研究 减轻纳税时间的财务压力

纳税时间是家庭财政的压力. It requires many of us to sum up our finances 和 fill out a myriad of forms by April 15th (or April 18th this year). 但提交纳税申报表的过程只是一半的压力. 的 actual financial transaction of receiving a tax refund or making a tax payment is often the single largest financial transaction families experience in a given year 和 a significant contri但or to financial volatility.

的 12bet官方 研究所 recently analyzed the financial impacts of tax time using an anonymized sample of core 追逐 checking account customers, 这就得出了一个惊人的结论:平均而言, tax payments 和 tax refunds are even larger in magnitude than the absolute change in income individuals experience when they gain, 丢失或切换工作(下面的图1). 纳税 和 refunds explain a significant amount of the volatility in income 和 spending on an aggregate basis (Figures 2 和 3 below). 这种波动很重要，因为它很难管理.

纳税, 这些通常代表了个人收入的很大一部分, 很难让人做出来吗. 即使我们假设只有收入最高的两个五分之一的家庭纳税, 4美元的税款,732美元几乎占这些家庭总收入的4%, 而且他们必须一次性付清.¹

的 网络平台经济快速发展 和 更普遍的替代工作安排 使这个故事更加复杂. 劳动的平台, 比如Uber和TaskRabbit, 倾向于吸引低收入人群, 而且这些就业机会通常不会从实得工资中扣缴税款. 因此， more low- to middle-income individuals might find that they have to make tax payments 和 might even owe tax underpayment penalties. Innovations to predict 和 automatically withhold or save taxes owed could help contingent workers avoid owing significant payments at tax time.

然而，即使是退税也会让人感到压力. 所有报税人平均可获得2美元的退税,2013年为733美元，EITC退税最高为6美元,有三个或三个以上受抚养人的家庭为143英镑, 退税通常是家庭全年收到的最大一笔一次性付款. 根据 2013纳税年度数据 和 消费者金融保护局 (CFPB), 79 percent of tax filers received a tax refund—including 27 million households who received the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) 和 85 percent of households with incomes less than $50,000. Many used the extra cash to pay for school, replace a home appliance or even take a vacation. 但是最近 研究 showed that low- 和 middle-income families spend less than half (43 percent) of their tax refunds within the next six months. 他们把退税的57%存起来, 用43%来偿还债务，剩下的14%存起来. 不足为奇的是, individuals with more unsecured debt were significantly less likely to save any of their tax refund.

这些数据之所以引人注目，有两个原因. 第一个, they suggest that people need the money they receive from tax refunds to cover their daily expenses. 和, it is important to note that if individuals had access to those funds at more regular intervals, 他们或许能够减轻债务负担.

第二个, 这些统计数据表明, 尽管债务积压, saving at tax time is a major opportunity: for the average individual who saves 57 percent of their tax refund, 也就是超过1美元,500美元的储蓄. 为了正确看待这个数字， 我们发现 家庭收入中位数下降1美元,还差800美元,800 liquid asset buffer necessary to withst和 90 percent of the adverse income 和 spending shocks they experience, 收入最低的五分之一的家庭是1美元,离1美元还差000美元,他们需要600美元的流动资产缓冲. 在那个时候 实际工资一直在下降 和 收入波动一直在加剧 对大多数工人来说, tax refunds are a great opportunity for many low- to middle-income families to start—和 maintain—a level of savings that could provide a lifeline to weather financial storms.

展示储蓄的机会是一回事, 但鼓励人们存钱则是另一回事. To that end, a number of innovative public sector 和 nonprofit programs, neatly summarized in a 工具包, 鼓励符合EITC资格的家庭和其他中低收入受助人, 把退税存起来而不是花掉. 但事实证明，让人们把退税存起来是很困难的. 即使在成功的项目中, 参与率往往很低，影响的规模往往很小, 特别是考虑到有大量的资源致力于改变行为.²

While behavioral economists 和 nonprofits work together to identify the most effective ways to encourage tax-time savings, 考虑替代路径也很重要. Why not reduce the volatility by paying out tax refunds in installments rather than in a lump-sum payment?

在这方面已经有两个值得注意的提议. 的 Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) has proposed a nudge in this direction with their 雨天津贴, whereby individuals can elect to receive 20 percent of their EITC payment six months later, 50%的匹配度. 同样，经济进步中心(Center for Economic Progress)也在试点 芝加哥EITC定期支付试点, in which individuals received half of their estimated EITC refund in four payments during the EITC tax year. 的y found that 90 percent of individuals who received the periodic payments preferred them over a lump sum.³ 此外, individuals who received regular payments accumulated less debt; paid fewer late fees; 和, 最重要的是, 经历较低的财务压力.

教育地, 值得注意的是，提前所得税抵免, 个人可以在每份薪水中获得部分EITC, 随着2010年《12bet官方》的通过而被取消. An 程序分析 documented that only 3 percent of eligible individuals had opted into this program 和 that compliance with program requirements was low. 关键的经验教训和设计问题从这个失败的实验中浮现出来. Should we make periodic tax refund payments the default option for individuals with an opt-out option? 定期退款应该在纳税年度内还是之后进行? 是否所有人或部分人都有资格定期分期付款? 是否应该附带储蓄激励? A simple opt-out program to pay tax refunds in installments could give four-in-five families a substantial, recurring income stream that might be a promising way to get low- to middle-income earners on a path to greater financial resilience. 

的 12bet官方 研究所 is committed to delivering data-rich analyses 和 expert insights for the public good. 我们的报告, 风化的波动 和 薪水、发薪日和在线平台经济, highlight the demographics 和 sources of income 和 consumption volatility 和 how Americans are prepared to weather these changes.