The average amount increased from $2,169 last year to $2,476 as of Feb. 13, 2026, the agency says, with more returns expected to increase the final figure.
The average tax refund for American taxpayers has increased on a year-over-year basis, the IRS said in a Feb. 20 update.
The average refund amount increased 14.2 percent in 2026 to $2,476 as of Feb. 13, according to the agency. Last year, the average refund for the same time period was $2,169. Meanwhile, the average direct deposit refund amount for taxpayers is up 13.1 percent year over year, from $2,252 in 2025 to $2,548 in 2026.
The IRS added that the total number of tax returns that the agency has received and processed is down slightly year over year.
About 32,175,000 tax returns have been filed as of Feb. 13, a 2.6 percent decrease year over year. For the same time period last year, 33,040,000 tax returns were filed, the agency said.
The total number of returns processed by the IRS paints a similar picture. Some 31,795,000 tax returns have been processed as of Feb. 13, a year-over-year decline of 3.1 percent.
“Average refund amounts are strong,” the IRS said in its update, adding that the agency is required by federal law to hold refunds until Feb. 15 for returns that claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).
“It’s important to note this week’s refund numbers do not include millions of EITC and ACTC refunds to these taxpayers. This means the refund numbers expected to be released Feb. 27, for refunds processed through Feb. 20, are expected to be higher.”
Also, since some taxpayers were “still waiting for important tax documents at the end of January, the IRS expects the tax return filing numbers generally will catch up in the following weeks,” the agency said.
The final average refund amount last year was $3,167, IRS figures show.
The data release comes as President Donald Trump and administration officials have been touting their tax plan under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that was passed in Congress and signed by Trump into law last year.
