IRS Processing Returns as Fast as It Gets Them

data tableRefund numbers up 20+ percent, but average amounts still down.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

Has the Internal Revenue Service been bingeing NASCAR videos? The agency put the pedal to the metal in processing individual income tax returns, with an incredible current rate of 99.8 percent.

MORE: Only 39% of Tax Returns Filed by Pros | Tax Season Opens with Refunds Up 85%
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As of Feb. 17, the latest data available, the IRS had received 36.9 million individual income tax returns, up 2.6 percent from the same period in 2022, and processed 36.8 million of them, up 9.9 percent.

E-filings

Electronic filings at the end of the third week of the season totaled 36.1 million, up 3.3 percent. Tax professionals filed 15.4 million, up 8.2 percent, and DIYers submitted 20.7 million, down 0.1 percent.

The pros hold 42.7 percent of the market, steadily gaining from 34.6 percent the first week and 39.2 percent the next.

Website Visits

Visits to IRS.gov at 212.8 million were down 14.3 percent.

Refunds

Refunds numbered 27.8 million, up 25.9 percent, in the total amount of $87.3 billion, up 11.8 percent. The average refund of $3,140 was down 11.2 percent.

Direct deposit refunds numbered 26.3 million, up 20.7 percent, in the total amount of $85.3 bilion, up 9 percent. The average direct deposit refund of $3,241 was down 9.7 percent.