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New data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) shows that the average tax refund received by American taxpayers in the 2024 tax filing season so far is higher than those disbursed a year ago.
IRS data through Feb. 28, 2025, show that the average tax refund amount for tax returns filed through that date was $3,382. That’s about 6.3% higher than the average refund of $3,182 through Mar. 1, 2024.
The data also showed that the total number of refunds and amount refunded to taxpayers thus far is outpacing last year.
Through Feb. 28, the total number of refunds issued is up 1.7% from last year to a little more than 36.9 million issued to date in the 2024 tax filing season. The total amount refunded has seen a larger increase so far, with $124.8 billion refunded – up 8.1% from last year.
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported that average tax refunds are higher than a year ago through the first month of the filing season. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The vast majority of taxpayers receive their refunds through direct deposit – of the 36.9 million refunds issued, over 36.1 million, or roughly 98%, were paid via direct deposit.
The total number of direct deposit refunds is also up 2.2% from a year ago, while the total amount refunded has increased by nearly $10 billion, or 8.2%, to $124 billion through Feb. 28.
Average tax refunds issued through direct deposit have also increased in size from a year ago, rising from $3,244 at this stage of the filing season last year to $3,436 this year – an increase of 5.9%.
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The IRS issues tax refunds when taxpayers pay more than they owe over the course of the year. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The IRS issues refunds to taxpayers who have paid more in taxes than they owe.
Refunds can be issued by direct deposit into a checking, saving, or retirement account – including by being divvied up into as many as three different accounts.
The IRS may also mail paper checks to taxpayers, while other options include prepaid debit cards, some mobile payment apps, or deposit into an individual retirement account (IRA).
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The IRS may mail tax refund checks to taxpayers who decline to use direct deposit. (iStock / iStock)
Taxpayers who expected direct deposit refunds but received a paper check may have gotten the paper check because the direct deposit account isn’t under their name, their spouse’s name or a joint account; because the financial institution rejected a direct deposit; or more than three electronic refunds were requested for one account.
Taxpayers can check on the status of their tax refund by using the IRS’ “Where’s My Refund” tool to see the status of their refund. Information appears about 24 hours after a taxpayer submits a current year return, or 4 weeks after they file a paper return. For prior year returns, it takes about 3 or 4 days to appear in the system.
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The IRS updates the Where’s My Refund tool once a day overnight and is generally unavailable each morning between 4 and 5 a.m. Eastern while the updates are processed.
To use the Where’s My Refund tool, taxpayers need their Social Security or individual taxpayer ID number, their filing status, and the exact refund amount on their return.
