The top of a form for the 1040 individual income tax return for 2005, at the Des Plaines public library in Des Plaines, Ill., on March 23, 2006. Tim Boyle/Getty Images
The average tax refund for American taxpayers has increased on a year-over-year basis, the IRS said in a Feb. 20 update.
The average refund amount increased 14.2 percent in 2026 to $2,476 as of Feb. 13, according to the agency. Last year, the average refund for the same time period was $2,169. Meanwhile, the average direct deposit refund amount for taxpayers is up 13.1 percent year over year, from $2,252 in 2025 to $2,548 in 2026.
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