That total was down 1.5 percent from 16,035,000 for the season through Feb. 2, 2019.
Most recent seasons have started on a down note. But the pattern that is most noticeable is the continued strength of self-prepared returns compared to those filed by paid preparers. 5,236,000 returns efiled by preparers were off by 3.8 percent from 5,440,000 efiled for last year’s corresponding period. The 9,887,000 self-prepared efiles rose by 1.1 percent over 9,782,000 a year earlier.
The total number of efiles were 15,123,000, down .7 percent from 15,222,000.
As with the 2019 filing season, refunds also started on a down note, although the size of the average refund was up slightly. The 4,299,000 refunds issued this year were off 8 percent from 4,672,000 in last year’s comparable period. The average refund was $1,869, a rise of .2 percent from $1,865.