News Number of the Day Pandemic Relief Boosts Taxpayer Refunds Number of the Day: The most relevant or interesting figure in personal finance By Terry Lane Terry Lane Terry has 25 years experience in journalism and communications, reporting on a range of topics that include personal finance, telecommunications, Congress, government regulations, and criminal justice. He has also worked on technology, energy, and environmental policy issues as a congressional press secretary and owned and published a local community newspaper in North Carolina. learn about our editorial policies Updated on April 14, 2022 Fact checked by Helen Reis Fact checked by Helen Reis Helen is the senior news editor for The Balance and a veteran journalist with more than 17 years of experience, mostly in business and finance news. She is passionate about making complicated topics easy for everyone to understand and compulsive about accuracy and transparency. learn about our editorial policies That’s how much bigger the average federal refund is so far this tax season—11.5% more than last year—likely because of pandemic-era benefits. The average refund as of April 1 was $3,226, well over the $2,893 average refund at this time last year and the $2,805 average for the past five years, according to the latest IRS statistics. Refunds are higher because of several expanded tax credits Congress approved as part of pandemic relief last year, including the child tax credit, said Mark Steber, chief tax information officer at Jackson Hewitt. The lack of several of those benefits next year is likely to shrink refunds by a third or more, he warned. “You’re going to see a much bigger refund shock season a year from now,” Steber said. Congress not only boosted tax credits for parents and those who paid for child or dependent care, but made them fully refundable so that even people who didn’t earn enough for the tax offset were able to collect the entire amount. Expansion of the earned income tax credit and changes in deductions for charitable donations also helped push refunds higher, Steber said. Note The deadline for filing federal tax returns is Monday, April 18 this year (not the 15th), so if you haven’t filed, you’ve only got a few days left. Here’s a comprehensive how-to guide. Have a question, comment, or story to share? You can reach Terry at tlane@thebalance.com. Want to read more content like this? Sign up for The Balance’s newsletter for daily insights, analysis, and financial tips, all delivered straight to your inbox every morning! Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Internal Revenue Service. “Filing Season Statistics for Week Ending April 1, 2022 | Internal Revenue Service.” Internal Revenue Service. “Topic No. 602 Child and Dependent Care Credit | Internal Revenue Service.” Jackson Hewitt. “What is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)?.” Internal Revenue Service. “Expanded tax benefits help individuals and businesses give to charity during 2021; deductions up to $600 available for cash donations by non-itemizers | Internal Revenue Service.”