Taxpayers are seeing larger refunds at the start of this year’s filing season, with early Internal Revenue Service data showing the average refund climbing 10.9 percent compared to the same point last year.
As of Feb. 6, the typical refund stands at $2,290, up from $2,065 during the comparable period in 2025.
The IRS indicated that the average is likely to increase further in the coming weeks because the current totals do not yet reflect millions of refunds connected to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).
Changes enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump, are expected to increase refunds for many Americans this year. An analysis referenced by the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee projects that some filers could receive as much as $1,000 more.
At this stage, the average refund is $225 higher than it was a year ago, and that difference may expand as additional returns are processed.
The Bipartisan Policy Center cautioned in a January report that early-season figures can be misleading, pointing to past years when refunds initially appeared lower before rising as the filing period progressed.
The 2026 tax season officially began on Jan. 26. By Feb. 6, the IRS had processed roughly 22.3 million returns. That total is 5 percent below last year’s pace but accounts for only 14 percent of the 164 million filings the agency anticipates receiving.
In the previous filing year, the average refund amounted to $3,167, with approximately 63 percent of taxpayers receiving a payment. According to the IRS, most people who file electronically can expect to receive their refund within 21 days.
More than 7.4 million refunds had been distributed as of Feb. 6, compared to 8.1 million at the same point last year — an 8.1 percent decline.
The deadline to file federal income taxes is April 15.
It is typical for the average refund amount to fluctuate early in the season before increasing as more returns are completed.
One reason for that pattern is that the IRS is prohibited from issuing refunds tied to returns claiming the EITC or ACTC until after Feb. 15. In addition, returns filed by higher-income taxpayers, which tend to be more complex, often take longer to prepare and submit.
Data reviewed by the Bipartisan Policy Center shows that in recent years, the average refund has often surged in mid-February before leveling off somewhat as Tax Day approaches.
The IRS publishes the average refund in its weekly statistics rather than the median amount, meaning unusually large refunds can influence the overall figure.
President Trump has described this year’s filing period as potentially “the largest tax refund season of all time,” citing more than 100 revisions to the tax code included in his 2025 legislation.
Individual refund totals will vary widely, however.
Measures such as an increased standard deduction, an expanded Child Tax Credit and a new deduction for seniors are expected to lower tax liabilities by several hundred dollars for tens of millions of households, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Other provisions are forecast to generate savings in the thousands for a narrower segment of taxpayers, including certain employees who earn tips or overtime pay.
Principal Asset Management, an international investment firm, estimates that the average refund could climb by nearly $700 to about $3,800 per filer in 2026.
The firm projects that middle- and higher-income households will benefit the most, potentially receiving around $1,000 more on average. Lower-income households, many of whom already owe little or no federal income tax, may see smaller increases — often less than $100 in additional refunds.
A newly filed bill in Congress is proposing a different solution to the long-running daylight saving time debate, calling for clocks to move ahead by 30 minutes permanently rather than by a full hour.
The Daylight Act of 2026, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), would shift clocks forward by half an hour from their current setting and eliminate the twice-a-year time changes altogether.
Sleep specialists caution that even a 30-minute adjustment could carry health consequences, though they acknowledge it would be less disruptive than a full-hour change. Experts say that any permanent move forward may still negatively affect long-term well-being.
“Medically, a half hour delay would be less harmful than a full hour delay of permanent daylight saving time and would have the benefit of ending the biannual change,” Dr. Karin Johnson, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and co-chair of the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time, told Nexstar via email.
Still, Johnson noted that such a change would reduce exposure to morning sunlight, which researchers generally consider beneficial. She also warned that a half-hour system could complicate daily scheduling. Permanent standard time would prevent “the confusion of trying to sync schedules that are offset by a half hour,” she said.
Jay Pea, president of the nonprofit Save Standard Time, agreed, emphasizing that “the design of Standard Time (when aligned properly to longitude) is to minimize misalignment between clocks and the sun to within 30 minutes or fewer.”
Pea also raised concerns about logistical challenges, pointing to the “unintended complications for technology, transportation, and business.”
Those complications would be particularly significant for international coordination. Time zones function on a global scale, not just within the United States. For instance, when it is 3 p.m. in New York City, it is also 3 p.m. in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Lima, Peru.
Although regions may use different names for their time zones — Eastern Time in New York and Quebec, Peru Time in Lima — they are structured according to their offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the worldwide 24-hour clock system often referred to as Zulu time, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Eastern Time and Peru Time operate at -5 UTC, meaning they are five hours behind Greenwich, near London, where the modern time zone system was established in the 19th century.
Most time zones differ by whole hours — Central Time is one hour behind Eastern Time, for example — though there are exceptions. Afghanistan follows Afghanistan Time, which is +4.5 UTC. When it is 3 p.m. in New York, it is 12:30 a.m. in Kabul. Iran uses a time zone one hour behind Afghanistan, making it 11:30 p.m. there when it is 3 p.m. in New York.
“I appreciate the congressman’s willingness to explore alternatives to [permanent daylight saving time]. However, [permanent standard time] remains both the simplest solution and the true compromise between ‘fast’ and ‘slow time,’ as supported by health science, historical precedence, and first principles,” Pea said, in part, in a statement to Nexstar.
Other Florida lawmakers are pushing a different approach through the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. If enacted, clocks would move forward in March and remain unchanged throughout the year.
Steube has previously voiced support for permanent daylight saving time. Last year, he wrote on X that “it’s time to end this pointless ritual.” In November, he submitted a discharge petition seeking to bring the House version of the Sunshine Protection Act to the floor for a vote.
The Senate attempted to expedite its own version of the Sunshine Protection Act last October, but the effort ultimately stalled.
Steube’s office did not respond to Nexstar’s inquiry for comment prior to publication.
As of Tuesday, the Daylight Act of 2026 remains under review in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
A separate measure also titled the Daylight Act, introduced by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), has likewise been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. That proposal would give individual states the authority to observe daylight saving time year-round.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in multiple states are weighing their own proposals related to daylight saving time during the current legislative session.
