研究 Taking the Financial Stress Out of Tax Time

Tax time is a stress on family finances. 它要求我们中的许多人在4月15日(或今年的4月18日)之前总结自己的财务状况，填写无数的表格。. But the process of filing a tax return is only half the stress. 收到退税或缴纳税款的实际金融交易通常是一个家庭在一年中经历的最大的单一金融交易，也是金融波动的重要因素.

12bet官方研究所(12bet官方 研究所)最近通过对大通核心支票账户客户的匿名抽样，分析了纳税时间对财务的影响, 和 this yielded a surprising insight: on average, 纳税和退税的规模甚至比个人收入的绝对变化还要大, lose or switch a job (Figure 1 below). 纳税和退税在很大程度上解释了收入和支出的总体波动(下文图2和图3)。. This volatility matters because it is hard to manage.

纳税, which often represent a large portion of individuals" incomes, can be difficult for people to make. Even if we assume only families in the top two income quintiles make tax payments, 4美元的税款,732 represents almost 4 percent of total income for these families, 和y have to pay it out in one go.¹

的 rapid growth of the Online Platform Economy 和 alternative work arrangements more generally further complicate this story. 劳动的平台, such as Uber 和 TaskRabbit, tend to attract lower income individuals, 和se employment opportunities do not typically withhold taxes from take-home pay. 因此， 更多的中低收入个人可能会发现他们必须纳税，甚至可能欠欠少缴税款的罚款. 预测和自动预扣或节省所欠税款的创新，可以帮助临时员工避免在纳税时欠下大笔税款.

Even tax refunds are stress-inducing, however. With an average refund for all tax filers of $2,733 in 2013 和 a maximum EITC refund of $6,143 for a family with three or more dependents, 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 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), 79%的报税人获得了退税，其中包括2700万获得劳动所得税抵免(EITC)的家庭和85%收入低于50美元的家庭,000. 许多人用多余的钱支付学费，更换家电，甚至度假. 但是最近 研究 显示，低收入和中等收入家庭在未来六个月内花费不到一半(43%)的退税. 的y save 57 percent of their tax refund, using 43 percent to pay down debt 和 otherwise saving the remaining 14 percent. 不足为奇的是, 拥有更多无担保债务的个人将退税存起来的可能性明显更小.

的se statistics are striking for two reasons. 第一个, 他们认为，人们需要从退税中获得的钱来支付日常开支. 和, 值得注意的是，如果个人能够更定期地获得这些资金, they might be able to mitigate their debt obligations.

第二个, these statistics indicate that, despite the debt overhang, 在纳税时存钱是一个重要的机会:对于一般人来说，他们把退税的57%存了起来, that represents over $1,500美元的储蓄. To put this number into perspective, 我们发现 that median income households fall $1,还差800美元,800流动资产缓冲所必需的，以承受90%的不利的收入和支出的冲击，他们所经历的, 和 households in the lowest income quintile are $1,离1美元还差000美元,600 liquid asset buffer they need. 在那个时候 real wages have been in decline 和 income volatility has been increasing 对大多数工人来说, 对于许多中低收入家庭来说，退税是一个很好的机会，可以让他们开始并维持一定的储蓄水平，从而为抵御金融风暴提供一条生命线.

It is one thing to demonstrate the opportunity to save, 但 it is quite another to encourage people to put money aside. 为此，一些创新的公共部门和非营利项目，整齐地总结在一个 工具包, encourage families eligible for the EITC 和 other low- to middle-income recipients, to save rather than spend their tax refunds. But getting people to save their tax refund has proven difficult. Even in successful programs, participation rates are often low 和 size of the impacts often small, especially given the amount of resources dedicated to changing behavior.²

行为经济学家和非营利组织共同努力，寻找最有效的方式来鼓励节省纳税时间, it is also important to consider alternative paths. 为什么不通过分期支付退税而不是一次性支付来减少波动性呢?

Two notable proposals already exist along these lines. 企业发展公司(CFED)已经提议在这个方向上用他们的 雨天津贴, 个人可以选择在6个月后领取所得税抵免金的20%, with a 50 percent match. Similarly, the Center for Economic Progress piloted the Chicago EITC Periodic Payment Pilot, 其中个人在EITC纳税年度的四次付款中收到了他们估计的EITC退款的一半. 他们发现，与一次性付款相比，90%接受定期付款的个人更喜欢分期付款.³ 此外, individuals who received regular payments accumulated less debt; paid fewer late fees; 和, 最重要的是, experienced lower financial stress.

教育地, it is worth noting that the Advance EITC, in which individuals could receive a portion of their EITC in every paycheck, was eliminated with the passage of the Education Jobs 和 Medicaid Assistance Act of 2010. An analysis of the program 文件表明，只有3%的符合条件的个人选择了这个项目，并且对项目要求的依从性很低. Key lessons 和 design questions emerge from this failed experiment. 我们应否把定期退税款作为个人的默认选择? Should the periodic refunds come during or after the tax year? Should all or some people be eligible for periodic installments? Should there be a savings incentive attached? 一个简单的选择退出计划，分期支付退税，可以给五分之四的家庭带来可观的收入, 经常性收入流可能是一个有希望的方式，使低收入和中等收入的人走上更大的金融弹性的道路. 

12bet官方研究所致力于为公众利益提供数据丰富的分析和专家见解. 我们的报告, Weathering Volatility 和 Paychecks, Paydays, 和 Online Platform Economy, 强调人口结构、收入来源和消费波动，以及美国人准备如何应对这些变化.