The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released its first statistical report for the 2026 tax season, revealing that the average refund issued through February 6 was $2,290. This figure represents a 10.9% increase compared to the $2,065 recorded during the same period in 2025. The data covers approximately 14% of the total returns expected to be processed throughout the tax year.
The IRS report indicates that 7,403,000 refunds have been issued to date, an 8.1% decrease compared to the 8,054,000 issued last year. However, the total amount returned to taxpayers has reached $16.954 billion, slightly exceeding the $16.635 billion projected. This combination of fewer refunds but a higher total amount explains the increase in the average.
Your Tax Refund Might Be Hundreds of Dollars Higher This Year
Direct deposits make up the majority of refunds, with 6,854,000 transactions averaging $2,388 each, up 10.3% from 2025. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the increase had reached 22% early in the season, though that figure doesn’t exactly match the weekly cutoffs published by the IRS.
Analysts attribute the growth in refunds to provisions of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed in July 2025. The OBBBA introduced substantial changes to the tax code, retroactive to January 1, 2025.
However, the IRS did not update the tax withholding tables after the law’s passage, resulting in workers having more than necessary deductions from their paychecks for much of last year. Current refunds largely reflect the return of those overpayments.
Data From the IRS Show What Taxpayers Are Doing
The IRS has received 22,591,000 individual tax returns as of February 6, down 5.2% from the 23,821,000 filed by the same point in 2015. Of those, 20,965,000 were filed electronically, representing 92.8% of the total. The agency expects the pace of filings to accelerate in the coming weeks as taxpayers gather the necessary documentation.
The current data does not yet include the bulk of returns claiming refundable credits, which typically result in larger refunds. This suggests that the average of $2,290 could increase once those returns are included in the overall tax season tally. In 2025, the final average refund was $3,138, according to the IRS’s complete statistics.
What Experts Say About These Tax Changes
Garrett Watson, senior analyst at the Tax Foundation, noted that “there is a lot of variation among taxpayers” regarding the actual impact of the legislative changes.
The OBBBA included an increase in the standard deduction, which for 2025 was set at $15,750 for single filers and $31,500 for married couples filing jointly. It also raised the limit on the state and local income tax deduction (SALT) from $10,000 to $40,000.
The law introduced two new specific deductions: up to $25,000 in tip income is deductible, and up to $12,500 in overtime pay also qualifies. These provisions particularly benefit workers in sectors such as hospitality, restaurants, and certain branches of healthcare where tips and overtime are common components of compensation.
Tax Refund Season 2026: High Repayments Is Good for America
Financial advisors point out that a large refund implies overpayment during the previous year. Michael Ryan, a Chicago-based financial planner, told Newsweek that “a $3,000 refund means you paid $250 more each month for the entire year. That’s an interest-free loan you made to the government.” This perspective views overwithholding as a practice that deprives taxpayers of monthly cash they could have used or invested during 2025.
Drew Powers, founder of Powers Financial Group, added in statements reported by specialized media outlets that the current situation is a “classic case of overpayment” resulting from the lag between legislative approval and the updating of withholding mechanisms.
Powers noted that taxpayers who voluntarily adjusted their withholdings after the OBBBA’s passage will experience a smaller increase in their refunds.
Direct deposit is still the IRS’s preferred method for delivering refunds, with an average processing time of 21 days for error-free electronic returns. Paper returns take significantly longer, sometimes up to six weeks or more during peak seasons.
