Overview
- Treasury and IRS data show the average federal refund is just over $3,700—about 10% higher than last year—with roughly 63.5 million returns processed, or about 45% of expected filings.
- More than 27.5 million filers have claimed at least one new provision via Schedule 1‑A, including about 15.5 million taking the overtime break, over 3.5 million the tips deduction, more than 9.2 million the enhanced senior deduction, and roughly 690,000 car‑loan interest relief claims.
- Officials attribute the larger payouts to tax changes enacted in 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and to the release of previously held Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit refunds after mid‑February, with many direct‑deposit payments arriving by March 2.
- The IRS is phasing out paper checks and sending CP53E letters when direct‑deposit details are missing or rejected, giving taxpayers 30 days to update banking information before a paper check is issued weeks later.
- State refund timelines are uneven: Idaho now estimates 7–8 weeks for e‑filers who submit on or after March 10 (10–11 weeks for paper), Oregon says paper returns will start seeing refunds in April, South Carolina warns of up to 8 weeks for e‑filers, and Washington, D.C., reports delays as it declines to adopt several federal changes.