The IRS has issued fewer refunds so far this year than it had at the same time last year, CPA Practice Advisor reported.

By March 3, 2023, 42.04 million refunds had been issued compared with 36.288 million by March 1 of this year, a difference of 5.75 million or nearly 14 percent, the IRS reported.

Last year’s tax season began a week earlier than this year, the IRS noted. The 2023 filing season began on Jan. 23, so it had been receiving returns for 40 days by Feb. 23, 2023, compared to only 33 days for the 2024 filing season, which opened on Jan. 29.

The average refund amount was up by 5.1 percent, from $3,028 to $3,182.

Overall, the IRS had received more than 54 million tax returns as of March 1 of this year and had processed 53.2 million. By that point in the tax season last year, the IRS had received nearly 55 million returns and had processed 54.3 million.