- Average 2026 tax refunds rose by 11.1% to $3,521 compared to the same period in 2025.
- The IRS has issued over 62 million refunds totaling $221.697 billion as of late March.
- Tax law changes like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased standard deductions and child credits.
(UNITED STATES) — IRS data showed the average 2026 tax refund climbed to $3,521 for the week ending March 27, an 11.1% increase, or $351, from $3,170 at the same point in 2025 as Americans moved toward the filing deadline.
The agency had issued 62,957,000 refunds by March 27, up 2.2% from a year earlier, with the total amount refunded reaching $221.697 billion, a 13.6% increase. Those figures compare with 61.58 million refunds worth $195.2 billion at the same point in 2025.
Direct deposit refunds also rose. Taxpayers received 63,488,000 direct deposit refunds averaging $3,512 each, with the total through March 27 reaching $223 billion.
The filing season began January 26 and runs through April 15, 2026, which is Tax Day. Activity has been heavy, with visits to IRS.gov up 57% to 408 million.
Early-season figures can shift as more returns arrive and more credits clear. The figures through March 27 exclude EITC and ACTC refunds that were held until mid-February under the PATH Act.
The March 27 numbers extended a trend seen earlier in the season. Average refunds had reached $3,324 through March 6, up 10.6% from the same period a year earlier, and then rose to $3,571 through March 20 in some reports, up 10.9%.
Compared with earlier years, the latest IRS data points to a sharper rise in refunds this season. The average refund for the full 2025 season was $3,800, while the full-year average stood at $3,052 in 2024 and $3,004 in 2023.
The direct deposit figures showed a similar pattern. Refunds sent by direct deposit averaged $3,236 a year earlier, compared with $3,512 in 2026, and the number issued stood at 63.49 million.
Several tax changes enacted in 2025 helped drive the increases. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made 2017 TCJA provisions permanent and expanded benefits for taxpayers.
Under those changes, the standard deduction for single filers increased from $15,000 to $15,750. Heads of household saw the deduction rise from $22,500 to $23,625, while joint filers saw it move from $30,000 to $31,500.
The Child Tax Credit also increased, with the maximum rising from $2,000 to $2,200 per child. Those changes fed into expectations for larger refunds and lower withholding.
Projected effects from the law were broad. The changes were expected to produce an additional $91 billion in refunds and $30 billion in reduced withholdings, averaging over $1,000 more per taxpayer, although current averages remain below that level.
The White House had expected an average rise of more than $1,000. Through March 27, that threshold had not yet been reached in the IRS data.
A Piper Sandler study using Joint Committee on Taxation data forecast $191 billion in net tax relief. That estimate added another outside measure pointing to a larger 2026 refund season.
The data shows the increase in average refunds outpacing the increase in the number of refunds issued. Refund volume rose 2.2%, while the total dollars refunded increased 13.6%, indicating that more taxpayers were receiving larger payments.
That gap also appears in the year-over-year change in the average tax refund. The rise from $3,170 to $3,521 marked a jump that was much larger than the growth in refund counts alone.
Direct deposit remained the dominant delivery method for refunds through the period. The 63,488,000 direct deposit refunds exceeded the total number of refunds issued, while the average payment by that method was close to the overall average.
That direct deposit average of $3,512 came within $9 of the overall average refund. The close alignment suggests electronic payments tracked the broader refund pattern closely as the season progressed.
The refund totals through March 27 also put the 2026 filing season ahead of the same stage last year in raw dollars. The $221.697 billion refunded by then stood well above the $195.2 billion seen by March 28, 2025.
For taxpayers watching IRS data in the final stretch before Tax Day, the March 27 snapshot offered one of the clearest looks yet at how this season was unfolding. Average refunds were higher, total dollars were higher, and direct deposit payments were also larger.
The progression through the season showed that changes were not confined to a single week. The average refund moved from $3,324 through March 6 to $3,571 through March 20 in some reports, before standing at $3,521 for the week ending March 27.
Those week-by-week movements can reflect the mix of returns processed at different points in the filing season. Returns that include credits released after mid-February can affect later averages because the PATH Act delays some refunds tied to EITC and ACTC claims.
Traffic to the IRS website reflected the pace of filing activity. The 408 million visits to IRS.gov, up 57%, showed sustained public attention as households checked filing rules, refund status and deadlines.
The comparison with prior years also offered a broader view of the tax refund trend. While the full 2025 season average of $3,800 remains above the March 27, 2026 level, the current season has already moved well ahead of the full-year averages posted in 2024 and 2023.
That leaves the final weeks of the season in focus as taxpayers continue to file before April 15, 2026. With 62.96 million refunds already issued and $221.7 billion already returned, the 2026 season has produced larger refunds than a year earlier as the deadline approaches.
