In Michigan, 153 probationary IRS employees represented by the union have lost their jobs so far, according to the National Treasury Employees Union. The job cuts hit during this year's tax season.

According to the IRS, the agency has received about 42.7 million tax returns and processed roughly 42.3 million as of Feb. 21. Now, it appears that the IRS might be planning anoth

Unemployment debt: The third type of debt that the IRS can use your tax refund to pay down, unemployment compensation debt racks up when you are, for whatever reason, overpaid when receiving unemployment payments and are required to pay back some or – yikes – all of the money you received.

Since the start of tax season, the IRS has issued more than $100 billion in tax refunds to Americans, with the average refund amount rising compared to 2024.

Through Feb. 21, the latest date currently available on the IRS website, the agency has issued 29,615,000 refunds, roughly 2.3% more than the 28,945,000 that had been issued by this time last year. The average refund amount through Feb. 21 was $3,453, roughly 7.5% higher than the average refund of $3,213 at that time last year.

Recent IRS layoffs are the latest federal cuts, but will they impact when you get your tax refund? Yes, they might. Here's what we know.

While refunds are up, the number of people who’ve filed already is down compared to 2024. The IRS has received 42.7 million returns in 2025, down 4.2 percent compared to this time last year. Even with the number of returns not keeping pace with 2024, the total number of refunds issued so far (29.6 million) is up 2.3 percent.

The IRS has already returned more than $100 billion to US taxpayers. The average amount of money returned to individuals has increased as well.

As tax season unfolds in 2025, taxpayers are experiencing unexpected delays in their refunds. With 7.7% fewer returns received by the IRS, several factors are contributing to this slowdown.