Common IRS tax refund is up 10.9% to this point this season, early submitting knowledge exhibits – Imperial Wire

The common tax refund is 10.9% increased to this point this season, in comparison with about the identical level in 2025, in line with early submitting knowledge from the IRS. 

The 2026 tax season opened Jan. 26, and the typical refund quantity was $2,290 as of Feb. 6, up from $2,065 about one yr prior, the IRS reported Friday night time.

As of Feb. 6, the overall quantity refunded was greater than $16.9 billion, up 1.9% in comparison with final yr, in line 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%. Nevertheless 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 enhance within the Feb. 27 launch as soon as the company begins issuing refunds that embrace earned revenue tax credit score or extra baby 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. 

Usually, filers obtain a refund after they overpay taxes all year long by way of paycheck withholdings or estimated funds. Alternatively, filers owe a steadiness after they do not pay sufficient.

Lately, IRS knowledge has mirrored a smaller refund in the course of the starting of the tax season, however these funds have “risen sharply” in mid-February, Lautz wrote.

After the February peak, the typical 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 line with the IRS.

For the 2026 submitting season, the scale 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 by way of his “massive lovely invoice.”

The laws added new tax breaks for 2025, and the IRS didn’t regulate paycheck withholdings, which might lead to refunds for a lot of employees.

Nevertheless, there may very well be “a number of variation between taxpayers,” Garrett Watson, director of coverage evaluation on the Tax Basis, beforehand instructed CNBC.

Finally, the scale of your refund, or steadiness due, is dependent upon which new tax breaks apply to your scenario and the way a lot you paid all year long, consultants say.