Have you done your income taxes yet? Checks are 29% lower this year, early data shows

Tamara Walker, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read

The 2024 tax season is underway, and early tax refunds are lower on average so far this year, according to the Internal Revenue Service's early findings.

Based on filing stats for the week of Feb. 2, the IRS average refund was $1,963 in 2023, compared to $1,395 for this year, which shows a 28.9% difference.

Refunds were smaller due to the expiration of the COVID-19 credit benefits, which reduced the child tax credit from $3,600 to $2,000 per kid.

The findings also indicate there were $7.9 million early refunds processed in 2023 and only $2.6 million this year, down 67.3%; however, there's a reason for that difference, according to the report. This year's filing season started seven days later than it did last year; the statistic is based off of only five days of information instead of 12 days.

For 2023, the average tax refund was $3,167, which was 3% less than the previous year, according to IRS data.

But the average numbers will vary within the next weeks as more taxpayers file and the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the additional child tax credit (ACTC) estimate date of Feb. 27 draws closer.

For some households a lower refund check could be a burden as the cost of living is still rising, but some taxpayers may receive tax breaks this year with the Inflation Reduction Act.

Here are some of the adjustments set by the IRS:

  • The standard deduction: For married couples filing jointly for tax year 2023 is $27,700 up $1,800 from the prior year; For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, is $13,850 up $900 from the prior year; For heads of households, the standard deduction will be $20,800 up $1,400 from the amount for tax year 2022.

  • Marginal rates: For tax year 2023, the top tax rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $578,125 ($693,750 for married couples filing jointly).

  • The tax year 2023 maximum Earned Income Tax Credit amount is $7,430 for qualifying taxpayers who have three or more qualifying children, up from $6,935 for tax year 2022

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Tax refunds coming in 29% less than this time last year, IRS says