Even though I still haven’t sat down with my W-2 form and other important tax documents to file my 2024 tax return, many early tax filers are already enjoying their refunds. The IRS reported today that it has processed nearly 32.8 million returns and issued 13.7 million refunds.
While the third week of tax season 2024 saw a big jump in total processed tax returns and average tax refund amount, the third week of tax season 2025 was more subdued. Read on for a breakdown of how the IRS is performing this tax season.
For more tax tips, check out our essential tax filing cheat sheet and how to track your refund from the IRS into your bank account.
How many tax returns has the IRS processed so far in 2025?
On Friday, the IRS released statistics comparing the third week of tax season 2024 (ending Feb. 16, 2024) with the third week of 2025 (ending Feb. 14, 2025). This year, the IRS has processed 32.8 million federal income tax returns, down 5% from the 34.5 million returns it had processed by this time last year.
The IRS has also received more than 33 million tax returns total so far, compared with 34.7 million last year, marking a 4.9% decrease.
The agency also breaks down how returns have been filed, with 32.4 million returns received electronically (13 million filed by tax professionals and 19 million self-prepared).
How many tax refunds has the IRS issued in 2025?
The IRS has issued 13.7 million refunds, behind by 34.6% from the approximate 20.9 million sent out at this point in February 2024.
The average tax refund amount so far is $2,169, down 32.4% from last year’s average of $3,207 at this time last year.
How do 2025’s tax refunds compare to 2024’s so far?
Despite processing nearly as many tax returns, the IRS has only issued $29.6 billion in tax refunds so far in 2025, a far cry from the $67 million in tax refunds the agency had issued by this time in 2024, a 55.8% decrease. That 2025 total is based on the $2,169 average tax refund and the 13,657,000 total tax refunds issued so far.
The IRS noted that large percentage differences in filing statistics are typical for the beginning of each tax season. The numbers will even out as more people — like me — gather important tax documents and file in the coming weeks.