The first IRS tax refunds of 2025 are significantly bigger than in 2024: Find out the average amount
The IRS released its first report on 2025 tax season statistics. While fewer returns have been processed, the average refund is almost 40% bigger.
The official 2025 tax season in the United States kicked off on January 27 and the Internal Revenue Service expects to receive over 140 million tax filings. American taxpayers expecting a refund will be looking forward to getting theirs. Many plan on using it to pay bills, put into savings or some other practical purpose.
They shouldn’t have long to wait once they’ve submitted their paperwork. The IRS typically processes tax refunds within 21 days for electronically filed returns with direct deposit. And we now have a glimpse of the initial results of the 2025 tax filing season with the release of filing statistics after the first full week ending 31 January.
While fewer returns have been submitted and processed compared to the first week of the tax filing season last year, the average refund amount is almost 40% bigger. So how much are America taxpayers getting back from their 2024 tax returns?
You may also be interested in: The IRS’s special requirements for the Tax Credit that gives you up to $8,000
You can check the status of your three most recent tax years’ refunds with the #IRS “Where’s My Refund?” online tool. Visit: https://t.co/i2hXjfHpCb
— IRSnews (@IRSnews) February 11, 2025
Early bird tax filers getting plump tax refunds in 2025
According to data posted on the IRS website, while the agency has received and processed around 2 million fewer tax returns than in 2024, it has sent out some 600,000 more tax refunds this year. The average refund amount in 2025 so far is $1,928 compared to $1,395 the previous year after the first week of the tax season being underway, an increase of 38.2%.
The average refund sent to taxpayers via direct deposit was slightly higher than the overall average at $2,069. That amount is just over 34% more than the average $1,543 sent via the same method in the first week of the 2024 tax season.
Mind you though, these are initial numbers warns the IRS, so you shouldn’t read too much into them. “Large percentage changes in filing season numbers are usually seen at the beginning of each tax season,” says the tax agency. “Historically, these numbers even out in future weeks as more tax returns come in.”
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