The IRS released stats Friday that give taxpayers a glimpse into the start of the season.
So far, the average tax refund was $2,201 as of Feb. 4 – about two weeks after the Jan. 24 kickoff when the Internal Revenue Service began accepting returns.
More than $9.5 billion has been issued in refund cash with a bit more than 4.3 million returns generating federal income tax refunds.
Nearly 16.7 million returns were received through Feb. 4, and nearly 13 million individual income tax returns have been processed, according to IRS statistics.
What’s important to note is that the IRS is dealing with a backlog of 2020 returns that remained unprocessed from last year and needed to move forward.
The IRS stats, for example, listed about 4.46 million refunds issued via direct deposit. The average is $2,306. But the IRS footnotes indicate that the category includes direct deposit refunds for returns received in the prior year or the current year but processed in 2022 requesting a direct deposit.
How do the early stats compare with last year?
The IRS had a delayed start to the tax season last year and did not begin processing tax returns until Feb. 12, 2021. No year-to-year comparisons exist at this point.
Not everyone who filed early is going to be seeing a quick refund.
The IRS, by law, cannot issue refunds that include a claim for the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit before Feb. 15. Congress gave the IRS additional time to help the IRS stop the growth of fraudulent returns that tried to wrongly cash in on big refunds generated by these credits. The law was enacted in 2015.
People who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit can expect to see tax refunds in bank accounts or their debit cards by the first week of March, according to IRS alerts.
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Trend lines can be hard to track given that all tax seasons aren’t the same.
The IRS noted: “For historical perspective, it’s important to remember these weekly numbers can shift dramatically during the initial weeks of filing season due to numerous factors, including the calendar and filing patterns that can change year to year.”
ContactSusan Tompor:stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter@tompor. To subscribe, please go to freep.com/specialoffer. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.
Uber, Lyft safety: I’m mom of three. I need to know I’ll make it home.
Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
Naomi Ogutu
Opinion contributor
I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
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Russians fear toll of sanctions triggered by Putin’s Ukraine invasion
Harsh sanctions from Western nations on Russia have reminded citizens of the country’s 1998 debt crisis.
By Anna Nemtsova
USA TODAY
McDonalds and other American businesses have closed in Russia amid its invasion into Ukraine.
One expert estimates more than 200,000 Russians have left the country since the start of the war.
To counter economic turmoil, Putin has demand “unfriendly” countries pay for natural gas exports in rubles.
The once bustling corner of Moscow’s central Tverskaya Street looked deserted on Wednesday, as Russia’s first-ever McDonald’s franchise – opened in 1990 in a move that symbolized the Soviet Union’s opening to the West – shut its doors.
A large mural depicting a giant, Soviet-era medal – the Order of Victory, the highest military decoration awarded in World War II — loomed over over the empty sidewalk.
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The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg