Nearly $26 billion in tax refund money has been issued during the first three weeks of tax season, ready to pay monthly bills, shore up savings and yes, even drive sales on some big ticket items.

But the money won't cover as much as it did a year ago, even before taking inflation into account. The average tax refund was $1,997 for early returns processed through Feb. 10 — down 14% from last year's average of $2,323 at this time, according to data released Friday afternoon by the Internal Revenue Service.

Average refunds remain much lower than a year ago when generous stimulus-related tax breaks gave an economic boost to millions of working people. Those tax breaks have since expired.

The IRS appears to be kicking off the season in better shape, processing more returns and issuing more refunds overall in the first three weeks.

The IRS began processing tax returns for 2022 on Jan. 23. Since then, the IRS has issued 13.3 million federal income tax refunds through Feb. 10, based on data released Friday. That's up 48.4% from a year ago.

About 26.6 million returns were processed through Feb. 10, up 13.6% from a year ago.

The IRS data indicated that 28.8 million returns were received already, up 9.1% from the same period a year ago.

The Presidents Day weekend is prime time for tax returns to be prepared and even filed, according to the IRS, even though the deadline for federal and state of Michigan returns isn't until April 18 this year. Many use the extra time during the four-day weekend, having Monday off, to get down to the nitty-gritty of doing their taxes.

"We always see a significant surge in phone traffic around Presidents Day," said IRS Acting Commissioner Doug O'Donnell in a statement. "With the calendar advancing, millions of people turn their attention to taxes during this period."

The IRS, not surprisingly, is continuing to ask taxpayers to search for information online at IRS.gov instead of trying to get through the IRS phone lines. The IRS phone number is 800-829-1040. The phone line has several recorded prompts to address specific issues, and generally the wait time can be long.

More:IRS Detroit office to open Saturday for face-to-face help

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Taxpayers are advised to call their employers for missing W-2 forms that report their income and taxes withheld. Those forms should have been sent by employers by Jan. 31.

Taxpayers can find a copy of Form 1099 or 1042 to report Social Security income by visiting the Social Security Administration's website. These forms can be downloaded through my Social Security account. It's fast and secure.

The IRS notes that several online tools can help avoid a phone call:

• Taxpayers can search the Interactive Tax Assistant, Tax Topics and Frequently Asked Questions to find answers to many questions.

• The Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant (EITC) allows taxpayers to check eligiblity and calculate their credit.

• IRS Online Account gives taxpayers secure access to personal tax account information, according to the IRS. Here's where you can find key information, such as your tax records with previous year's adjusted gross income information.

Contact Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @tompor. To subscribe, please go to freep.com/specialoffer. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Average tax refund down 14% in first 3 weeks, IRS says