The Average Tax Refund Check in Every State
The vast majority of Americans don’t enjoy filing their taxes. Even to those for whom it’s a relatively painless process, it still represents a chore. However, no matter how much you hate the process of putting your return together, you probably love the day the money from your refund hits your bank account.
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While plenty of personal finance experts insist that you adjust your withholding so that you can earn interest on it throughout the year, many Americans still seem to prefer receiving it as one lump sum shortly after they file. And certainly, if that ensures the cash gets invested or put in savings, it’s probably worth foregoing that extra little bit of interest you can earn by reducing your withholding.
So, which Americans are getting the most back on their tax returns? To get to the bottom of that question, GOBankingRates compiled a list of all 50 states, ranked by the size of the average return people received for the 2022 tax year — the taxes you filed at the beginning of 2023. The study took the total amount of money issued as returns in each state and divided it by the number of returns with a refund to come up with the average return. See where your state ranks among the rest of the country in terms of getting that fat check from Uncle Sam.
Idaho
Number of refunds issued: 1,286,619
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,763,227,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,370
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Oregon
Number of refunds issued: 2,842,777
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,378,396,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,540
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Maine
Number of refunds issued: 944,371
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,479,556,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,567
Vermont
Number of refunds issued: 440,517
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $693,381,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,574
Montana
Number of refunds issued: 742,501
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,184,129,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,595
New Mexico
Number of refunds issued: 1,499,721
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,437,752,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,625
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Minnesota
Number of refunds issued: 3,970,935
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,559,739,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,652
Nebraska
Number of refunds issued: 1,404,018
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,326,430,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,657
Wisconsin
Number of refunds issued: 4,121,337
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,844,299,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,661
North Carolina
Number of refunds issued: 7,510,558
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $12,686,046,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,689
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Hawaii
Number of refunds issued: 982,621
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,668,198,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,698
South Carolina
Number of refunds issued: 3,673,855
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,240,281,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,699
Rhode Island
Number of refunds issued: 786,960
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,338,545,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,701
Kentucky
Number of refunds issued: 3,208,928
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,465,995,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,703
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Kansas
Number of refunds issued: 2,054,691
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,505,170,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,706
Utah
Number of refunds issued: 2,356,556
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,025,637,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,708
Colorado
Number of refunds issued: 4,075,961
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,973,265,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,711
Ohio
Number of refunds issued: 8,532,813
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $14,658,351,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,718
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Iowa
Number of refunds issued: 2,221,770
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,824,272,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,721
New Hampshire
Number of refunds issued: 968,426
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,669,428,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,724
Arizona
Number of refunds issued: 5,065,087
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $8,739,170,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,725
California
Number of refunds issued: 27,215,414
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $46,959,301,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,725
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West Virginia
Number of refunds issued: 1,217,658
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,106,042,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,730
Missouri
Number of refunds issued: 4,367,880
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $7,587,530,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,737
Virginia
Number of refunds issued: 6,082,710
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $10,580,139,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,739
Delaware
Number of refunds issued: 725,569
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,263,969,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,742
Maryland
Number of refunds issued: 4,475,264
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $7,804,048,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,744
Indiana
Number of refunds issued: 5,019,014
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $8,791,208,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,752
Pennsylvania
Number of refunds issued: 9,279,255
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $16,327,099,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,760
Arkansas
Number of refunds issued: 2,153,904
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,794,200,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,762
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Michigan
Number of refunds issued: 7,075,683
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $12,532,381,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,771
Washington
Number of refunds issued: 5,379,202
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $9,545,674,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,775
North Dakota
Number of refunds issued: 536,582
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $959,992,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,789
Tennessee
Number of refunds issued: 4,985,921
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $8,946,038,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,794
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Massachusetts
Number of refunds issued: 4,810,841
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $8,640,718,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,796
New Jersey
Number of refunds issued: 6,541,529
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $11,751,647,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,796
Alaska
Number of refunds issued: 536,903
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $970,276,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,807
Alabama
Number of refunds issued: 3,485,204
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,339,107,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,819
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New York
Number of refunds issued: 13,966,079
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $25,575,228,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,831
Oklahoma
Number of refunds issued: 2,809,496
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,166,899,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,839
Mississippi
Number of refunds issued: 2,197,370
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,069,908,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,852
Georgia
Number of refunds issued: 7,883,778
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $14,615,732,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,854
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Connecticut
Number of refunds issued: 2,536,235
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,728,785,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,864
South Dakota
Number of refunds issued: 638,068
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,190,593,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,866
Nevada
Number of refunds issued: 2,343,474
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,400,718,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,878
Illinois
Number of refunds issued: 9,059,344
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $17,090,115,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,886
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Louisiana
Number of refunds issued: 3,334,600
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,494,379,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,948
Texas
Number of refunds issued: 22,324,670
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $43,499,670,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,949
Wyoming
Number of refunds issued: 415,658
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $810,466,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,950
Florida
Number of refunds issued: 15,837,100
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $31,578,695,000
Average refund issued per return: $1,994
Alexandria Bova contributed to the reporting for this article.
GOBankingRates, using the Internal Revenue Service’s SOI Tax Stats for the fiscal year 2022, found the average refund check in every state by first finding each state’s total number of tax refunds issued and the total dollar amount of refunds issued for individual income tax and employment tax. The second figure was divided by the first to give the only ranking factor of Average Refund Issued Per Return. All data was collected on and up to date as of Feb. 5, 2024.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Average Tax Refund Check in Every State
