PHOENIX — Still waiting for your tax refund?
The Internal Revenue Service was 11 million filings behind.
The good news for anyone with delays is that your refund should be bigger.
The IRS is paying 5% interest on delayed refunds starting 45 days after the April 18th due date. They say it's automatic, but it's worth a check when you receive the refund.
And what are you doing with your refund?
If you're not paying bills and need that money safe and available, bank savings accounts are government protected — and their interest rates are actually going up... a little.
One of the highest rates available is Lending Club's High Yield account. You get 2.07% interest rate with a $100 minimum deposit. There are no monthly fees and they do have an ATM network to deposit and withdraw.
At 1.9%, Ivy Bank also has no monthly fees, but there is a $2,500 minimum deposit. And since it's online only, it's best if you link to another account to make deposits and withdrawals.
Citizens Access Savings offers 1.75% interest. It also has no monthly fee, but there is a $5,000 minimum deposit and, again, it's online only, so there are no ATMs.
If you have more money and want a place safer than the stock market, savings bonds called ibonds are government-backed and pay the highest rate they've ever paid — 9.62%.
There's a $10,000 max per person per year. You can gain interest for 30 years and can cash out after one year.
The ibond rate changes every six months, but since high inflation means higher ibond rates, they should stay high for the near future.
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