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Americans are receiving larger tax refunds on average in the 2026 filing season than last year, though taxpayers are filing at a slower pace in the first few weeks than they were a year ago.
The latest IRS tax filing data was released by the agency on Friday and showed that as of Feb. 6, the average tax refund amount paid to taxpayers was $2,290.
That represents an increase of 10.9% when compared with the average size of refunds paid at the same stage of the 2025 tax filing season, when the average refund amount was $2,065.
Over 7.4 million refunds have been issued as of Feb. 6, down 8.1% from the same time last year when nearly 8.1 million were disbursed to taxpayers.
HERE’S WHEN TAXPAYERS WILL GET THEIR REFUNDS
While the number of refunds has declined, the total amount refunded has risen 1.9% from nearly $16.7 billion to almost $17 billion, which helped boost the size of the average refund.
IRS data also showed that the average direct deposit refund rose by a similar amount when compared with this point of last year’s tax filing season, as the average direct deposit refund for the current year is $2,388 – up 10.3% from $2,165 at this time a year ago.
While refunds are rising thus far in the 2026 filing season when compared with a year ago, the number of tax returns received and processed has declined relative to last year.
TAX FILING SEASON IS OFFICIALLY HERE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The IRS reported that it has received nearly 22.4 million returns as of Feb. 6, a decrease of 5.2% from last year when almost 23.6 million returns were received at the same stage of the filing season.
The IRS offers an online “Where’s my refund?” tool for taxpayers to check on the status of their tax refund.
The IRS website said that processing a tax refund generally takes up to 21 days for e-filed returns, whereas returns sent by mail can take six weeks or more to reach the taxpayer. Refunds may also take longer if the return is in need of corrections or additional review.
BESSENT EXPECTS TAXPAYERS WILL SEE ‘VERY LARGE’ TAX REFUNDS EARLY NEXT YEAR
Taxpayers who are preparing to file their returns should consider setting up direct deposit with the IRS if they wish to receive their refund sooner.
Taxpayers who e-file their returns can typically see their refund status within 24 hours using the “Where’s my refund?” tool, which can provide refund information for not only the current year but also the past two years.
If a taxpayer needs to amend their return after filing, it can take longer to receive their tax return. Amended returns can take up to three weeks to appear in the IRS’ system and up to 16 weeks to process.
The IRS also offers a “Where’s my amended return?” tool for taxpayers who submitted an amended return and want to track the status of their filing and any related refund.
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