If you’re looking for an easy way to get your tax refund deposited right into your normal bank account, then Form 8888 is for you. The document was designed to help the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issue direct deposits of tax refunds, and is a great way to streamline the process of receiving your check and making sure it goes where you need it.
Instead of having to wait for weeks or even months for your check to arrive in the mail, you can simply file this form to send your refund straight to your checking or savings account, depending on where you’d like for the money to go. You can also allocate just part of your refund to a single account, easily splitting the amount so you can manage your money according to your needs.
When to Use IRS Form 8888
Ideally, you want your tax refund to arrive as soon as possible. That refund is yours, after all, and is usually made up of money that you’ve overpaid throughout the year. Refund checks are clunky, though, and often take longer than necessary to arrive for various reasons:
- The IRS sometimes fails to send those checks out in a timely manner.
- The checks seem to go missing, leaving you waiting longer for your refund to arrive.
- Time of year delays can impact arrival, especially if you wait until later in the year when a large influx of people all seem to file their taxes at once.
Many people want their hands on their refunds faster, and direct deposit may be the perfect solution. This is especially true if:
You are using your refund to pay important bills.
For some people, tax refund time is a chance to get caught up on bills or pay off debts. You may need refund funds in hand sooner rather than later after an expensive holiday season, for example, because it means that you can pay your bills on time.
The longer it takes that paper check to arrive, the more late fees and other penalties you may face.
You are allocating your tax refund to a specific purpose.
From planning for a vacation to gearing up for an exciting home remodeling project, many people set aside funds from their tax refunds to cover specific expenses. Unfortunately, you may have to put off that particular type of spending if your check takes too long to arrive. In a worst-case scenario, you might even end up having to stop in the middle of a project!
You are trying to create savings for a rainy day.
You might not have bills to pay or vacations or projects to fund, but that doesn’t mean you lack a purpose for your refund. You might simply want to create a savings account with emergency funds, and waiting for that check to arrive might add stress if you’re not sure you could cover such costs.
It’s your money, and you deserve to have it in hand as soon as possible so you can use it for your intended purpose. Refunds as direct deposits can be a time and sanity saver, allowing you to get your money back faster.
What is Form 8888
Form 8888 is designed to allow for electronic deposit of your tax refund, or to designate that you intend to move your tax refund to savings bonds instead of accepting a check. You can also break down the amount you intend to designate to each purpose, which means it’s as simple as doing the math to ensure that you have the right amount in each account if you want to put part of your refund into checking and part into savings.
The form allows you to:
- Purchase savings bonds with up to $5,000 of your refund
- Deposit your tax refund directly into a bank account
- Split your tax refund between multiple bank accounts, if desired
It requires you to enter the amount you wish to have deposited, along with your bank account number(s) and routing number(s). You can also fill out information about how much money from your tax refund you want to use to purchase savings bonds. The straightforward form lets the IRS know exactly what you want to do with your refund, permits it to make a direct deposit rather than issuing a paper check, and, for many taxpayers, gets your money in your account much faster than if you’re trying to wait for that paper check to arrive.
How to File IRS Form 8888
In order to fill out Form 8888, you will need to know:
- Your bank’s routing number. This can be found on your online banking site or in your checkbook: look for the block of numbers before your account number on a check.
- Your account number. If you don’t know your account number, check your online banking information or use your checkbook.
- Whether the account is a checking or savings account.
You will also need to designate whether you want any of your refund put into a savings bond or issued as a paper check. The form has clear sections designated for these amounts. If you intend to put part of your refund toward a savings bond, you will need to specify the person intended to own the savings bond and, if needed, a co-owner.
Finally, you will need to add together all the ways you want your tax refund distributed, then ensure those amounts equal the total of your refund. If you fail to accurately add up the amount of your refund, the IRS will not know what to do with the remaining funds, and you may face unnecessary delays in receiving your refund. Make sure to add up each line of your refund carefully to maximize your odds of filling it out properly the first time.
For many taxpayers, Form 8888 makes it easy to get your tax refund quickly by depositing it straight into your bank account instead of leaving you waiting by the mailbox for a paper check to arrive. It can also make your life easier if you don’t want to have to worry about taking a paper check to the bank or using your app to deposit a check, especially if you have an unexpectedly high refund or need to use those funds for another purpose.
Get Help Filing IRS Form 8888
Are you ready to start filing your taxes? Do you have questions about how to fill out Form 8888 or what it will mean for your tax refund this year? Contact Silver Tax Group today to speak with an expert about any Form 8888 questions you might have.
