The IRS has released statistics comparing the fourth week of tax season 2024 to the third week of 2025. As of February 23, 2024, the IRS had processed 42.4 million federal income tax returns, down 3.8% from the 44 million returns processed by the same time last year.

The IRS has also received more than 42.7 million tax returns total so far, compared with 44.6 million last year, marking a 4.2% decrease. Of these returns, 41.9 million were received electronically, with 18.3 million filed by tax professionals and 23.6 million self-prepared.

The IRS has issued 29.6 million refunds, a 2.3% increase from the approximate 28.9 million sent out at this point in February 2024. The average tax refund amount so far is $3,453, up 7.5% from last year's average of $3,213 at this time last year.

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 gather important tax documents and file in the coming weeks.