By Dallas Gagnon
masslive.com
(TNS)
If you’re still waiting on your tax refund, new data from the Internal Revenue Service suggests it could be worth the wait.
The average tax refund stands at $3,623 for the week ending March 13—up 10.8% from $3,271 at the same point last year, according to IRS filing season statistics.
That’s roughly $352 more per filer than a year ago.
The trend has held consistently throughout the 2026 filing season, with refunds running higher than last year week after week.
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Filers who chose direct deposit—the most common refund method—are seeing similarly strong returns.
The average direct deposit refund this filing season is $3,613, up 8.5% from last year, with the total amount refunded via direct deposit up 14.4% year over year.
The IRS has issued approximately 50.4 million refunds so far this season, with a total of $182.6 billion sent back to taxpayers—up from $163 billion at the same point in 2025.
Why are refunds bigger?
The increase is tied to a series of recent policy changes taking effect for the 2025 tax year, including a larger child tax credit, increased standard deductions and new deductions for tips and overtime pay.
Ahead of this filing season, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt projected refunds would be “the largest ever,” citing the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill on July 4, 2025.
During a Dec. 11 briefing, Leavitt told reporters that Americans should expect an additional $1,000 in their tax refunds.
So far, the data has fallen short of those projections, with the average refund increase coming in at $352 at this point in the tax season.
Filing season at a glance
The IRS has received approximately 69.7 million returns as of March 13—roughly on par with last year’s 70.4 million at the same point, a difference of less than 1%.
With the April 15 federal filing deadline three weeks away, filing volume—and refund totals—are expected to climb in the weeks ahead.
Photo credit: duckycards/iStock
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©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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