Two weeks into the 2019 tax season, people filing their taxes are still getting back less money than they have in the past. Refunds dropped 8.7 percent over the first two weeks of filing season, the Internal Revenue Service reports. Meanwhile, direct deposit refunds, which the IRS touts as a faster way to get your money because it allows the agency to send it straight to your bank account, are down almost 10 percent from a year ago.