Which states’ taxpayers get the most in refunds

Mega Pixel // Shutterstock Tax season can provoke dread, or it can bring joy. Between Jan. 1 and mid-April, individuals pull together their finances from the previous year and submit them as a tax return to the government. Tax returns show the tax you must pay to the government and how much you’ve already paid. If you owe more than you’ve paid, you must pay the government the difference. However, the government will refund the difference if you’ve overpaid your tax obligation. In the U.S., 74% of all tax filings received a refund in 2020, averaging about $3,085 each. While many people look forward to receiving this lump sum every year, a refund is essentially money a taxpayer loaned to the government interest-free. Stacker examined tax return data from the Internal Revenue Service to see which states’ taxpayers received the highest average refunds in 2020, the latest data available. The share of filers who received a refund has also been included. Individual income tax returns filed between January and December 2021 were used in this analysis–not included are filers who opted to put their refund toward the following year’s tax payments. You may also like: The cost of gasoline the year you started driving #51. Maine Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,607 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 75.1% #50. Oregon Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,684 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 70.9% #49. Wisconsin f11photo // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,698 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 75.0% #48. Vermont Derek Hatfield // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,711 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.7% #47. Montana Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,719 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 70.5% #46. Minnesota f11photo // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,738 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 71.7% #45. Ohio Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,789 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 77.6% #44. Iowa Pormezz // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,838 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 75.4% #43. Nebraska Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,840 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.6% #42. Idaho Charles Knowles // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,854 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 72.2% #41. New Hampshire Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,863 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.8% #40. Rhode Island Pra Chid // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,866 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 76.4% #39. Hawaii RightFramePhotoVideo // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,874 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 69.1% #38. South Carolina Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,891 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.0% #37. West Virginia Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,896 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 81.7% #36. North Carolina PTstock // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,909 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 75.1% #35. Missouri Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,912 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 76.4% #34. Kansas Mike Flippo // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,919 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.0% #33. Kentucky 4kclips // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,920 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 79.3% #32. Delaware Pra Chid // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,925 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 75.2% #31. Michigan Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,935 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 76.3% #30. Pennsylvania Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,938 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 77.7% #29. Indiana Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,951 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 79.5% #28. New Mexico RomanR // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,960 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 75.8% #27. South Dakota Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,974 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 73.9% #26. Colorado Andrew Zarivny // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $2,978 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 71.6% #25. Arizona Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,016 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 72.7% #24. Virginia Africa Studio // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,018 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 72.9% #23. Tennessee Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,044 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 77.7% #22. Massachusetts Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,048 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 72.0% #21. Washington DC Cvandyke // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,082 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 70.9% #20. California nikamo // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,084 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 67.9% #19. North Dakota Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,090 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 73.9% #18. Arkansas Eduardo Medrano // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,093 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 77.4% #17. Maryland Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,100 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 71.8% #16. Alabama David Pimborough // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,122 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 76.9% #15. Utah Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,125 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.2% #14. New York ventdusud // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,128 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 73.3% #13. New Jersey Roman Babakin // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,144 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 71.4% #12. Oklahoma Puckpao // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,158 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 77.1% #11. Nevada Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,166 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 75.8% #10. Georgia Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,182 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.7% #9. Mississippi Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,194 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 79.5% #8. Connecticut topseller // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,202 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 73.0% #7. Alaska Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,246 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.2% #6. Florida ESB Professional // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,278 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.5% #5. Wyoming Randy Runtsch // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,290 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 74.9% #4. Washington RomanR // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,290 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 72.5% #3. Illinois Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,293 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 76.2% #2. Louisiana Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,330 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 79.3% #1. Texas Sean Pavone // Shutterstock – Average refund amount: $3,488 – Percent of returns that get a refund: 77.8%