8888 Allocation of Refund (Including Savings Bond Purchases)

Form

8888

OMB No. 1545-0074

Allocation of Refund

For calendar year

20

(Rev. December 2025)

Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-SS, or 1040-NR.

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Attachment
Sequence No. 56

Go to www.irs.gov/Form8888 for the latest information.

Your social security number

Name(s) shown on return

Direct Deposit
1a

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1a

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2a

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3a

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4

Add lines 1a, 2a, and 3a. The total must equal the refund amount shown on your tax return .

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5

Amount to be deposited in first account (see instructions) .

b Routing number

c

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Checking

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Savings

d Account number
2a

Amount to be deposited in second account

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b Routing number

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c

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Checking

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Savings

d Account number
3a

Amount to be deposited in third account

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b Routing number

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c

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Checking

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Savings

d Account number

Reserved for Future Use
4

Reserved for future use

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Total Allocation of Refund
5

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see your tax return instructions.

Cat. No. 21858A

Form 8888 (Rev. 12-2025) Created 11/20/25

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Form 8888 (Rev. 12-2025)

Future Developments
Information about any future developments
affecting Form 8888 (such as legislation
enacted after we release it) will be posted
at www.irs.gov/Form8888.

What’s New
Electronic payments. Executive Order
14247 requires all payments from the
federal government, including the IRS, to be
handled electronically. Starting in October
2025, the IRS will generally stop issuing
paper checks for federal disbursements,
including tax refunds, unless an exception
applies. For more information, go to
www.irs.gov/ModernPayments.

Reminders
Purchase of savings bonds
discontinued. The program allowing for
your refund to be deposited into your
TreasuryDirect® account to buy savings
bonds, as well as the ability to buy paper
bonds with your refund, has been
discontinued. Form 8888 is now only used
to split your direct deposit refund between
two or more accounts. For more
information, go to https://treasurydirect.
gov/research-center/faq-irs-tax-feature/.
Continuous-use form. Form 8888 has
been converted from annual revision to
continuous use. The form will be updated
as needed.

General Instructions
Purpose of Form
Use Form 8888 if you want us to directly
deposit your refund (or part of it) to either
two or three accounts at a bank or other
financial institution (such as a mutual fund,
brokerage firm, or credit union) in the
United States.
An account can be a checking, savings,
or other account, such as:
• A traditional individual retirement
arrangement (IRA), Roth IRA, SEP IRA (but
not a SIMPLE IRA);
• A health savings account (HSA);
• An Archer MSA; or
• A Coverdell education savings account
(ESA).
You can’t have your refund deposited
into more than one account if you file Form
8379, Injured Spouse Allocation.
Deposit of refund to only one account. If
you want your refund deposited to only one
account, don’t complete this form. Instead,
request direct deposit on your tax return.
Account must be in your name. Don’t
request a deposit of your refund to an
account that isn’t in your name, such as
your tax return preparer’s account.
Although you may owe your tax return
preparer a fee for preparing your return,
don’t have any part of your refund
deposited into the preparer’s account to
pay the fee.

Specific Instructions

The number of refunds that can be
directly deposited to a single account or
prepaid debit card is limited to three a
year. Learn more at www.irs.gov/Refunds/
Direct-Deposit-Limits.

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CAUTION

Benefits of Direct Deposit

Lines 1a, 2a, and 3a

• You get your refund faster by direct
deposit than you do by check.
• Payment is more secure. There is no
check that can get lost or stolen.
• It saves tax dollars because it costs the
government less.
• It’s more convenient. You don’t have to
make a trip to the bank to deposit your
check.
• It’s proven itself. Nearly 98% of social
security and veterans benefits are sent
electronically using direct deposit.

Enter the portion of your refund you want
directly deposited to each account. Each
deposit must be at least $1.
Your entire deposit may be deposited in
one account. If there are any delays in the
processing of your return by the IRS, your
entire refund will be deposited in the last
valid account listed on Form 8888. Make
sure the last account you list on Form 8888
is an account you would want the entire
refund deposited in if this happens.
An account can be a checking, savings,
or other account such as a traditional IRA,
Roth IRA, SEP IRA (but not a SIMPLE IRA),
HSA, Archer MSA, or ESA.

IRA
You can have your refund (or part of it)
directly deposited to a traditional IRA,
Roth IRA, or SEP IRA, but not a SIMPLE
IRA. You must establish the IRA at a bank
or other eligible financial institution before
you request direct deposit. Make sure your
direct deposit will be accepted. You must
also notify the trustee or custodian of your
account of the year to which the deposit is
to be applied (unless the trustee or
custodian won’t accept a deposit for the
prior year). If you don’t, the trustee or
custodian can assume the deposit is for
the year during which you are filing
your return.
For example, if you file your 2023 return
during 2024 and don’t notify the trustee or
custodian in advance, the trustee or
custodian can assume the deposit to your
IRA is for 2024. If you designate your
deposit to be for 2023, you must verify that
the deposit was actually made to the
account by the due date of the return (not
counting extensions). If the deposit isn’t
made by that date, the deposit isn’t an IRA
contribution for 2023. In that case, you
must file an amended 2023 return and
reduce any IRA deduction and any
retirement savings contributions credit
you claimed.

TONY MAPLE
BOBBY MAPLE
123 Pear Lane
Anyplace, GA 00000
PAY TO THE
ORDER OF

Lines 1b, 2b, and 3b
The routing number must be nine digits.
The first two digits must be 01 through 12
or 21 through 32. On the sample check
below, the routing number is 250250025.
Tony and Bobby Maple would use that
routing number unless their financial
institution instructed them to use a different
routing number for direct deposits.
Ask your financial institution for the
correct routing number to enter if:
• The routing number on a deposit slip is
different from the routing number on your
checks,
• Your deposit is to a savings account that
doesn’t allow you to write checks, or
• Your checks state they are payable
through a financial institution different from
the one at which you have your account.

