At the beginning of June, two months after the 2022 Personal Income Tax declaration campaign ( Personal Income Tax ), they had already received the refund of their IRPF more than 7.8 million taxpayers, which meant that at that time more than 77% of the applications submitted (10.1 million) and almost 69% of the amounts requested had been paid (about 5,400 million of the more than 7,800 requested).

It is often thought that figures like these are normal, but it is enough to look back to realize that the results that are now recorded are the result of the progressive improvement in management systems that allow, on the one hand, to advance presentations by part of the taxpayers and, on the other hand, expedite the administration's response by returning the amounts to which the taxpayer is entitled.

Regarding the first, Graph 1 is illustrative. It shows the evolution of the percentage of applications submitted in the first weeks of the campaign, in the first month and in the second month, always in cumulative terms, from 2013 (2012 campaign) to the campaign currently underway. .

The graph shows that, over the years, the presentation of the declarations has been done earlier and earlier. The trend is clear in the line that represents the accumulated percentage until the end of May (it goes from slightly less than 50% to more than 65% in the period), but also in the accumulated percentage for the first month, and somewhat less in the first weeks of the campaign, although the latter accumulated is decisively influenced by the start day of the campaign and the dates on which Holy Week is celebrated. If instead of the number of declarations the amount requested were shown in the graph, the result would be practically the same.

One of the reasons why there is an interest in submitting returns with a refund request sooner and earlier is the speed that has occurred in making these returns . This information can be found in the table and series files that accompany Monthly Tax Collection Report . In them you can consult the amount of returns made month by month since 1997. Chart 2 shows the percentage of amounts that were returned in the first month of the campaign, the month of April, from 2000 to last year. The evolution of this percentage is a good measure of the progress in tax management in the last 20 years.

A similar conclusion is reached when analyzing how the complete campaigns developed in 2000 and 2022. This is what is done in Graph 3. The upward movement of the lines, especially in the first three months, indicates the progressive improvement in making returns.