IRS Has Issued $201B in Tax Refunds, With 2024's Filing Season Ending Today. What to Know
With today's federal income tax deadline, the IRS continues to surpass numbers from 2023.
The IRS has issued more than $201.17 billion in tax refunds so far this tax season.
The 2024 tax season has been going since the end of January, and for many tax payers, the 2024 filing season officially wraps up today (unless you've filed an extension or been given more time to file from the IRS due to local natural disasters). The amount of tax refund money the IRS has sent out continues to pick up, even though the total number of refunds sent so far in 2024 is continuing to lag slightly behind the numbers for the same period in 2023. (Here's how to see the status of your tax refund.)
Taxpayers can normally expect to receive a refund within 21 days if they file electronically and choose direct deposit, the IRS said. But by April 5, the IRS had issued more than 66.7 million refunds. By comparison, the IRS had sent out over 69 million refunds by April 7, 2023.
Tax season last year started six days earlier, however, on Jan. 23, so the IRS had nearly a week longer to receive and process tax returns and send refunds. Given that, it seems that the agency is beginning to catch, and even surpass, last year's numbers.
Here's how the IRS is doing this year. For more on taxes, check out our essential 2024 tax filing cheat sheet, how to track your refund with the IRS and the best tax software for 2024.
How many tax returns has the IRS processed so far in 2024?
As of April 5, the IRS said it had processed 100.1 million federal income tax returns, down by 0.3% from the 100.3 million it got through this time last year. With tax season starting earlier in 2023 -- Jan. 23 versus Jan. 29 -- filers had six more days last year to send in their tax returns.
The IRS had also received 101.8 million returns by April 5, up by 0.5% from the 101.3 million it received by April 7, 2023.
Of the 101.8 million returns received so far, just over 98.4 million of those were filed electronically, the IRS said -- 53.1 million from professional tax preparers and another 45.2 million from self-preparers.
How many tax refunds has the IRS issued so far?
The IRS has issued more than 66.7 million refunds as of April 5, down by 3.3% from the 69 million it had sent out by April 7, 2023.
In the first 10 weeks of this tax year, the IRS refunded over $200.1 billion -- up by 1.1% from the $198.9 billion sent out by April 7 last year. Once again, the 2023 tax season began six days earlier.
How do 2024's tax refunds stack up to 2023's so far?
The average refund size is up by 4.6%, from $2,878 for 2023's tax season through April 7, to $3,011 for this season through April 5.
While the average refund size is up so far compared to the same time last year, the IRS told CNET that making year-to-date comparisons can be tricky because of how much earlier it started last year. The agency did say the 2024 tax season is off to a strong start, with all systems running well.
Of those who received refunds, 63.4 million chose direct deposit, and their refund was $3,088. By comparison, for the same time period last year, 66.3 million direct depositors had already received their return, which averaged $2,942.
For more, here are the dates you need to know to get you through this tax season. For more on taxes, here's how to set up an account on the IRS website and what to know about this year's child tax credit.