2019 Tax Tracker #5: Tax Filings Still Down Year Over Year, Refunds Still Up

Executive Summary

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tracks tax return filings on a weekly basis.

• As of March 1, the IRS had received 59.2 million tax returns, down 3.2% year over year.
• A total of 46.4 million refunds had been issued as of that date (down 4.2% year over year), totaling $142.4 billion (down 3.5% year over year) and averaging $3,068 (up $22 or 0.7% year over year).
• The largest group of taxpayers plans to use refunds to repay debt, followed by savings, travel and other spending categories, according to a survey by website Decluttr.