For Tax Year 2002 (the latest for which IRS data is available), nearly 70 million tax filers with incomes under $30,000 received more than $82 billion in federal tax refunds – and more than 21 million filers received nearly $38 billion in the EITC.2 Total refunds in the U.S. exceed $200 billion per year. Given the right options, the tax refund could serve as a starting point for improved long-term financial security for a large number of American consumers.