Early IRS filing season data show taxpayers receiving larger refunds compared to the same point last year, according to the agency’s latest weekly statistics.
The average tax refund is 10.9 percent higher so far this season compared to the same point in 2025, according to early filing data from the IRS.
The percentage is attention-grabbing. The dollar figures show the scale.
As of Feb. 6, the average refund was $2,290, up from $2,065 a year earlier. The IRS also reported that more than $16.9 billion in refunds had already been issued, a 1.9 percent increase in total dollars compared to last year.
Those are processed returns and issued payments, not projections.
“Average refund amounts are strong,” the IRS said in its latest weekly filing report.
That is how the agency is characterizing the early data. The weekly report also shows that filing activity itself is tracking close to last year’s pace.
“The number of returns received so far this filing season is tracking close to the same pace as the prior year.”
That matters because it removes a common distortion in early-filing data. When return volume drops sharply, averages can spike artificially. That is not what the current numbers show. Comparable filing activity combined with higher average refunds suggests the shift is tied to refund size rather than a statistical quirk.