{"id":41829,"date":"2026-03-06T20:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T20:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=41829"},"modified":"2026-03-06T20:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T20:37:06","slug":"average-irs-tax-refund-is-up-10-6-early-filing-data-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=41829","title":{"rendered":"Average IRS tax refund is up 10.6%, early filing data shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tony Anderson | Digitalvision | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The\u00a0average tax refund<\/a>\u00a0is 10.6% higher so far this season, compared to roughly the same period in 2025, according to the latest IRS filing data.<\/p>\n

As of Feb. 27, the\u00a0average refund amount\u00a0for individual filers was $3,742, up from $3,382 about one year ago, the IRS reported on Friday. The average is down from the $3,804 reported last week<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Typically, the average refund spikes<\/a> around mid-February, once data includes payments claiming the\u00a0earned income tax credit<\/a>\u00a0or the refundable part of the\u00a0child tax credit<\/a>, known as the additional child tax credit or ACTC, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center analysis. After the February peak, the average generally declines gradually through Tax Day. <\/p>\n

The latest filing data reflects roughly 51.5 million individual returns received, out of about 164 million expected through the April 15 deadline. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Read more CNBC personal finance coverage<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As the midterm elections<\/a> approach, Republicans have been laser-focused on the size of tax refunds this season, with many pointing to the changes enacted via President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s “big beautiful bill<\/a>.” <\/p>\n

In a\u00a0late January release<\/a>, the White House said average tax refunds could jump “by $1,000 or more,” citing several media reports that reference early October research from investment bank Piper Sandler.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Why tax refunds could be bigger this season <\/h2>\n
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Four of Trump’s new tax breaks \u2014 the deductions for tip income<\/a>, overtime<\/a>, seniors<\/a> and auto loan interest<\/a> \u2014 go on a new form, known as Schedule 1-A<\/a>, which is part of individual tax returns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As of March 4, some 43% of returns included Schedule 1-A, and refunds for those filings were $775 bigger than the typical refund last year, Frank Bisignano<\/a>, Social Security Administration Commissioner and IRS CEO, said this week during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump’s bigger deduction limit for state and local taxes<\/a>, known as SALT, could also boost refunds for eligible filers who itemize tax breaks, experts say. <\/p>\n

Some of the smaller changes include a bigger standard deduction and more generous child tax credit<\/a> for 2025. <\/p>\n

However, tax refunds or balances due also vary based on workers’ paycheck withholdings<\/a>, or other payments<\/a> made throughout the year, experts say. <\/p>\n

“What I’m running into is [the changes are] providing hundreds of dollars of difference, not thousands of dollars,” Tom O’Saben, director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals, told CNBC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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