The average tax refund each year, and how tax refunds work
The average tax refund so far in 2025 is $3,221, up $140 from the average refund this time last year. Here’s how tax refunds work.
3 min read
Mar 31, 2025
Andrea Coombes, CFP®
Editor, Tax
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25Years of experience
LICENSE
- CFP®
EXPERTISE
- Taxes
- Personal finance
- Investing
- Saving for retirement
- Credit and debt
EDUCATION
- University of California at Berkeley/B.A. in Sociology
- University of California at Berkeley/Master’s in Journalism
Andrea Coombes, a tax editor at Bankrate, loves to translate complex personal finance topics into understandable content that helps people live their best financial lives. She’s a Certified Financial Planner™ and over the past 25 years has worked as a financial coach, personal finance writer and editor, and volunteer tax preparer.
Her work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch and many newspapers nationwide. She's been interviewed on local and national TV and radio, including NPR's All Things Considered, CBS News, NASDAQ and Marketplace.
Andrea has moderated panels on how to invest for retirement, how to use 529 college savings plans and more, and she's an experienced personal-finance speaker who has presented to groups on a variety of topics such as how to budget, improve credit, manage debt, and build savings. She's also worked as a personal financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, helping people reach their goals. For two tax seasons, she worked a volunteer tax preparer.
Andrea's latest articles
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10 key tax terms to help you cut through the jargon
Knowing these 10 key tax terms can help make it easier to do your taxes.
4 min read Jan 03, 2025 -
All of the federal tax forms, publications, schedules, and instructions you need to do your taxes
We’ve compiled links to all of the IRS tax forms, publications, schedules, and instructions you need to file your taxes, including Form 1040 and many more.
20 min read Jan 02, 2025 -
Some taxpayers to get $1,400 payments for unclaimed stimulus tax credit
The IRS will send an estimated $2.4 billion to taxpayers who didn’t claim the recovery rebate credit on their 2021 tax returns. About 1 million taxpayers were eligible for the credit but failed to claim [...]
2 min read Dec 23, 2024 -
Medical expense deduction: How to claim medical costs on your taxes
You may be able to deduct certain medical expenses if they meet IRS requirements.
3 min read Dec 21, 2024 -
How long to keep tax returns and other IRS records
In many cases, keeping tax records for three years is sufficient, but there are exceptions.
3 min read Dec 20, 2024 -
Marginal tax rate: What it is and how to find yours
The marginal tax rate is the highest income tax rate you’ll pay on your income. Because the U.S. has a progressive tax system, different tiers of your income are taxed at different rates. The marginal [...]
5 min read Dec 18, 2024 -
7 tips to prepare for next year’s taxes now
Now’s the time to start preparing for the upcoming tax filing season. Here are 7 tips to get you on track.
4 min read Dec 18, 2024 -
What is adjusted gross income (AGI), and why does it matter?
Your adjusted gross income, or AGI, is your gross income minus a handful of above-the-line deductions.
3 min read Dec 17, 2024