IR-2009-20, March 6, 2009 WASHINGTON — Taxpayers are filing earlier and receiving larger refunds so far this year, according to early filing season statistics released today by the Internal Revenue Service. As of Feb. 27, 2009, the IRS had received 56 million individual tax returns, a slight increase over the previous year. And, the average individual refund was $2,869, a 9 percent increase or $232 more than the same time last year. The IRS notes that possible reasons for the larger refunds may include taxpayers benefiting from the recovery rebate credit and other tax breaks such as the first-time homebuyer credit and the additional standard deduction for real estate taxes. The average refund amount generally will decrease slightly as the filing season progresses. More taxpayers choose to receive their refunds through direct deposit each year. As of Feb. 27, more than 84 percent of all refunds were issued through direct deposit, up from 81 percent for the same period last year. While the IRS has issued almost 3 percent more refunds this year compared to the same time last year, the number of taxpayers who choose to receive their refunds quickly and safely through direct deposit is up almost 7 percent compared to the same time last year. On Feb. 27, the average direct deposit refund totaled $3,063. The IRS cautioned that year-to-year analysis of total returns filed will be an anomaly this year because last year’s results include those returns filed for the economic stimulus payment. As the year progresses, the IRS expects to receive and process more individual income tax returns during 2009 than in 2007 but fewer than in 2008. Subscribe to IRS Newswire 2009 FILING SEASON STATISTICS Cumulative through the weeks ending Feb. 29, 2008 and Feb. 27, 2009 Individual Income Tax Returns 2008 2009 % Change Total Receipts 55,704,000 56,049,000 0.6% Total Processed 51,240,000 51,939,000 1.4% E-filing Receipts: TOTAL 43,777,000 46,246,000 5.6% Tax Professionals 29,750,000 29,606,000 -0.5% Self-prepared 14,027,000 16,640,000 18.6% Web Usage: Visits to IRS.gov 80,312,322 105,204,812 30.99% Total Refunds: Number 46,539,000 47,697,000 2.5% Amount $122.716 Billion $136.847 Billion 11.5% Average refund $2,637 $2,869 8.8% Direct Deposit Refunds: Number 37,748,000 40,257,000 6.6% Amount $107.955 Billion $123.297 Billion 14.2% Average refund $2,860 $3,063 7.1%
