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The average tax refund is 10.9% higher so far this season, compared to about the same point in 2025, according to early filing data from the IRS.
The 2026 tax season opened Jan. 26, and the average refund amount was $2,290 as of Feb. 6, up from $2,065 about one year prior, the IRS reported Friday night.
As of Feb. 6, the total amount refunded was more than $16.9 billion, up 1.9% compared to last year, according to the IRS release. That figure reflects current-year returns only.
Earlier on Friday, Treasury Secretary and acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that refunds were up 22%. But it was unclear how many days of returns Bessent’s figure reflected or what comparison period he used.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The IRS release said “average refund amounts are strong,” and the figure will increase in the Feb. 27 release once the agency starts issuing refunds that include earned income tax credit or additional child tax credit.
“Early data [for refunds] can be deceiving,” Andrew Lautz, director of tax policy for the Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonprofit think tank, wrote in a tax season guide on Jan. 22.
Typically, filers receive a refund when they overpay taxes throughout the year via paycheck withholdings or estimated payments. Alternatively, filers owe a balance when they don’t pay enough.
In recent years, IRS data has reflected a smaller refund during the beginning of the tax season, but those payments have “risen sharply” in mid-February, Lautz wrote.
After the February peak, the average refund has “declined slightly” through the April 15 deadline, he wrote.
In 2025, the average refund for individual filers was $3,052 through Oct. 17, according to the IRS.
Filers could see bigger tax refunds
For the 2026 filing season, the size of tax refunds has been a key political topic with the midterm elections approaching.
The legislation added new tax breaks for 2025, and the IRS did not adjust paycheck withholdings, which could result in refunds for many workers.
However, there could be “a lot of variation between taxpayers,” Garrett Watson, director of policy analysis at the Tax Foundation, previously told CNBC.
Ultimately, the size of your refund, or balance due, depends on which new tax breaks apply to your situation and how much you paid throughout the year, experts say.
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