Can I deposit my tax refund into someone else's account?

While there are no IRS rules that forbid you from designating someone else's account to receive your tax refund, we do not recommend it.

Why not? Because most banks have systems in place that prevent direct-deposit requests from being deposited into accounts bearing a different name.

If you decide to enter someone else's account information anyway, more likely than not the receiving bank will reject the IRS's direct-deposit request.

The IRS will then have to issue and mail a refund check, a process that takes even longer than it would have taken had you requested a check refund in the first place.