Average Tax Refund Around 11 Percent Higher Than a Year Ago: IRS Data

New data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) show that the average tax refunds in the 2026 filing season have risen about 11 percent as the filing deadline soon approaches.

The IRS said that as of March 20, the latest data available, the average refund increased 10.9 percent from $3,221 from the same time period last year to $3,571 so far during the 2026 filing season, according to an update published on the agency website on March 27.

The total amount that the IRS said was refunded to taxpayers was more than $202 billion, according to the agency, which represented a 12.9 percent increase from the $179 billion that was refunded during the same time period last year.

So far, the total number of tax refunds issued to Americans was up 1.8 percent from the same time last year, totaling around 56.7 million. Meanwhile, the total number of returns received by the IRS as of March 20 stood at 78.9 million, or a decrease of 0.9 percent from 2025, and the total number of returns that the IRS processed was down 1.1 percent, or 77.8 million.

Data released by the IRS last week had shown that as of March 13, the average refund for individual filers for 2026 was $3,623, up from $3,271 from 2025. That represented a 10.8 percent increase at the time.

The White House has noted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law last year made significant changes to federal tax laws, saying it would produce higher average refunds for Americans.

The law made permanent the lower individual and business income tax rates in President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that were due to expire at the end of 2025. It also extended the standard deduction in that law and extends and expands the alternative minimum tax exemption and raises the estate tax exemption from $14 million to $15 million.

It also exempts taxes on up to $25,000 in tipped income until 2029. The tax break phases out for people who earn more than $150,000 and does not apply to all tips.

A new tax deduction of up to $6,000 was established under the law for people age 65 and older until the year 2029. It also expanded the deduction for state and local tax payments from $10,000 to $40,000 until 2029.

A tax break for up to $10,000 in interest payments on auto loans until 2029 also went into effect under the law. This only applies to personal vehicles assembled in the United States.

The filing update comes as the IRS in 2026 indicated it would phase out sending paper refund checks, instead opting to deliver them electronically. The move was necessary, the agency has said, in a bid to modernize the tax revenue agency.

“This transition away from paper refunds affects only a small portion of the taxpaying public, because the vast majority of taxpayers already receive their refunds electronically,” IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano said in prepared testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month. The IRS sent back around 90 percent of refunds electronically in 2025, he said.

The 2026 tax season, which started on Jan. 26, is scheduled to end on April 15.

Reuters contributed to this report.