Self-prepared efiles fell .4 percent to 20,726,000 the current season though Feburary 18,  from 20,802,000 for the season through Feburary 19 last year.

However, those totals fit with comments from leaders of tax software companies that DIYers are delaying their filing. That trend was noted in the recent webcast by Intuit for earnings for the second quarter ended January 31.  Asked why taxpayers were delaying, CEO Sasan Goodarzi replied the reason is “they know they can”. 

Meanwhile, returns filed by paid preparers rose to 14,213,000 for the 2022 season to-date, an increase of 10.9 percent from 12,813,000 in last year’s corresponding period.  The combination of the two sources meant the. Number of efiles received rose 3.9 percent to 34,940,00  from 33,615,000 from 34,940,000.

Overall, the IRS reported receiving 35,922,000 returns through February 18, rising 3.2 percent from 34,693,000 year ago.

Both the number of refunds issued and the average refund rose sharply. There have been 22,065,000 returns issued for this year as reported, an increase of 35 percent from 16,576,000. This year’s average refund of $3,590 was 33.1-percent higher than $2,920 a year earlier.