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Tax season

Tax season so far: Three weeks in

ByDaniel Hood
February 25, 2019 5:56 AM

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
As of midnight, Feb. 14, 2019, the IRS had received a little under 2 million fewer individual income tax returns than in the same period in 2018, a decrease of 4.8 percent. The number of returns processed was off by slightly more -- 6.6 percent.
Feb 14 2019 efiling returns
The vast majority of returns were, as usual, filed electronically, and here as well, the figures were not much off the same period last year: Total e-filings were down 3.8 percent, and those by tax professionals were down 8.5 percent (perhaps reflecting the increased complexity of returns being brought to them, due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) -- while self-prepared returns e-filed actually rose ever-so-slightly, by a tenth of a percent.
Feb 14 2019 - running returns received
In each of the three weeks of tax season that the IRS has reported on so far, total individual income tax returns received by the service have been off by roughly the same small amount.
Feb 14 2019 Refund totals
While the number of returns received and processed has been off modestly, the number of refunds issued has significantly declined from last year -- by 26.5 percent as of Feb. 15, 2019.

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
The average refund issued so far this season is $500 less, or 16.7 percent smaller, than by the same period a year ago
Feb 14 2019 total refund amount issued
The total amount of refunds issued, meanwhile, was off by a whopping $40 billion -- down 38.8 percent.
Feb 14 2019 - running average refund
The avergage individual return seems to be dwindling -- it was off by 8.4 percent the first week of tax season and by 8.7 percent the second week, but by the third week, which ended Feb. 15, it was off 16.7 from the same period in 2018.
Daniel Hood
Editor-in-chief, Accounting Today
Tax season Tax refunds Tax returns Tax preparers Tax preparation
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