There were 117,859,000 efiles for the season as reported, up 12.4 percent from 104,786,000 in last year’s corresponding period.

The number of efiles from tax professionals continued to come it at a faster pace than self-prepared returns. There were  63,692,000 efiles from paid preparers through April 15, rising 14.9 percent from 55,450,000 in last year’s corresponding period. DIYers submitted 54,167,000 efiles, an increase of 9.8 percent from 49,336,000.

The change reflects dampened growth for self-preparer returns, probably stemming from the popularity of assisted programs by Intuit and H&R Block. Self-prepared efiles represented 46 percent of all efiles this year, compared to 47 percent in 2021.

The number and amount of returns stayed ahead of 2021 levels, as they have during all IRS weekly reports. The agency issued 73,316,000 refunds through April 15, rising 6.7 percent over 52,340,000 a year ago. The average refund was $3,103 for the season today, up 8 percent from $2,873 a year ago.

Bob Scott

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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.  Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He  has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that.  A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind