By Dallas Gagnon
masslive.com
(TNS)
Tax filing season 2026 is fully underway and new Internal Revenue Service data is showing some surprising early filing trends.
So far, compared to the 2025 tax filing season, filers are seeing more money back in refunds despite overall lower filing counts.
As of the week ending Feb. 13, 2026, the IRS reports the average tax refund stands at $2,476—an increase of 14.2% from early 2025.
However, the number of total refunds issued is down 5.1%.
The IRS notes that current data does not include tax return stats from millions of filers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit.
“This means the refund numbers expected to be released Feb. 27, for refunds processed through Feb. 20, are expected to be higher,” the IRS said.
Refunds issued through direct deposit, the most common method, averaged $2,548—up 13.1% year over year, IRS figures show.
But despite the jump in refund amounts, overall filing activity is slightly lagging.
The IRS says it has received about 2.6% fewer individual income tax returns compared with the same period last year.
The number of returns processed is also down 3.1% year over year.
Through mid-February, the IRS had issued approximately 12.96 million refunds, compared with 13.66 million issued by the same point in the 2025 filing season.
Why are refunds bigger?
The increase is tied to a slew of recent policy changes.
During a Dec. 11 briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Americans should expect an additional $1,000 in their tax refunds.
“Americans can expect another boost in their bank accounts in the months ahead,” she said, adding 2026 refunds are “projected to be the largest ever,” citing President Donald Trump’s winning passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” on July 4, 2025.
Contributing policy changes include a larger child tax credit, increased standard deductions and no tax on tips or overtime.
According to Leavitt, projected refunds are expected to grow by $91 billion with an additional $30 billion in tax relief from reduced tax withholdings in 2026, citing an analysis by Piper Sandler.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered similar sentiments in early December, telling reporters that working Americans could expect “very large refunds,” ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 per household, a claim new IRS data has supported thus far.
Filing season is still early
IRS officials caution that filing season trends often fluctuate early in the year.
Weekly filing totals may rise sharply as more taxpayers submit returns closer to the April 15 deadline.
The IRS releases updated filing season statistics each week, tracking the number of returns received, processed and refunded, along with changes in average refund amounts.
Photo credit: mphillips007/iStock
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©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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