Setting up direct deposit with a void check

Give a payer your account numbers on a voided check or your bank's form, and keep your old account open until the first deposit arrives.

Voiding a check for direct deposit. Write VOID across the front in blue or black ink without covering the numbers along the bottom edge. A US check shows the 9-digit routing number, the account number and the check number; a Canadian cheque shows the cheque number, the 5-digit transit (branch) number, the 3-digit institution number and the account number. — **Fig. 4.5** Write VOID across the front in blue or black ink without covering the numbers along the bottom edge. A US check shows the 9-digit routing number, the account number and the check number; a Canadian cheque shows the cheque number, the 5-digit transit (branch) number, the 3-digit institution number and the account number. Source: Chase; IRS Form 1040 instructions; Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Area: MoneyFrom age 15Time to learn: 15 minutes

Find the numbers on the bottom edge of your check or in your banking app, write VOID across a blank check without covering them, and give it or your bank's direct deposit form to your employer or tax agency.

Why it matters

Direct deposit sends your pay, tax refund or benefit straight into your account, with no paper check to lose, wait for or carry to the bank. In the 2025 filing season, 93% of US individual tax refunds went by direct deposit, and the IRS said it would begin phasing out paper refund checks for individual taxpayers on September 30, 2025. A voided check still carries your account numbers, so give it only to a payer you chose and shred any copy you do not need.

The IRS says paper checks are over 16 times more likely to be lost, stolen, altered or delayed than electronic payments.

Source: IRS news release IR-2025-94: IRS to phase out paper tax refund checks starting with individual taxpayers, 2025.Measured

How to do it

Find your numbers on the bottom edge of a check. In the US you will see the 9-digit routing number, which identifies your bank, your account number, and the check number, which you do not need. Their positions can vary from check to check.
On a Canadian cheque, the bottom line shows the cheque number (not needed), then the 5-digit transit or branch number, the 3-digit institution number, and your account number, which varies in length.
No checks? Open the account's details in your bank's app or website, which list the same numbers. Your bank may also let you print a void check or a pre-filled direct deposit form there, which your employer may accept instead.
To void a check, use a blue or black pen and write VOID in large letters across the front, over the payee and amount lines, without covering the numbers along the bottom edge. Do not sign it.
Fill in the direct deposit form: your name as it appears on the account, the bank's name, the routing number (or the transit and institution numbers in Canada), the account number, and whether it is a checking (chequing) or savings account. Attach the voided check if the form asks for one.
Copy the numbers exactly. Never add the check number to the account number, and if a deposit slip shows a different routing number from your checks, ask your bank which one to use.
Use an account in your own name. The IRS says not to have your refund deposited to an account that is not in your name, such as a tax preparer's; the Government of Canada accepts an account in your name or a joint one.
For a tax refund in the US, enter the routing number, account number and account type in the refund section of your return, or split the refund among up to three accounts in your name with Form 8888. In Canada, sign up in your CRA account or through your Canadian bank or credit union; through your CRA account the change takes effect the next business day, while a mailed form can take up to 3 months or longer.
Know your US right: under Regulation E, no one may require you to open an account at a particular bank as a condition of a job or a government benefit.
Keep your old account open until the first payment has landed in the new one, then check the amount against your pay stub or benefit notice.

Common mistakes

Writing VOID over the numbers along the bottom edge, so payroll cannot read them.
Typing the check number as part of the account number.
Closing the old account before the first direct deposit arrives in the new one.
Posting a photo of a voided check or a first paycheck online, where anyone can read your account numbers.

You can do this when …you can point to the routing number (or the transit and institution numbers) and the account number on your own check or banking app, void a check without covering them, and fill in a direct deposit form with no errors.