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The common tax refund is 10.9% greater to this point this season, in comparison with about the identical level in 2025, in line with early submitting information 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 yr prior, the IRS reported Friday evening. That determine displays current-year returns solely.
Earlier on Friday, Treasury Secretary and appearing IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent advised CNBC’s “Squawk Field” that refunds had been up 22%. However it 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 stated “common refund quantities are robust,” and the determine will improve within the Feb. 27 launch as soon as the company begins issuing refunds that embody earned earnings tax credit score or extra little one tax credit score.
“Early information [for refunds] may be deceiving,” Andrew Lautz, director of tax coverage for the Bipartisan Coverage Heart, a nonprofit assume tank, wrote in a tax season information on Jan. 22.
Usually, filers obtain a refund after they overpay taxes all year long through paycheck withholdings or estimated funds. Alternatively, filers owe a steadiness after they do not pay sufficient.
In recent times, IRS information has mirrored a smaller refund throughout 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 way of the April 15 deadline, he wrote.
In 2025, the common refund for particular person filers was $3,052 by way of Oct. 17, in line with the IRS.
Filers might see larger tax refunds
For the 2026 submitting season, the scale of tax refunds has been a key political matter with the midterm elections approaching.
The laws added new tax breaks for 2025, and the IRS didn’t modify paycheck withholdings, which might end in refunds for a lot of staff.
Nevertheless, there could possibly be “numerous variation between taxpayers,” Garrett Watson, director of coverage evaluation on the Tax Basis, beforehand advised CNBC.
Finally, the scale of your refund, or steadiness due, will depend on which new tax breaks apply to your scenario and the way a lot you paid all year long, consultants say.
