Every year Americans with taxable income file tax returns by submitting documents to the Internal Revenue Service to show how much money they’ve earned in a year and how much in taxes they’ve paid.
If you paid more throughout the year than you owe in taxes, you may get money back in the form of a tax return — and this year, the average return is up nearly 6% from 2024, IRS data shows.
The average return in 2025 is up by nearly $200 with an average refund amount of $3,324.
In 2024, the average refund was $3,145.
As of March 7, more than 620,000 more refunds have been issued for an increase of 1.5%, the data shows.
However, the number of total returns received this tax season is less so far than it was a year ago.
According to the IRS, by this time last year 62.7 million taxpayers filed returns whereas this year, 61.4 million taxpayers have filed.
The agency has also processed fewer returns as of March 7, 2025, when compared to March 8, 2024.
So far, the agency has processed 60.7 million returns in 2025 compared to 61.8 million in 2024.
Tax season kicked off Jan. 27 and will end April 15 — leaving filers less than a month to submit their returns unless they request an extension.
The IRS expects more than 140 million returns filed before the end of the season.
