The most recently tax filing statistics appear to show what observers were saying—taxpayers were waiting later in the season to file. The number of returns filed for the season through April 8 were 2.4-percent higher than the 2021 season through April 9.It was the first time since the weekly report for the season from the Internal Revenue Service through February 18 that the number of returns exceeded the prior season.
There were 103,315,000 returns submitted for the season as reported to date, compared to 100,915,000 in last year’s corresponding period. Efiles reached 99,290,000 this year, an increase of 3.9 percent from 95,562,000 a year earlier.
The number of efiles submitted by paid preparers rose 6.1 percent to 53,018,000 from 49,947,000. Self-prepared efiles exceeded 2021 totals for the first time in weeks, reaching 46,272,000, up 1.4 percent from 45,615,000. This year interrupted several seasons which DIY efiles grew faster than self-prepared and probably stemmed from the growth of assisted returns from players such as Intuit and H&R Block.
As they had most of the season, the number of refunds issued the size of the average refund were ahead of 2021 totals. The IRS sent out 70,040,000 refunds through April 8, an increase of 4.5 percent from 67,727,000. The average refund for 2022 was $3.175, up 10.3 percent from $2,888.
