e-filing

IRS Processing Up; Payouts Down

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Figures for 2024 topped those of 2023 until it came to refunds.

By Beth Bellor

As the 2025 busy season kicks off and we wait for the first individual income tax return reports to trickle in, let’s take a peek at how the last drips of 2024 compared to the dregs of 2023.

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By the end of 2024, the Internal Revenue Service had received 163.5 million returns, up 0.9 percent from the end of 2023. It had processed 163.5 million returns, up 0.3 percent, which included returns received in the prior or current year and processed in the calendar year.
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Tax Refund Numbers Down, Amounts Up

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Tax pros handled 54% of e-filings.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

More than 100,000 individual income tax returns have flowed in and out of the Internal Revenue Service, and for the most part, we’re slightly ahead of the 2023 season.

MORE: Tax Pros Own 53% of E-filings | Tax Stats Still Playing Catchup | Tax Pros Take the Edge in E-Filings | Tax Pros Gain Ground, and DIYers Maintain Lead | Tax Pros Handle 46.4% of E-filing | Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up | Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings | Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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With 10 days before deadline – as of April 5, the latest data available – the IRS received 101.9 million returns, up 0.5 percent from the same period the previous tax season. It processed 100.1 million returns, down 0.3 percent.
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Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up

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* Total refunds issued represents returns received and processed in 2024 – the current year only. The number of direct deposit refunds represents returns received in the current and prior year but processed in 2024.

 

How long before more figures flip positive … or might they not?

By Beth Bellor

The 2024 filing season has been seven days shorter than 2023’s, but that’s making less difference as individual income tax returns keep dropping into the Internal Revenue Service inbox, just 3 percent off last year’s pace.

MORE: Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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The IRS had received 44.6 million such returns as of Feb. 23, the last week for which data has been released. It had processed 44.1 million returns, down 3.6 percent.
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Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings

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* Total refunds issued represent returns received and processed in 2024 – the current year only. The number of direct deposit refunds represents returns received in the current and prior year but processed in 2024.

Also: The IRS realizes a footnote is in order and we are shocked.

By Beth Bellor

Average tax refunds are on the rise, so the weekly filing data has one uptick besides the amount of traffic to the IRS website – an increase that perhaps isn’t a positive.

MORE: Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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The Internal Revenue Service had received 34.7 million returns, down 5.7 percent from the same period one year ago, as of the week ending Feb. 16, the latest data available. Lower numbers are no surprise, of course, because there had been only 19 days in the 2024 filing season, which opened Jan. 29, compared to the 26 days there had been in the 2023 season, which opened Jan. 23.
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Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings

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Paper still used by 2.2 percent of filers.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

Tax season moves slowly forward, and tax professionals slowly gain ground

MORE: Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns | If Only the IRS’s Tax Pro Were Useful | The Nightmare of Non-credentialed Tax Preparers | Must the IRS Be a Dark Hole? | IRS Plays Whac-A-Mole with the Phones | Tax Pros Are Expanding and Earning More
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As of the week ending Feb. 9 – the latest for which data are available – the IRS had received 25.6 million individual income tax returns, down 11.4 percent from the same period a year ago. It had processed 25.4 million returns, down 4.4 percent.

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