The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax refunds so far in 2026 are higher than in any recent tax season. Taxpayers who have already filed their returns are receiving larger checks, and federal government data confirms this week after week. Behind that figure is a more complex story than a simple win for workers’ wallets.
At the close of the week ending February 27, the average refund for individual filers stood at $3,742. A year earlier, during the same period, that figure was $3,382. The jump represents a 10.6% increase in just twelve months.
But that’s not all. The previous week, ending February 20, the average reached $3,804, its highest point so far this season, 10.2% above the $3,453 recorded during the same period in 2015. For those who chose direct deposit, the number was even more favorable: $3,809.
IRS Has Already Sent $109 Billion in Refunds This Season
In aggregate terms, the IRS had already issued $109 billion in refunds as of February 20, a 6.9% increase compared to the same point last year. This means more money is going back to more households, even though the total number of returns received fell 1.9% compared to 2025. Currently, 68.6% of returns filed have resulted in a refund.
The main reason behind the jump has a legislative name: the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the tax reform championed by President Donald Trump and enacted in 2025. That law introduced a series of new deductions that are being applied for the first time this tax season.
Tips and overtime pay are tax-free, there’s a deduction for interest on loans for cars manufactured in the United States, and the tax benefit for senior citizens was expanded. In addition, the standard deduction increased, and the child tax credit became more generous.
The New IRS Form That Is Adding Hundreds of Dollars to Your Refund
The numbers already show the concrete effect of those changes. As of March 4, 43% of tax returns filed included the new Schedule 1-A, the form associated with Trump’s new deductions. “The refunds for those filers were $775 higher than the typical refund last year,” Frank Bisignano, commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and executive director of the IRS, told the House Ways and Means Committee.
The spike recorded around February 20th also has a technical explanation that experts mention every year. Federal law requires the IRS to withhold refunds associated with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until mid-February.
How to Find Your Tax Refund in Easy Steps
With the April 15 filing deadline still to come, approximately 51.5 million individual tax returns have been submitted to the IRS out of a total of roughly 164 million expected. The bulk of the process is still underway, and this season’s final figures will determine whether 2026 lives up to the promises the government made to American taxpayers.
With the tax filing process underway, taxpayers can track the status of their refund in real time through the IRS’s official tool, “Where’s My Refund,” available on the irs.gov website. The tool is updated once a day, usually overnight, and shows whether the return has been received, is being processed, or has already been sent.
To access it, you’ll need three pieces of information:
- Your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN),
- your filing status,
- and the exact amount of your expected refund.
The IRS recommends waiting at least 24 hours after filing electronically before checking the tool, or four weeks if the return was mailed. A mobile version is also available through the IRS2Go app, which is free for iOS and Android.
