10 cities where taxpayers receive the fattest refund checks

Karla Bowsher

Chances are you’ll receive a tax refund from Uncle Sam this year — 78 percent of taxpayers get one, a recent MagnifyMoney analysis found.

As for the size of your refund, where you lives turns out to be one of the many influential factors. The average refund across the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. is $3,052. But for folks in Fort Myers, Florida, it’s $3,799.

MagnifyMoney arrived at these figures by examining IRS data for those 100 metro areas. That data came from returns filed in 2012 through 2016.

It's not the usual blah, blah, blah. Click here to sign up for our free newsletter.

Based on that, the 10 metro areas where taxpayers get the fattest refund checks are:

  1. Fort Myers, Florida: Average refund is $3,799

  2. Miami: $3,706

  3. McAllen, Texas: $3,666

  4. New York City: $3,664

  5. Houston: $3,601

  6. San Francisco: $3,466

  7. Corpus Christi, Texas: $3,453

  8. Dallas: $3,329

  9. Memphis, Tennessee: $3,254

  10. Lafayette, Louisiana: $3,253

While this may make San Francisco seem like a great place to live, that may be true only for residents who get refunds. For residents of this California metro who owe taxes to Uncle Sam, the average amount owed is $7,226 — the highest amount of all 100 metro areas.

That amount represents a relatively small portion of San Franciscans’ income, however: 7 percent, which MagnifyMoney found is about the same as the national average.

RELATED: Check out the states where Americans pay the highest and lowest state income taxes:

It’s in the low-income metro of McAllen, Texas, where folks who owe money to the IRS owe the most relative to their income — 16 percent.

Lowering your own tax bill

If you’ve already filed your taxes this year and got or will get a refund, skip on over to “Tax Hacks 2018: How Not to Blow Your Tax Refund.” It will help you make the most of your refund.

If you have yet to file, it’s not too late to ensure you get the largest possible refund. You need not move to Fort Myers to accomplish this.

So, what’s your take on this news? Share your thoughts with us by commenting below or over on our Facebook page.

Advertisement