6 Ways To Use Your 2025 Tax Refund To Make Money

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It’s tax season, and for many of you, a tax refund will hit your bank account in the coming weeks. In fact, the average tax refund is around $3,200 per household, according to the IRS.

But while a new big screen TV or iPad might be an amazing treat — investing your money into income-producing assets can have much better returns.

So instead of spending your tax refund this year, consider these six ways to use your tax refund to make money.

Get a Car for Uber

If you receive the average $3,200 (or more) tax refund, you may be able to combine the funds with other money to get a car for driving Uber. Now, according to its website, Uber requires cars to be at least 16 years old or newer, have four doors, be safe (working seatbelts, air conditioning, etcetera) and in decent shape.

While $3,200 won’t buy a car outright, it could be the down payment for a car that you can use for Uber rides. Whether you just use nights and weekends to drive people to the airport or want to get into Uber full time, your tax refund could help you get into an Uber-worthy car and earn extra cash.

Start an eCommerce Business

Starting an online shop for your crafts or goods can earn you extra money on the side, but there are startup costs involved. From materials (if you make crafts), to online shop subscriptions, to marketing materials, to ads, you may need a few thousand dollars to get started.

Using your tax refund can help you cover all those startup costs to get your shop up and running — and may even help with some of the ongoing costs and fees to get your business off the ground. Once you start shipping your products and bringing in revenue, you can reinvest back into your business to continue growing. But your initial funding could be a few weeks away with your tax refund.

Buy Online Courses To Stack Skills

If you want to level up your professional life and earn more money, there are niche-specific online courses that can help. Whether you want to boost sales for your online business by learning Instagram Ads, or learn coding for mobile apps, or want to get a network certification to get a better job — all of this can be done online.

With a few thousands dollars from the average tax refund, you can invest in online courses that will boost your income via a job promotion, a new job altogether, or the ability to make more sales in your online business. But make sure to research well and ask others you trust which online courses deliver — and which are a waste of money.

Invest In Dividend Stocks

If you want to earn passive income with your tax refund, one of the best ways to do this is to invest. If you want to invest for income, dividend-paying stocks will send you money just for holding them.

For example, Coca Cola pays around 3% per year for holding Coca Cola stock (currently 51 cents per quarter, per stock held), according to Nasdaq. This means if you invest a tax refund of around $3,000 into Coca Cola stock, you could get around $90 per year in dividends. While this may not be life-changing money, you’re also invested in a solid, reliable company that steadily grows in value and continues to pay investors dividends year after year.

Invest In Crowdfunded Real Estate

If you want to use your tax refund to buy real estate, that might not be possible. With housing affordability at record highs and down payments in the tens of thousands, a $3,200 average tax refund won’t get you there. But there are ways to invest in real estate without a huge sum of money.

Crowd-funded real estate platforms allow you to purchase a small portion of commercial or rental real estate property for as little as $100. Platforms like Arrived allow you to invest directly into properties and collect money income from rents paid. While these are long-term investments, you can generate truly passive income immediately by investing.

Put It in a High Yield Savings Account

If you don’t want to risk your money on a new business venture or investments, you can park your tax return in a high-yield savings account. These accounts pay a much higher interest rate than standard savings accounts — but offer much of the same protections and benefits as regular savings and checking accounts.

You get FDIC insurance (up to $250,000 per depositor) in the account, can access your money at any time, and most don’t come with any fees. And some accounts are paying up to 4% annual interest right now. That means you could earn $10 a month if you put your entire $3,000 tax refund into a high-yield savings account.

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