Americans are worried about smaller tax refunds. They may have reason for concern.

Taxpayers this year have plenty of worries about their tax refunds, including fears they may get a smaller check than usual from the IRS. Based on early data from the tax agency, it turns out there may be some justification for the dread. 

The tax agency recently said the average refund is about $2,300, according to data as of February 11. Last year, the average refund was about $2,800.

To be sure, there's a caveat about this early data since tens of millions of refunds have yet to be issued. That means the typical tax refund could change and even grow as the season progresses, as taxpayers have until April 18 to file their federal returns. In 2021, the IRS received 169 million individual returns and issued 129 million refunds, according to agency's data. So far in 2022, the IRS has issued more than 4 million refunds.