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Tax refunds are running bigger than usual this year, and millions of Americans are about to receive checks that are several hundred dollars heavier than last year’s. The question is not whether the money is coming. The question is what to do with it when it arrives.As of March 13, the average refund stood at $3,623, up roughly 10.8% from $3,271 at the same point in 2025, according to IRS filing data. About 69.7 million returns have been received so far, out of roughly 164 million expected by the April 15 deadline. For the many Americans still waiting on their refund, understanding what drove the increase and making a deliberate plan for the money can make a real difference.Why tax refunds are bigger this yearThe increase traces directly to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in 2025. The legislation made several major changes to the tax code that took effect for the 2025 tax year, which is what you are filing on now.The most widely discussed changes are four new above-the-line deductions, meaning they are available whether you itemize or take the standard deduction. They include a deduction of up to $25,000 for tip income, up to $12,500 for overtime pay, up to $10,000 for interest paid on a new auto loan originated after December 2024 on a U.S.-assembled vehicle, and an additional $6,000 deduction for filers age 65 and older. Each has income phase-out limits that reduce or eliminate the benefit at higher income levels.More Personal Finance:Why selling a home to your child for a dollar can backfireElon Musk says ‘universal high income’ is comingFTC, 21 states sue Uber over ‘shady’ subscription billingThe law also permanently raised the standard deduction, which now stands at $15,750 for single filers and $31,500 for married couples filing jointly. As of March 8, nearly 45% of filers had already claimed at least one of the new deductions on the new Schedule 1-A form.One important caveat: The refund increase has been meaningful but smaller than the White House’s early projection of $1,000 or more per filer. Tax professionals report that most clients are seeing a few hundred dollars of difference, and the actual benefit depends heavily on which new deductions apply to your situation and how your withholdings were set up in 2025.The smartest uses for your tax refundA tax refund is not a bonus. It is money you overpaid throughout the year that is now being returned to you. That framing matters, because the best use of the money depends on your current financial situation, not on how it feels to receive a larger check than expected.Where financial advisors say to startHigh-interest debt first. If you are carrying credit card balances at 20% or higher, paying those down is the highest guaranteed return you can get on any dollar. A $3,600 refund applied to a credit card balance eliminates months of compounding interest.Emergency fund if yours is thin. Most financial planners recommend three to six months of expenses in accessible savings. If your emergency fund falls short, a refund is a straightforward way to close that gap without affecting your monthly budget.Retirement contributions. You have until April 15 to make IRA contributions that count toward the 2025 tax year. The contribution limit is $7,000 for most filers, or $8,000 if you are 50 or older. Applying part of your refund here gives you a tax benefit on top of the long-term growth potential.High-yield savings or short-term goals. For money earmarked for a specific purpose within the next one to three years, a high-yield savings account or short-term certificate of deposit is a sensible home. Rates remain well above 4% at many online banks.Home repairs or deferred maintenance. If you own a home, repairs that protect or improve your property’s value are a reasonable use of windfall money, particularly if deferred maintenance is accumulating.

Your 2026 tax refund may be a little larger, but don’t expect next year’s to be the same.Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tax-refund spending traps to avoidThe impulse to treat a refund as found money is understandable, but spending it on discretionary purchases before addressing debt or savings leaves you in the same financial position, just with something new to show for it.Financial planners also caution against assuming this year’s larger refund will repeat. The new deductions for tips, overtime, auto loan interest, and seniors are set to expire after 2028. Your withholding may also normalize as employers update W-4 guidance, meaning next year’s refund could be considerably smaller.One move worth making now, regardless of your tax refundBecause the IRS did not automatically update paycheck withholdings when the new law passed in July 2025, many workers overpaid taxes for the second half of last year. That overpayment is part of why refunds are larger. But if your financial situation has not changed, you could reduce your withholding now using the IRS tool and give yourself a monthly raise instead of waiting for next year’s refund. A smaller refund is not a bad outcome. It means you had access to your money all year, rather than extending an interest-free loan to the government.The April 15 deadline is less than a month away. If you have not filed yet, the IRS Free File program is available for filers with adjusted gross income under $79,000. For most households, this is one of the few times each year when a meaningful lump sum lands in a bank account. A simple plan for it is almost always worth making.Related: How to boost your tax refund

