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The common tax refund is 10.9% increased thus far this season, in comparison with about the identical level in 2025, in keeping with early submitting knowledge from the IRS.
The 2026 tax season opened Jan. 26, and the common refund quantity was $2,290 as of Feb. 6, up from $2,065 about one 12 months prior, the IRS reported Friday evening.
As of Feb. 6, the whole quantity refunded was greater than $16.9 billion, up 1.9% in comparison with final 12 months, in keeping with the IRS launch. That determine displays current-year returns solely.
Earlier on Friday, Treasury Secretary and performing IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent instructed CNBC’s “Squawk Field” that refunds have been up 22%. But it surely was unclear what number of days of returns Bessent’s determine mirrored or what comparability interval he used.
The Treasury Division didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The IRS launch mentioned “common refund quantities are robust,” and the determine will improve within the Feb. 27 launch as soon as the company begins issuing refunds that embrace earned earnings tax credit score or further youngster tax credit score.
“Early knowledge [for refunds] might be deceiving,” Andrew Lautz, director of tax coverage for the Bipartisan Coverage Heart, a nonprofit suppose tank, wrote in a tax season information on Jan. 22.
Sometimes, filers obtain a refund once they overpay taxes all year long through paycheck withholdings or estimated funds. Alternatively, filers owe a stability once they do not pay sufficient.
In recent times, IRS knowledge has mirrored a smaller refund through the starting of the tax season, however these funds have “risen sharply” in mid-February, Lautz wrote.
After the February peak, the common refund has “declined barely” by means of the April 15 deadline, he wrote.
In 2025, the common refund for particular person filers was $3,052 by means of Oct. 17, in keeping with the IRS.
Filers may see greater tax refunds
For the 2026 submitting season, the dimensions of tax refunds has been a key political subject with the midterm elections approaching.
President Donald Trump has promised that 2026 would be the “largest tax refund season of all time” primarily based on adjustments enacted through his “huge lovely invoice.”
The laws added new tax breaks for 2025, and the IRS didn’t alter paycheck withholdings, which may lead to refunds for a lot of staff.
Nonetheless, there might be “lots of variation between taxpayers,” Garrett Watson, director of coverage evaluation on the Tax Basis, beforehand instructed CNBC.
In the end, the dimensions of your refund, or stability due, depends upon which new tax breaks apply to your state of affairs and the way a lot you paid all year long, consultants say.
