• The IRS issued more than 43 million refunds, worth about $135.3 billion, as of March 8.
• The average refund was $3,145, up from $2,972 during the same week last year.
• You can check the status of your refund via the "Where's My Refund?" online tool.

The tax deadline is approaching, and the IRS has already issued more than 43 million refunds worth nearly $135.3 billion.

As of March 8, the average refund was $3,145, up from $2,972 the same week in 2023, the agency reported.

However, the average refund could change as the IRS receives tens of millions more returns.

The latest filing statistics show the IRS had received less than half of the more than 146 million individual returns expected for the 2023 filing season.

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Taxpayers can check their refund status with the "Where's My Refund?" online tool. The status will appear 24 hours after a taxpayer e-files a current-year return or four weeks after paper returns are filed, according to the IRS.

Why many taxpayers wait to file

Typically, taxpayers file sooner when they're expecting a refund, said Mark Baran, managing director at financial firm CBIZ Marks Paneth.

Indeed, knowing "they won't get a refund" is one of the top five reasons Americans procrastinate on taxes, according to a January survey from IPX1031, an investment property exchange service.

Plus, many taxpayers file for an extension, which bumps the federal filing deadline by six months, to Oct. 15 this year. This provides more time to file, but federal taxes owed are typically still due on April 15. Some taxpayers have an automatic federal extension due to natural disasters.

"A lot of high-net-worth clients will file extensions" because they're still waiting for tax forms such as Schedule K-1 for so-called pass-through business income, Baran said.

"The [latest IRS] data doesn't reflect the returns that are ultimately filed by October," he added.

As of Dec. 23, the average refund for 2023 was $3,167, which was slightly lower than the $3,252 average in 2022, the IRS reported.

Why more taxpayers are relying on a refund

Some 40% of taxpayers are relying on a refund this season, up from 36% last year, according to a LendingTree survey published in March.

"The most simple explanation is inflation," said Jacob Channel, LendingTree's senior economist.

While inflation is down significantly from its 9.1% peak in 2022, it remains above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, he said.

The consumer price index, which tracks the cost of consumer goods and services over time, rose 3.2% in February compared with one year ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in March.