The number of tax returns received by the Internal Revenue Service continue to fall behind totals for the 2022 season. The number filed with the IRS through March 23 was .8 percent less than the season through March 23, 2022.The prior report showed returns were down .5 percent and behind the first report in March when they rose .4 percent over last year’s corresponding period.
The IRS reported it received 80,683,000 for the most recently reported period, off from 81,371,000 a year ago.
The number of efiles submitted also continued to slip behind the 2022 totals with 78,167,000 this year, a drop of .3 percent from 78,426,000.
Efiles submitted by paid preparers stayed ahead of last year’s totals with 40,671,000 filed this year versus 39,909,000. But the 1.9 percent increase over last year was less than 2.5 percent registered for the period ended March 17. Self-prepared returns fell by 2.7 percent to 37,496,000 from 38,517,000.
There were 59,342,000 refunds issued for the season as reported, up 26 percent from 57,830,000. The average refund stayed behind 2022 levels, falling 11 percent to $2,903 from $3,263.
