April 2017 Newsletter
By the Numbers: Tax Season
It might not be the most wonderful time of the year, but it is arguably the most important. With tax filing season upon us, here are some statistics from previous tax filing years.
$2,860 The average refund per tax return for the 2016 calendar year. This represented a 2.3 percent increase from the previous year, meaning that tax returns essentially kept pace with inflation.
152.5 million Amount of individual income tax returns that the IRS received in the 2016 calendar year. This represented a 1 percent increase from the previous calendar year. Of the total number of returns, over 86 percent were filed electronically.
$317.6 billion The total combined amount of refunds issued to all tax filers in 2016, a 3.8 percent increase from the previous year.
111 million The total number of refunds issued by the IRS in 2016, an increase of 1.5 percent from 2015. Roughly 73 percent of filers were issued a refund.
53 million The number of self-prepared electronic tax returns in 2016. This marked a 5.4 percent increase from 2015.
$38,171 The median adjusted gross income (AGI) per tax filer in tax year 2014.
9 hours The average amount of time that nonbusiness filers will spend on filling out a 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ tax form.
$120 The average amount that a nonbusiness filer spends on filing a tax return.
$91.9 billion Total amount of refundable tax credits paid out to taxpayers from the 2014 tax year, a slight decrease from the $92.6 billion paid out in the previous year.
22 hours The average amount of time that a business spends filing their taxes.
$430 The average amount that businesses will spend on filing their tax forms.
$9.77 trillion Total adjusted gross income (AGI) in the United States for the 2014 tax year, a 6.1 percent increase from the previous year.
Fueling the rise in AGI was a notable increase in salaries and wages (4.8 percent), capital gains (34.4 percent), dividends (14.7 percent) and other items related to taxable income.
All information courtesy of the IRS