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Administration touts tax-day refunds and says 53 million filers claimed new breaks
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Summary
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and SBA Administrator Kelly Leffler told reporters that the administration's working-families tax cuts produced record refunds and broad take-up, and they urged taxpayers and employers to take steps such as adjusting withholding and using new child-account options.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the 2026 filing season "has been an incredible tax season," and the administration presented figures it said show widespread use of the administration's signature tax provisions.
Bessent told reporters that "more than 53,000,000 filers" had claimed at least one of the new tax cuts and that the average refund for the filing season was "over $3,400." He also said roughly 45% of returns included at least one of four signature provisions and reiterated program-level take-up figures the department provided "as of April 12," including millions claiming no tax on tips or overtime.
The administration framed the changes as broad-based relief. "Small business is big business," SBA Administrator Kelly Leffler said, citing her agency's view that 12,000,000 small companies had an average tax saving of $7,000 and that provisions such as 100% expensing were supporting hiring and plant expansions. Leffler pointed to manufacturer anecdotes and said the changes were helping firms add shifts and plan investments.
Both officials urged practical next steps. Bessent recommended that taxpayers who want regular, smaller pay-period benefits should consider adjusting their withholding. He also highlighted a new child-savings account option (referred to during the briefing) and said families can enroll while filing or later using Form 4547 (as described in his remarks).
The officials declined to provide definitive long-term macroeconomic estimates during the briefing, saying further analysis would be provided later. Bessent explicitly noted some numbers were provisional: when asked about exact sums returned to foreign parties in tariff refunds, he said the figure "could have been $2,000,000,000" but that it was not certain.
The briefing closed the tax-day portion by opening the floor to questions; officials emphasized take-up figures and urged reporters to rely on forthcoming Department of the Treasury data releases for more detail. The administration said it would provide additional data later to explain overlaps (filers claiming multiple signature provisions) and the longer-term economic impact.
