IRS head: Average 2018 tax refund, $2,833, close to earlier

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the IRS, overseeing the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax codes in three decades, says the average refund in this year’s tax-filing season, $2,833, worked out to be close to last year’s.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig told Congress Wednesday that an increase is urgently needed in the agency’s budget to modernize antiquated computer systems and protect taxpayers’ data.

Rettig also confirmed that several more people are expected to be charged with violating tax laws in connection with the sweeping college admissions cheating scandal.

The IRS is working with the FBI on the investigation of the cheating scheme. Some of the wealthy parents accused of cheating to get their children into prominent schools also allegedly wrote off the bribes on their taxes.