Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Department of the Treasury has announced that it will release the first batch of tax refunds on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

It comes in response to an overwhelming number of submissions — more than 5,000 — received starting April 20, 2026. To facilitate a more organized distribution process, Acting Tax Manager Tim Mauga stated in an interview with KVZK TV that the returns would be sorted and distributed alphabetically.

Mauga expressed gratitude to the public for their continued patience during this challenging tax-filing season. He acknowledged the frustration caused by the delays and appreciated the public's understanding.

As of Friday, May 22, 2026, the Tax Office had successfully processed over 5,095 returns since April 20, 2026. 

“To provide some context, last year, the total number of tax refunds issued was approximately 11,000. Remarkably, within just three weeks this tax season, our tax office has managed to process the equivalent of half a year’s worth of work, which is a tremendous accomplishment given the circumstances.”

Mauga also mentioned that the Treasury recently released an important memo regarding the current situation, which aligns with their ongoing coordination with the Territorial Bank of American Samoa (TBAS). He noted that TBAS has placed a limit on the total number of tax returns to be released to ensure that the cash available on the island adequately covers the payouts. After careful consideration, the Treasury accepted this request, which will affect future distribution of refunds.

Starting Wednesday, the first batch of refunds will be released, including 1,500 tax returns. For fairness and efficiency, the refunds will be sorted alphabetically, meaning it does not matter whether taxpayers receive their refund by paper check or direct deposit; the distribution will follow the alphabetical order of last names.

Regarding the processing of the 5,000 returns, the Acting Tax Manager noted that the office does not date-stamp them upon submission. As a result, they cannot determine who filed their taxes first, and every return is treated equally and fairly. During payout calculations, the total amounts exceeded what the bank could accommodate at one time, leading to the decision to use an alphabetical sorting methodology.

While they could have processed returns in the order they were entered into the tax system, the unique circumstance of everyone submitting their returns on the same day made that approach impractical. To maintain fairness, they opted for the alphabetical distribution system.

Mauga urges the public to exercise patience as the office remains committed to diligently processing all tax returns. Even after this first batch of refunds is released, there are still thousands of returns awaiting processing, and they are eager to disburse those funds as swiftly as possible.