Early IRS data show that Americans’ tax refunds so far this year are smaller than they were last year, a phenomenon that was predicted by the agency and tax experts.
As of Feb. 3, the average refund amount stood at $1,963, or down about 10.8 percent from the year-ago period, when it was $2,201 on average, the IRS data show.
The agency’s data also show that more refunds have been given out. As of Feb. 3, 6.9 million direct deposit refunds have been reported, compared with 4.46 million for the same time period last year—a 38.7 percent increase year over year.
However, more tax returns have been processed so far in 2023. About 19 million have been processed as of Feb. 3, 2023, compared with the 13 million were processed for the year-ago period, representing a 29 percent increase year over year, according to the agency….