By the end of February, more than 48 million tax refunds had been issued the IRS today announced , an increase of 5.6 percent compared to the same time last year.

As of March 1, the average refund this year is $3,034, up 3 percent compared to the average refund amount for the same time last year.

Almost 88 percent of refunds to date have been directly deposited into the accounts of taxpayers, saving them time and a trip to the bank.

The number of returns filed electronically is up slightly from the same time last year however, the number of taxpayers filing from home computers is up 7.5 percent.

At the end of the fourth week of the filing season, the IRS had received almost 40 percent of the returns it expects to receive during 2014..