With only a week to go until T-Day, it’s countdown time, and about one-third of U.S. income tax returns had yet to be filed as of April 1.
Following last year’s abysmal mix of poor customer service, massive identity theft and refund fraud, Congress relented on its six-year streak of IRS budget cuts and found an additional $290 million for improvements.
Still, the number of returns received is down 1.4 percent from last year, with the April 18 deadline looming.
Here’s the good news: As of April 1, more than 76 million refunds had been issued, totaling $215.3 billion.
If you’re still procrastinating, here’s a little motivation: The average refund check so far this year is $2,832, up 0.6 percent from the $2,815 average a year ago. That’s $17 you could probably use.
