World News: The Daily Money: Waiting for your tax refund? Here's how to track your money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Sunday, February 5

Some early tax filers could be receiving – and yes, spending – their federal income tax refunds by Valentine's Day. Others will be waiting a lot longer.

You can go to IRS.gov to see "Where's My Refund?" or get the app called IRS2GO to track your refund cash.

Nine out of 10 refunds can get to you within 21 days – if there aren't issues.

What can cause an issue? You filed a paper return, you filed an amended return, or you've made mistakes that the IRS will be addressing. ID theft – say if someone else files a return using your information – will delay things, too.

For those claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit, the IRS isn't rushing to send out refunds to address potential fraud. By law, the IRS cannot issue these refunds before mid-February.

The average tax refund was $3,252 in 2022, up 15.5% from the year before, according to the latest filing statistics data from the IRS that runs through Dec. 30. The average refund was $2,816 in 2021.

Yet many people will get smaller refunds if they tapped into generous stimulus benefits. For example, those who claimed the child tax credit in 2021 received up to $3,600 per dependent. On returns being filed now, the child tax credit is only up to $2,000 for the 2022 tax year.

Don't spend that refund before it arrives, and especially not before you even complete your 2022 tax return. This year, tax refunds may be smaller than you'd imagine.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.