According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the average federal income tax refund issued to taxpayers for the 2016 calendar year was a whopping $2,860. Here’s how the numbers break down: In 2016, the IRS issued 111,069,000 individual income tax refunds. Those refunds totaled $317.615 billion, which works out to $2,860.
If you’re curious as to how those numbers work out on average by state, the folks at Couponbox have prepared a nifty graphic.
The largest refunds went to taxpayers in Texas and Washington, D.C. The smallest refunds went to taxpayers in Maine and Vermont.
How do those numbers compare to this year? As of the last week in February, the IRS had issued 41,427,000 refunds (down from 46,533,000 refunds at this time last year). The total refunds issued to date in 2017 is $127.227 billion for an average tax refund this season of $3,071. That number will probably dip somewhat since taxpayers who are expecting big checks tend to file earlier in the season.
You should also remember that 2017 is a little different from prior years. Refunds are being issued a little more slowly due to a change in the law. That means that refunds for taxpayers who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) weren’t issued until February 15 at the earliest – some of those weren’t available to taxpayers until the week of February 27. If you haven’t yet received your tax refund and you’re looking for a guess as to when your refund might be available, click here.
