Business & Economy

States where people receive the biggest tax refunds

Written by:
Leah Pace
September 17, 2018
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States where people receive the biggest tax refunds

The two constants in life, of course, are death and taxes. Mid-April may loom for taxpayers, but it's the Internal Revenue Service workers who have the truly impressive workload. Last year, they processed 245 million tax returns and more than $3.4 trillion in tax money from both individuals and businesses.

Paying taxes can be painful … unless you've overpaid throughout the year and are eligible for a refund. In that case, the government cuts you a check. If you're an optimist, think of it like a fun, annual bonus from the government. If you're a realist, you know it's more like being paid back on an interest-free loan to the government. Regardless of your outlook, there are many refunds each year. In 2017, 121 million individuals—nearly half of all taxpayers—were paid $436 billion by the government. That's a sizeable chunk of change.

Every year, individual states dole out millions, or even billions, in refunds. How much is each person getting from that cut? Stacker has ranked each state from low to high. This data comes from the Internal Revenue Service's 2017 records. The IRS tallied the total amount of refunds issued in each state and found the average per refund. This list includes all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.

ALSO: Biggest source of tax revenue in every state

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#51. Montana

Tax refund per person: $2,421
Total IRS refunds: 383,966
Total amount refunded: $929,688,000

#50. Vermont

Tax refund per person: $2,443
Total IRS refunds: 259,915
Total amount refunded: $634,860,000

#49. Maine

Tax refund per person: $2,497
Total IRS refunds: 518,916
Total amount refunded: $1,295,965,000

#48. Idaho

Tax refund per person: $2,512
Total IRS refunds: 573,741
Total amount refunded: $1,441,498,000

#47. Wisconsin

Tax refund per person: $2,621
Total IRS refunds: 2,274,762
Total amount refunded: $5,961,644,000

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#46. West Virginia

Tax refund per person: $2,675
Total IRS refunds: 658,380
Total amount refunded: $1,761,388,000

#45. Hawaii

Tax refund per person: $2,682
Total IRS refunds: 545,207
Total amount refunded: $1,462,267,000

#44. Oregon

Tax refund per person: $2,692
Total IRS refunds: 1,459,595
Total amount refunded: $3,929,561,000

#43. New Mexico

Tax refund per person: $2,702
Total IRS refunds: 736,423
Total amount refunded: $1,989,921,000

#42. North Carolina

Tax refund per person: $2,726
Total IRS refunds: 3,635,581
Total amount refunded: $9,910,477,000

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#41. Michigan

Tax refund per person: $2,737
Total IRS refunds: 3,839,384
Total amount refunded: $10,507,569,000

#40. Kentucky

Tax refund per person: $2,742
Total IRS refunds: 1,612,373
Total amount refunded: $4,420,558,000

#39. Arizona

Tax refund per person: $2,750
Total IRS refunds: 2,277,407
Total amount refunded: $6,262,820,000

#38. Ohio

Tax refund per person: $2,776
Total IRS refunds: 4,640,883
Total amount refunded: $12,884,704,000

#37. New Hampshire

Tax refund per person: $2,801
Total IRS refunds: 568,397
Total amount refunded: $1,592,047,000

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#36. South Carolina

Tax refund per person: $2,828
Total IRS refunds: 1,743,517
Total amount refunded: $4,931,117,000

#35. Indiana

Tax refund per person: $2,832
Total IRS refunds: 2,612,413
Total amount refunded: $7,399,326,000

#34. Tennessee

Tax refund per person: $2,860
Total IRS refunds: 2,505,451
Total amount refunded: $7,165,543,000

#33. Arkansas

Tax refund per person: $2,912
Total IRS refunds: 1,007,785
Total amount refunded: $2,935,066,000

#32. Nebraska

Tax refund per person: $2,919
Total IRS refunds: 726,442
Total amount refunded: $2,120,377,000

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#31. Alabama

Tax refund per person: $2,933
Total IRS refunds: 1,676,151
Total amount refunded: $4,916,924,000

