Your tax refund could be bigger in 2026 – here's how
FILE-U.S. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service 1040 Individual Income Tax forms are displayed. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Americans may see a larger tax refund next year because of a tax provision in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
The amount added to an individual’s refund check depends on their income and provisions outlined in the OBBBA.
Tax refunds can range for Americans, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act updated tax withholding tables resulting in higher refunds for some people next year.
How much could tax refunds be in 2026?
By the numbers:
Citing analysis from an Oxford Economics report, Newsweek noted that taxpayer savings may be an extra $50 billion since the IRS has not updated its withholding tables to represent new provisions that began at the start of 2025.
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If taxpayers see an extra $50 billion bump in tax refunds, that would mark an 11% spike from the $275 billion in refunds the IRS sent for 2024 federal returns, according to IRS data.
Newsweek reported, citing the Oxford Economic report, that tax savings are different for Americans based on the income bracket they are in.
For example, Americans that fall in the lowest income bracket, which is less than $34,000, would have an average savings of $150.
But higher income people bringing in $66,801-$119,200 could save $1,780, while the biggest earners making over $5.18 million could see savings of $286,440.
USA Today reported that the average tax refund this year was $2,939, and a 17% boost would be an extra $500 more, conversely not all $50 billion in additional tax savings might come as refunds.
President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act extends his 2017 multi-trillion-dollar tax cuts and added new breaks related to overtime, tipped income and the SALT tax. Newsweek reported that the cap for SALT was raised from $10,000 to $40,000, largely helping high-income Americans.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by previous LIVENOW from FOX reporting, USA Today and Newsweek. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.