Overview
- The Treasury Department, which released Tax Day figures Wednesday, said the average refund is $3,462, up 11% from last year, with $241.7 billion paid out so far.
- More than 53 million filers used at least one new provision from last year’s law, including about 6 million claiming no tax on tips, about 21 million deducting overtime, and 30 million seniors taking the enhanced deduction.
- The larger checks reflect retroactive changes and 2025 paychecks that still used old withholding tables, which caused many workers to overpay during the year and receive bigger refunds at filing.
- The average gain of roughly $350 falls short of earlier White House projections of $1,000 to $2,000 for many taxpayers, and officials now emphasize a 24% increase versus the pre‑Trump four‑year average.
- IRS workforce cuts of roughly 27% and leadership turnover framed Wednesday’s Senate testimony by IRS CEO Frank Bisignano, as Democrats questioned the agency over an agreement to share taxpayer data with immigration authorities.