Americans see bigger tax refunds so far this year as filing season begins at a slower pace

Americans are receiving larger tax refunds on average in the 2026 filing season than last year, though taxpayers are filing at a slower pace in the first few weeks than they were a year ago. The latest IRS tax filing data was released by the agency on Friday and showed that as of Feb. 6, the average tax refund amount paid to taxpayers was $2,290. That represents an increase of 10.9% when compared with the average size of refunds paid at the same stage of the 2025 tax filing season, when the average refu ...