1234

SAMPLE
Routing
number

Account
number

ANYPLACE BANK
Anyplace, GA 00000

15-0000/0000

$
DOLLARS

Don’t include
the check number.

For

| :250250025

If you file a joint return and
complete Form 8888, your
spouse may get at least part of
the refund.

| :202020"'86".

1234

Note: The routing and account numbers may be in different places on your check.

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Form 8888 (Rev. 12-2025)

Lines 1c, 2c, and 3c
Check the appropriate box for the type of
account. Don’t check more than one box
for each line. If your deposit is to an
account such as an IRA, HSA, brokerage
account, or other similar account, ask your
financial institution whether you should
check the “Checking” or “Savings” box.
You must check the correct box to ensure
your deposit is accepted.

Lines 1d, 2d, and 3d
The account number can be up to 17
characters (both numbers and letters).
Include hyphens but omit spaces and
special symbols. Enter the number from left
to right and leave any unused boxes blank.
On the sample check in these instructions,
the account number is 20202086. Don’t
include the check number.

Line 5
The total on line 5 must equal the total
amount of the refund shown on your tax
return. It must also equal the total of the
amounts on lines 1a, 2a, and 3a. If the total
on line 5 is different, your refund may be
delayed.

Direct Deposit Request Rejected
If your financial institution rejects one or
two but not all of your direct deposit
requests, the additional amount will be
deposited to the last valid account listed.
Example. You complete lines 1 and 2
correctly but forget to enter an account
number on line 3d. The amount listed on
line 3a will be deposited into the account
listed on line 2d. The parts of your refund
shown on lines 1a and 2a will be directly
deposited to the accounts you indicated.
Reasons your direct deposit request will
be rejected. If any of the following apply,
your direct deposit request will be rejected,
and your refund may be delayed or
deposited in the last valid account listed.
• You are asking to have a joint refund
deposited to an individual account, and
your financial institution(s) won’t allow this.
The IRS isn’t responsible if a financial
institution rejects a direct deposit.
• The name on your account doesn’t match
the name on the refund, and your financial
institution(s) won’t allow a refund to be
deposited unless the name on the refund
matches the name on the account.
• Three direct deposits of tax refunds have
already been made to the same account or
prepaid debit card.

• You haven’t given a valid account
number or routing transit number.
• Any numbers or letters on lines 1a
through 3d are crossed out or whited out.
The IRS isn’t responsible for a
lost refund if you enter the
wrong account information.
CAUTION Check with your financial
institution to get the correct routing and
account numbers and to make sure your
direct deposit will be accepted.
Don’t file a Form 8888 on which
you have crossed out or whited
out any numbers or letters. If
CAUTION you do, the IRS will reject your
allocation of refund, and your refund may
be delayed.

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Changes in Refund Due to Math
Errors or Refund Offsets
The rules below explain how your direct
deposits may be adjusted.

Math Errors
The following rules apply if your refund is
increased or decreased due to a math
error.
Refund increased. If you made an error on
your return and the amount of your refund
is increased, the additional amount will be
deposited to the last account listed. If you
asked that your refund be split among
three accounts, any increase will be
deposited to the account on line 3. If you
asked that your refund be split among two
accounts, any increase will be deposited to
the account on line 2.
Example. Your return shows a refund of
$300 and you ask that the refund be split
among three accounts with $100 to each
account. Due to an error on the return, your
refund is increased to $350. The additional
$50 will be added to the deposit to the
account on line 3.
Refund decreased. If you made an error
on your return and the amount of your
refund is decreased, the decrease will be
taken first from any deposit to an account
on line 3, next from the deposit to the
account on line 2, and finally from the
deposit to the account on line 1.
Example. Your return shows a refund of
$300, and you ask that the refund be split
among three accounts with $100 to each
account. Due to an error on your return,
your refund is decreased by $150. You
won’t receive the $100 you asked us to
deposit to the account on line 3, and the
deposit to the account on line 2 will be
reduced by $50.

Note: If you appeal the math error
adjustment and your appeal is upheld, the
resulting refund will be deposited to the
account on line 1.

Refund Offset
The following rules apply if your refund is
offset (used) to pay past-due federal tax or
certain other debts.
Past-due federal tax. If you owe past-due
federal tax and your refund is offset by the
IRS to pay the tax, the past-due amount
will be deducted first from any deposit to
an account on line 3, next from the deposit
to the account on line 2, and finally from
the deposit to the account on line 1.
Other offsets. If you owe other past-due
amounts (such as state income tax, child
support, spousal support, or certain federal
nontax debts, such as student loans) that
are subject to offset by the Treasury
Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service,
the past-due amounts will be deducted first
from the deposit to the account with the
lowest routing number. Any remaining
amount due will be deducted from the
deposit to the account with the next lowest
routing number and then from the deposit
to the account with the highest routing
number.
If the deposit to one or more of
your accounts is changed due
to a math error or refund offset,
CAUTION and that account is subject to
contribution limits, such as an IRA, HSA,
Archer MSA, or Coverdell ESA, or the
deposit was deducted as a contribution to
a tax-favored account on your tax return,
you may need to correct your contribution
or file an amended return.
Example. You deduct $1,000 on your
2024 tax return for an IRA contribution. The
contribution is to be made from a direct
deposit of your 2024 refund. Due to an
offset by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service,
the direct deposit isn’t made to your IRA.
You need to correct your contribution by
contributing $1,000 to the IRA from another
source by the due date of your return
(determined without regard to any
extension) or file an amended return
without the IRA deduction.

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