Tax

Who gets the biggest refunds?

Complimentary Access Pill
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

Despite what you may think, the size of the average individual income tax refund in any particular state does not depend on the state's economic weight, or the size of its population — and that was all the more true in 2021 (the most recent year for which data is available), thanks to the impact of pandemic relief payments.

The top five states in our ranking had an average individual income tax refund of $1,742.80 in 2021. The average traditional refund (not including COVID funds) for the top five states was $1,665. 

Scroll through to see which states were in the top 20 and how they fared.

Source: IRS Data Book, 2021

DataCard20.jpg
DataCard19.jpg
DataCard18.jpg
DataCard17.jpg
DataCard16.jpg
DataCard15.jpg
DataCard14.jpg
DataCard13.jpg
DataCard12.jpg
DataCard11.jpg
DataCard10.jpg
DataCard9.jpg
DataCard8.jpg
DataCard7.jpg
DataCard6.jpg
DataCard5.jpg
DataCard4.jpg
DataCard3.jpg
DataCard2.jpg
DataCard1.jpg
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY