IRS data released Friday shows that up to the middle of February, tax season was off to a slightly slower start than last year. Refund amounts, however, were down significantly, both overall and in terms of average refund.
![Feb 14 2019 tax returns received and processed](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dc25ffc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3559x2319+0+0/resize/844x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Ffd%2F8e%2Ff1c2ed1941988c9905f002fd86a1%2Fat-022319-taxseason-returns.png)
![Feb 14 2019 efiling returns](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7310136/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3559x2319+0+0/resize/844x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fa3%2F1c%2Fdceb98b44b71b32dbc8df25c1827%2Fat-022319-taxseason-efiling.png)
![Feb 14 2019 - running returns received](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/75e5d0c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3559x2319+0+0/resize/844x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fc4%2F5f%2Ffee8cbdc4ce1882ea40869ce9df3%2Fat-022319-taxseason-runningreturnstotal.png)
![Feb 14 2019 Refund totals](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/78aef4f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3559x2319+0+0/resize/844x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2F05%2F7a%2F34277c3a4a6ca947525ea5c9c931%2Fat-022319-taxseason-refundnumbers.png)
Needless to say, many taxpayers were unhappy to receive a much smaller refund than usual, or no refund at all, or, worse yet, to discover that they owned money. While the IRS had been warning anyone who would listen about the need to update their withholding in response to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for a year, it seems many didn't listen.
![Feb 14 2019 refund average](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4f681e0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3559x2319+0+0/resize/844x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2F5c%2F0f%2Fc8e2c5fa4c37a695ff4db54f7560%2Fat-022319-taxseason-refundaverage.png)
![Feb 14 2019 total refund amount issued](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/472bc97/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3559x2319+0+0/resize/844x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2F8d%2Fcb%2F9895dd854038942ef6e0a92de60f%2Fat-022319-taxseason-refundtotal.png)
![Feb 14 2019 - running average refund](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f5d5a85/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3559x2319+0+0/resize/844x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fa7%2Ff6%2F66123181454381b030adb3b05920%2Fat-022319-taxseason-runningavgrefund.png)