By Richard Rubin

The U.S. income tax-filing season is off to a slower start than last year with fewer returns received and larger refunds in the early weeks, according to Internal Revenue Service data released late Friday.

Through Feb. 6, the IRS had received 22.4 million returns, down 5.2% from the equivalent period last year. The average refund so far is $2,290, up 10.9% from the equivalent period last year.

President Trump and Republicans have been touting this year's refunds as a big economic boost, because they are delivering many of the tax cuts that Congress passed last year.

Data this soon after filing opened Jan. 26 don't provide a complete picture of what the full tax season will look like. The tax code requires the IRS to wait before sending refunds to millions of lower-income households. And taxpayers are still adjusting to new changes in the law.

"The IRS emphasizes it continues to see a strong filing season with refunds continuing to reach taxpayers as planned," the agency said in a statement posted with the data.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2026 20:14 ET (01:14 GMT)

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