a paper reissuance process that can be slow and vulnerable to repeat theft, disproportionately affecting taxpayers without stable mailing addresses. Allowing an election of direct deposit for replacement refunds is a narrow administrative fix that shifts risk away from the taxpayer without altering tax liability or refund amounts. It fits a broader pattern of incremental IRS/Treasury service modernization measures in this area.