{"id":43300,"date":"2026-04-24T19:09:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=43300"},"modified":"2026-04-24T19:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:09:04","slug":"average-tax-refund-is-11-3-higher-irs-filing-data-through-tax-day-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=43300","title":{"rendered":"Average tax refund is 11.3% higher, IRS filing data through Tax Day shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Liubomyr Vorona | Istock | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The\u00a0average tax refund<\/a>\u00a0is 11.3% higher so far this season, compared with about the same period in 2025, according to IRS filing data through Tax Day.<\/p>\n

As of April 17, the\u00a0average refund amount<\/a>\u00a0for individual filers was $3,275, up from $2,942 about one year ago, the IRS reported on Friday.<\/p>\n

The IRS data reflects about 140.2 million individual returns received, out of\u00a0about 164 million originally expected<\/a>\u00a0through the April 15 deadline.<\/p>\n

Typically, the IRS provides several more filing season updates after the April due date, including the October extension deadline and before year-end. Some filers impacted by natural disasters<\/a> still have more time to file. <\/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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This season, many Americans received higher tax refunds<\/a> based on changes enacted via President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s “big beautiful bill<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

The legislation included 2025 tax breaks, but the IRS did not update withholding tables<\/a> for employers. As a result, many W-2 workers overpaid taxes through the rest of 2025, and Trump said filers would see the “largest tax refund season of all time<\/a>.” <\/p>\n

In January, the White House said average refunds could be bigger<\/a> “by $1,000 or more” compared to the previous year, based on October research from investment bank Piper Sandler. But refunds have averaged around $350 higher, according to IRS filing data. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump’s tax breaks and the size of refunds have been a focal point for Republicans as many Americans struggle with affordability<\/a>. Both parties have focused on voters’ pocketbook issues as the November midterm elections get closer and GOP lawmakers fight to keep control of Congress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Who benefited from Trump’s tax cuts\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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More than 60 million returns claimed one of Trump’s “signature new tax cuts” this filing season, which included new deductions for tip income<\/a>, overtime earnings<\/a>, seniors<\/a> and auto loan interest<\/a>, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent<\/a> said April 22 during a Senate Appropriations hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This season, the average tip deduction was worth more than $7,000, while the tax break for overtime income averaged over $3,100, and seniors received an average deduction above $7,500, Bessent said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some filers who itemize tax breaks have also seen windfalls from the bigger\u00a0federal deduction limit for state and local taxes<\/a>, known as SALT. Trump’s legislation raised that cap to $40,000, up from $10,000, for 2025.<\/p>\n

The Treasury has not released data points about SALT deduction claims for the 2026 filing season. However, there have been “especially large refunds”<\/a> in high-tax states, which could suggest a SALT deduction boost in places like California or New Jersey, according to Heather Long, chief economist with Navy Federal Credit Union. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During a Tax Day press conference, Bessent urged taxpayers to adjust their 2026 workplace paycheck withholdings<\/a> for an “automatic real wage increase,” but many tax professionals criticized this advice on social media.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most filers, around 56%, had at least some awareness of Trump’s tax breaks<\/a> this season, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center survey. The nonprofit think tank polled 1,200 taxpayers in late March.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

However, it’s difficult to predict whether Trump’s tax cuts will impact voters during the midterm elections, policy experts say. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liubomyr Vorona | Istock | Getty Images The\u00a0average tax refund\u00a0is 11.3% higher so far this season, compared with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":43301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-investing","8":"cs-entry","9":"cs-video-wrap"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}