Tax refunds are larger this year. Why that’s not good news for taxpayers.

An early read on the 2026 filing season shows the average tax refund is $3,742, up more than 10% from last year. Changes to tax policy are the biggest culprit. “A major reason many refunds are higher this year is the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) combined with withholding tables that weren’t updated during most of the year,” said Alyssa Whatley, co-founder and Chief Tax Counsel at EasAly AI, a tax relief company, via email. Tax provisions in the OBBBA include an increased standard deduction for fil ...