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealCitizen is a watch brand that’s built its reputation on a combination of quality, style, and innovation. That’s why I’ve personally owned a number of Citizen timepieces over the years (specifically, Eco-Drive models) and will surely own more in the future. Because of a deal we just found at Amazon, you can join me in this endeavor, and do so at a big discount. Amazon is currently selling a Citizen Eco-Drive watch, in titanium no less, at a price that’s even making me wonder if this could be my next piece.The Citizen Eco-Drive Super Titanium Field Watch is on sale for only $241. That’s 46% off the regular price of $450. This might be the perfect price for the perfect watch at the perfect time. If you’ve been on the verge of starting your own personal luxury watch journey, but have been waiting for the right watch, you may have just found it.Citizen Eco-Drive Super Titanium Field Watch, $241 (was $450) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Shop at AmazonWhy do shoppers love it?Thanks to the aforementioned Citizen foundations of quality, style, and innovation, this watch is a world-beater. Starting with 100 meters of water resistance, you’ll be able to do just about anything with it, and feel confident doing so. Its 100 meters of resistance means you can swim in the pool or ocean without a worry whatsoever about damaging the watch. What’s more, thanks to the proprietary Citizen Super Titanium case and bracelet, this watch is virtually indestructible yet lightweight. While some people prefer to feel heft on their wrist when spending on a luxury watch, there’s no denying the easy comfort of titanium. Additionally, the industrial-looking Super Titanium finish is five times harder than stainless steel, and that’s not the only benefit. It also has a slightly dark, almost silky finish to it that looks great on the wrist. This brings us into the second benefit of Citizen watches, which is their style.In addition to the beautiful titanium shimmer of the piece, the Weekend Garrison watch also boasts an interesting and attractive dial configuration. The dial has a lovely silvery-gray color that incorporates a larger textured concentric circle around the outside. Over that circle sit Arabic numeral hour markers with the exception of the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock positions, which include dashes and a triangle in the place of numbers, respectively. All hour markers have a luminescent coating that glows in the dark. There is also a subtle minute track around the outside of the dial with red markers at 20-minute intervals. Finally, there is a nicely finished day/date window at the 3 o’clock position that allows you to keep track of your personal calendar. This is a nice feature that most watches at this price point don’t include, and it brings us to the final quality of Citizen timepieces, which is innovation.While the above day/date function of this watch is convenient, it’s hardly the most impressive technical aspect within. The watch is powered by the brand’s vaunted Eco-Drive movement. Eco-Drive watches contain very small solar panels which are embedded underneath the dial and virtually undetectable to the eye. They collect solar energy throughout the day and store it in a rechargeable battery. That energy is then released through the handset, allowing for constant timekeeping without hand winding or the need to constantly replace the battery. In fact, Eco-Drive models should never need a battery placement for the entire life of the watch. Related: Amazon is selling noise-canceling earbuds for $21That’s a big benefit they have over most other quartz-regulated watches, which require regular battery replacements. The only possible downside to an Eco-Drive movement is if you have a large watch collection and leave an Eco-Drive model in complete darkness for months at a time, it may need a short period of recharging. However, that’s an unlikely scenario for most people. If you buy this watch, you’ll want to wear it as often as possible.Pros and Cons of the Citizen Eco-Drive Super Titanium Field WatchProsWater resistance: The 100 meters of water resistance allows you to swim confidently without fearing internal damageConstruction: Citizen Super Titanium is durable, lightweight, and attractive.Movement: The solar-powered Eco-Drive movement constantly recharges and never needs a battery replacement.ConsLack of heft: Those who tend to equate a feel of heaviness with quality may not like the lightweight feel on the wrist of this watch.Potential charge drain: If not used regularly, the solar charge could drain, requiring a recharge period exposed to sunlight.Amazon shoppers were quite pleased with the Citizen Weekender Garrison model, and shared their pleasure in the reviews. One called it an “excellent timepiece with an understated but handsome design.” They added that it was “tough, and easy to read at a glance.”Shop more deals Citizen Promaster Sea Eco-Drive Dive Watch, $290 (was $475) at AmazonCitizen Eco-Drive Weekender Brycen Watch, $208 (was $425) at AmazonBulova Marine Star Series B Watch, $290 (was $525) at AmazonThe Citizen Eco-Drive Super Titanium Field Watch does not disappoint. In fact, at the current price of just $241, it surpasses all expectations of what affordable luxury can be. Don’t wait too long, though, before putting one in your cart. They’re likely to go quickly at this price, and you’ll want to get yours before time is up.