#30. Colorado

Tax refund per person: $2,964
Total IRS refunds: 2,051,877
Total amount refunded: $6,082,626,000

#29. Alaska

Tax refund per person: $2,966
Total IRS refunds: 283,436
Total amount refunded: $840,585,000

#28. South Dakota

Tax refund per person: $2,977
Total IRS refunds: 330,591
Total amount refunded: $984,209,000

#27. Kansas

Tax refund per person: $2,981
Total IRS refunds: 1,065,305
Total amount refunded: $3,175,384,000

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#26. Utah

Tax refund per person: $3,007
Total IRS refunds: 1,051,857
Total amount refunded: $3,162,991,000

#25. Nevada

Tax refund per person: $3,015
Total IRS refunds: 1,129,260
Total amount refunded: $3,404,334,000

#24. Mississippi

Tax refund per person: $3,017
Total IRS refunds: 1,035,489
Total amount refunded: $3,124,203,000

#23. Maryland

Tax refund per person: $3,039
Total IRS refunds: 2,363,151
Total amount refunded: $7,181,581,000

#22. Pennsylvania

Tax refund per person: $3,068
Total IRS refunds: 5,145,524
Total amount refunded: $15,787,448,000

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#21. Rhode Island

Tax refund per person: $3,081
Total IRS refunds: 445,927
Total amount refunded: $1,373,784,000

#20. Florida

Tax refund per person: $3,096
Total IRS refunds: 8,001,295
Total amount refunded: $24,770,258,000

#19. Missouri

Tax refund per person: $3,105
Total IRS refunds: 2,265,900
Total amount refunded: $7,035,631,000

#18. Virginia

Tax refund per person: $3,124
Total IRS refunds: 3,177,783
Total amount refunded: $9,927,175,000

#17. Georgia

Tax refund per person: $3,153
Total IRS refunds: 3,660,309
Total amount refunded: $11,539,377,000

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#16. North Dakota

Tax refund per person: $3,175
Total IRS refunds: 284,554
Total amount refunded: $903,489,000

#15. Wyoming

Tax refund per person: $3,191
Total IRS refunds: 221,537
Total amount refunded: $706,845,000

#14. Massachusetts

Tax refund per person: $3,202
Total IRS refunds: 2,751,130
Total amount refunded: $8,809,204,000

#13. Iowa

Tax refund per person: $3,231
Total IRS refunds: 1,162,882
Total amount refunded: $3,757,086,000

#12. Washington

Tax refund per person: $3,234
Total IRS refunds: 2,806,238
Total amount refunded: $9,074,335,000

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#11. California

Tax refund per person: $3,239
Total IRS refunds: 13,846,488
Total amount refunded: $44,842,074,000

#10. Louisiana

Tax refund per person: $3,261
Total IRS refunds: 1,640,935
Total amount refunded: $5,350,605,000

#9. District of Columbia

Tax refund per person: $3,330
Total IRS refunds: 283,179
Total amount refunded: $943,076,000

#8. New York

Tax refund per person: $3,458
Total IRS refunds: 7,860,621
Total amount refunded: $27,179,469,000

#7. Illinois

Tax refund per person: $3,525
Total IRS refunds: 5,067,372
Total amount refunded: $17,864,830,000

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#6. Oklahoma

Tax refund per person: $3,714
Total IRS refunds: 1,325,483
Total amount refunded: $4,922,820,000

#5. Minnesota

Tax refund per person: $3,846
Total IRS refunds: 2,149,182
Total amount refunded: $8,265,813,000

#4. Texas

Tax refund per person: $3,949
Total IRS refunds: 10,286,833
Total amount refunded: $40,627,689,000

#3. Connecticut

Tax refund per person: $4,001
Total IRS refunds: 1,422,410
Total amount refunded: $5,690,878,000

#2. New Jersey

Tax refund per person: $4,153
Total IRS refunds: 3,539,771
Total amount refunded: $14,700,625,000

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#1. Delaware

Tax refund per person: $4,445
Total IRS refunds: 375,420
Total amount refunded: $1,668,868,000

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