Tax Refunds Soar, Average Hit $3,800

0:00It's March 2nd, here's your Birmingham news in two minutes. Tax refunds are coming in higher this tax season. The Internal Revenue Service reports the average refund for the week-ending February 20th hit $3,804. That's up more than 10% from $3,453 at the same point last year. Fewer people have filed so far though. The IRS received 41.9 million returns down almost 2% from last year. They processed 41.4 million, also off by 2%, nearly all of those came in electronically. Direct deposits tell a bigger story. More than 29 million refunds went straight to bank accounts, totaling $110,800,800,000. That's an 8% jump from last year, with the average direct deposit at $3,809. Bigger refunds could be on the way soon. By law, payments including the earned income tax credit in additional child tax credit

1:00cannot hit accounts until March 2nd. Those can reach $8,000 or more, depending on the number of kids claimed. Officials expect totals to climb in the weeks ahead, as more of these credits roll out. Files should keep an eye on their accounts and stay safe from scams during peak season. Special thanks to our sponsor for supporting this episode. What is cooler than cool? A pillow that plays your sound, S-O-L-L-I, solely pillow.com.