We’re almost halfway through the tax season.
I know it doesn’t feel like that in February, but it’s true. Tax season opened on Jan. 23, 2023, and will run until Apr. 18, 2023. That’s a total of 86 days. I’m writing this on Feb. 27, 2023—the 36th day of tax season. That’s just nearly 42% of the tax season already gone—this day next week will mark the official halfway point.
So what do we know about tax season so far? IRS numbers continue to indicate that taxpayers are getting their returns in and processed more quickly than they did last year. The most recent data available compares the filing weeks ending Feb. 18, 2022, and Feb. 17, 2023, and continues to show an uptick in filing numbers.
The IRS received 36,859,000 individual income tax returns in 2023, compared with 35,922,000 in 2022. That’s a boost of 2.6%, a slowdown as compared to the 9.9% reported last week, but still a positive rate.
Tax returns received/processed 2/27/23
The IRS is also processing individual income tax returns more quickly—likely a nod to finally working through the existing backlog. The data shows that the IRS processed 36,769,000 individual income tax returns in 2023, compared to 33,464,000 in the same period in 2022. That’s an improvement of 9.9% over the same period last year.
Most tax returns—98%—received to date in 2023 were filed electronically.
Tax returns received 2/17/2023
Notably, web visits to IRS.gov remain down—14.3% less than the same period in 2022. It’s difficult to say why that might be, but is likely linked to a higher volume last year due to a combination of complicated rules governing the expanded child tax credits and taxpayers checking on Recovery Rebate Credits on 2021 tax returns filed in 2022. With neither of those things in place this tax season (there is a child tax credit, but it’s back to the “normal” rules), there may be less confusion and urgency.
Web usage irs.gov 2/27/2023
And what about tax refunds? The IRS issued 27,781,000 tax refunds in 2023 compared to 22,065,000, an increase of 25.9%. The number of refunds issued has consistently been higher than in 2022, and the overall tax refund dollars have also grown, hitting $87.245 billion. But, as was expected this year, since the enhanced child tax credit wasn’t renewed—and we’re back to the previous version—the average tax refund is down: $3,140 per taxpayer compared to $3,536 in 2022, a decrease of 11.2%. The average direct deposit tax refunds are also down: $3,241 per taxpayer compared to $3,590 in 2022, a dip of 9.7%.
Refunds issues 2/27/2023
The two-week period following Presidents Day is historically a peak period for IRS phone lines. It also generally marks a switch in refunds—the IRS begins issuing refunds to taxpayers who claim the earned-income tax credit (EITC) and the additional child tax credit (ACTC) after Feb. 15, 2023. We’ll continue to track the numbers at Forbes as tax season rolls on.