Average tax refund dips, yet more received them

Americans were left with more money in their paychecks this year, and that led to smaller tax refunds.

The average refund was $55 lower than a year ago after the final week of filing season, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.

The average refund was $2,725, down 2% from $2,780 over the same period last year. But more people got refunds, with the IRS issuing 95.7 million, up from 95.4 million a year ago.

The IRS has processed 130.8 million returns, up 0.2% from last year. It has received 137.2 million returns, also up 0.2%. The IRS has said it expects to receive 150 million returns for the year.

This marks the first filing season since the Tax Cut and Jobs Act took effect. Experts have said the law should cut taxes for about 80% of Americans. But those who didn’t change their paycheck withholding during the year likely saw much of the tax savings in their checks, reducing or eliminating refunds and possibly even causing some people to owe money.