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Tax season sucks. Most people dread it year after year. And that’s even if they’re getting a tax refund. It’s just such a pain.
That being said, every year the federal government gives back hundreds of billions of dollars to taxpayers who paid too much. (Why do we keep doing that?) For example, in 2017 the IRS returned a whopping $324 BILLION back to American taxpayers.
And get this: according to IRS data, the average tax refund per taxpayer was $2,895. Obviously, not everyone receives the same amount though.
In the map below, created by the financial wizards over at cost information website HowMuch.net, states are split into four groups depending of the size of their average tax refund.
Dark green states have average tax refunds over $3,001, light green states between $2,751 and $3,000, light blue states between $2,501 and $2,750 and dark blue states between $2,300 and $2,500. The data were collected from the IRS and SmartAsset.com.
Notice anything? That’s right, only three states had an average tax refund above $3,000: Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. Residents of Texas received the biggest tax refunds on average at $3,133, while Maine had the lowest average tax refund in the country at $2,302 per person.
Also, and this is kind of interesting, eight of the 10 states with the lowest tax refund share a border with Canada. What’s up with that, eh?
From the looks of the rankings below and the map above, if you live up north and want to get a bigger tax refund each year, moving south could be one of your better options. Especially if you move to the Oklahoma-Texas-Louisiana area.
Top Five States By Average Tax Refund Size
1. Texas: $3,133
2. Oklahoma: $3,088
3. Louisiana: $3,073
4. New York: $2,986
5. Connecticut: $2,958
Bottom Five States By Tax Refund Size
50. Maine: $2,302
49. Oregon: $2,342
48. Vermont: $2,348
47. Wisconsin: $2,367
46. Montana: $2,367
For the full list of average tax refunds in all 50 states in America, HowMuch.net put together a handy graph which you can view here.
And if you haven’t done your taxes yet, here’s some software and a couple of well-reviewed tax advice books that will get you started on the right track.
— TurboTax Premier Tax Software 2017 Fed + E-file + State (4.2 out of 5 stars – 631 reviews)
— H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2017 with 5% Refund Bonus Offer (4.0 out of 5 stars – 299 reviews)
— Taxes Made Simple: Income Taxes Explained in 100 Pages or Less (4.6 out of 5 stars – 180 reviews)
— J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 2018: For Preparing Your 2017 Tax Return (4.4 out of 5 stars – 497 reviews)
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