Day 15 Of Tax Filing Season: 28 Million Tax Refunds, $3,021 On Average

Given the number of days the Internal Revenue Service has been open for processing 2020 tax returns, the number of returns taxpayers have filed is up 14% compared to last year. That’s the rosy way to look at the numbers. 

But consider this: Based on the calendar, as of February 26, 2021 (Day 15), compared to February 28, 2020 (Day 33), the number of returns received is down almost 25%, with the number of returns processed down 31%. 

The IRS is making steady progress: As of February 26, 45.3 million returns had been received, with 39.4 million processed. The IRS had issued 28.3 million refunds. The average refund was $3,021.

It’s a hard year to make comparisons because the tax filing season didn’t open until February 12, as the IRS was processing Round 2 stimulus payments. Typically filing season data catch up with prior-year data as the filing season progresses. 

There are legitimate reasons to delay filing this year. As negotiations continue in Congress on the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which includes Round 3 $1,400 payments, Senate Democrats have proposed a provision to make $10,200 of 2020 unemployment income tax free. That would affect the tax return of anyone who got unemployment income last year. State law hiccups have caused some filers to delay too. Connecticut just passed a law sparing 110,000 Covid-19 telecommuters from double taxation. Here’s another one: If you’re one of 6.7 million taxpayers with a backlogged 2019 tax return in processing and asked for an overpayment to be applied to 2020 taxes, what’s the chance that that’s going to happen if the IRS hasn’t processed the return, asks enrolled agent Claudia Hill of Cupertino, California. The danger: The IRS might say there was an underpayment if the 2019 overpayment wasn’t credited to 2020.

When are taxes due? April 15. The IRS’ Charles Rettig doesn’t seem to be budging on the due date, despite cries for an extension due to the shortened filing season and complexities of coronavirus-related law changes.