Here's What Happens When You Enter the Wrong Direct Deposit Info on Your Taxes

As of early March, the average tax refund issued by the IRS was $3,182. That number could easily change as more people file their taxes ahead of the April 15 deadline. But no matter what refund you're entitled to, you probably want that money to show up as quickly as possible.

Signing up for direct deposit is the best way to expedite your refund. Without direct deposit, the IRS will have to issue you a paper check, which means your funds could take longer to arrive.

But if you're going to choose to receive your refund via direct deposit, make sure to enter your bank account details carefully on your taxes. If you enter the wrong information, you could end up with a delayed refund and a pretty big headache on your hands.

READ MORE: The Ascent's Complete Guide to Taxes

A simple mistake that could have serious consequences

We're all human, so it's not unheard of to make a mistake when requesting direct deposit. But depending on the nature of your mistake, you could end up delaying your refund by quite a bit.

Let's go through a few different scenarios.

Perhaps when entering your banking details, you accidentally omit a digit in your bank account or routing number. Usually, when that happens, your submission won't pass the IRS's validation check. In that case, the IRS will mail you a check for your refund, which means your money may be a bit delayed, but hopefully not too delayed.

Meanwhile, let's say you don't omit a digit, but rather enter an incorrect account or routing number on your direct deposit request. If that information passes the IRS's validation check, it will send the money to the bank and account in question. If that bank then rejects the deposit and returns it to the IRS, the IRS will mail you a check for your refund once it gets the money back. Once again, we're not talking about too serious a delay here.

It's this next scenario that could really cause you a problem. Let's say you enter the wrong account or routing number, the IRS issues your refund based on the banking details you provided, and the receiving financial institution accepts the deposit. At that point, it will be on you to call the bank in question and try to recoup your funds.

The IRS says that after two weeks, if there's no resolution, you'll need to file Form 3911 so the agency can get involved. From there, the IRS will contact the bank on your behalf to try to recover your refund. Banks get up to 90 days, though, to respond to these IRS requests, and the agency says it could take up to 120 days for resolution -- if a resolution is even possible.

Check your banking details carefully

No matter the scenario, entering the wrong banking details for direct deposit could cause your refund to get delayed. And if you need that money to catch up on bills -- which is the case for 30% of Americans, according to a recent Assurance survey -- then having to wait longer could be a problem for you.

So do yourself a favor. Before you submit your direct deposit request, check your bank account and routing number. Then, check them again. And then do that a third time -- ideally once you've walked away from your screen for a bit to give your eyes a refresh. Spending a few extra seconds checking those details could spare you a world of hassle.