Rivian isn’t out of the woods yet, but the startup electric vehicle manufacturer is on the right path following its recent partnership with Uber, according to a new note from analysts at JPMorgan.Last week, on March 19, Rivian and Uber announced a partnership in which Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian and deploy as many as 50,000 autonomous R2 vehicles on its ride-hailing platform. The vehicle’s autonomous rides are expected to launch in San Francisco and Miami in 2028, with plans to expand to as many as 25 cities across North America and Europe by 2031.If everything goes to plan, the deal also gives the companies the option to negotiate the purchase of up to 40,000 more autonomous Rivian R2s beginning in 2030.”We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership with Uber — it will help accelerate our path to level 4 autonomy to create one of the safest and most convenient autonomous platforms in the world,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said. And analysts at JPMorgan agree with Scaringe’s excitement, saying in an analyst note over the weekend that the deal is “mostly positive.”

Photo by jetcityimage on Getty Images

JPMorgan analysts back Rivian deal with UberOver the weekend, JPMorgan analysts gave their seal of approval to Uber’s $1.25 billion investment in Rivian, saying that the deal to supply the ride-hailing company with tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles in two years was promising.While the firm maintained its “underweight” rating and $9 price target on Tesla’s main domestic rival, the firm says the deal helps alleviate some of Rivian’s excessive cash burn as the electric vehicle maker continues to report “persistently large” operating losses and free cash outflows. Related: Rivian, Uber stocks struggle, but robotaxi deal may change the storyThat extra cash will come in handy as Rivian navigates what analysts describe as a “seemingly increasingly structurally unprofitable” EV market, according to TipRanks.In the fourth quarter, Rivian reported an adjusted loss of 54 cents per share on revenue of $1.29 billion. For the first time ever in 2025, Rivian closed out the full year with an annual gross profit of $144 million, thanks to an 8% increase in revenue to about $5.4 billion.But much of that profit was due to Rivian’s software and services segment, since its automotive business lost $432 million dollars last year.According to an SEC filing last week, Rivian no longer expects positive EBITDA by 2027, due to increased research and development spending on autonomous driving resulting from the Uber deal. Rivian unveils updated AI strategy at Autonomy & AI DayRivian understands that to compete with Tesla, it must be more than just a car company; it must also be a technology leader.Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is an industry-leading advanced driver assistance system, and Rivian believes it has the tech to surpass FSD.Related: Consumer Reports names 5 popular EVs with the worst rangeRivian states that it is investing in hardware and compute infrastructure, developing an advanced, end-to-end AI autonomy system that scales, and harnessing a “shared data foundation” that will transform the ownership experience for its customers.During its Autonomy & AI Day in December, Rivian introduced the Gen 3 Autonomy Computer, its third-generation compute platform, which it says will have the “leading combination of vehicle sensors and inference available in North America.”The Gen 3 Autonomy Computer can process 5 billion pixels per second, thanks to the Rivian Autonomy Processor, its proprietary silicon chip that Rivian claims is among the first multi-chip modules used in high-compute applications in the automotive industry.The company also announced that it is integrating LiDAR into its fleet, starting with future R2 models, marking another difference from Tesla. Musk has called LiDAR expensive and unnecessary.LiDAR (light detection and ranging) uses laser lights to measure distances and create more precise 3D maps, and Rivian says the tech “provides detailed, three-dimensional spatial data and redundant sensing,” adding another layer of safety to its system.At the time, Rivian said its vehicles would achieve point-to-point, hands-free navigation by March of this year. “You can be on your phone or reading a book, no longer needing to be actively involved in the operation of the vehicle,” Scaringe said, according to the Wall Street Journal.Starting in March, charged for the hands-free feature. Customers can either purchase a $50-per-month subscription or pay a one-time charge of $2,500.But recent testing suggests there are still many bugs to be resolved.Related: Rivian doubles down on new plan to beat Tesla