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Average Tax Refund Down 8% So Far This Season

(CNN) - Tax season is off to a slower start this year, with early filers seeing smaller average refunds.

The average refund is down about 8 percent under the first full year of the overhauled tax code, according to data released by the IRS on Friday. Refunds averaged $1,865 compared to $2,035 for tax year 2017.

The total number of returns received also dipped during the first week of the season ending Feb. 1, down from about 18 million to some 16 million so far in 2019.

This season will be watched closely to gauge the real impact of the Republican-led tax overhaul in 2017 that ushered in the most sweeping changes to the tax code in 30 years.

Tax Preparation Gets Underway Ahead Of April Deadline
DES PLAINES, IL - MARCH 23: The top of a form 1040 individual income tax return for 2005 is seen atop a stack on the same at the Des Plaines Public Library March 23, 2006 in Des Plaines, Illinois. Americans are preparing for the income tax filing deadline next month whether using tax software, filing on the paper forms or using a tax preparer. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

The new rules lowered most individual rates and nearly doubled the standard deduction. The legislation also included sweeping tax cuts for companies, lowering the corporate rate to 21 percent from 35 percent.

Some workers saw a bump in their take-home pay after employers started using the new IRS income tax withholding tables.

But experts have said people could see smaller refunds than expected if they didn't adjust their paycheck withholdings after the changes took effect. Others could see their tax burden increase because the revised code eliminated some popular deductions.

The average American taxpayer got a refund of about $2,700 last year, according to IRS statistics.

Filing season opened just days after the end of the longest partial government shutdown in US history.

"We thank the Treasury and IRS employees who have been working diligently to ensure the system is processing these returns efficiently," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement Friday.

(© 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)

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