By Allison Sadlier // SWNS
New York office - 646-873-7565 / usnews@swns.com
NEWS COPY w/ VIDEO & INFOGRAPHIC
Do you when the tax deadline is? According to new research, less than a third of Americans know when taxes are due this year.
A new poll of 2,000 Americans found a measly 27% of Americans were able to correctly identify April 15 as the official day taxes are due.
It also revealed that a quarter (24%) admitted they had no idea when the last day to file an extension is, while only 15% correctly labeled April 15.
That wasn’t all respondents were in the dark about when it comes to filing taxes.
Twenty-nine percent thought a split refund was divided between two spouses while 17% assumed it meant the refund would be received in two installments three months apart.
Only 31% correctly identified a split refund as dividing a refund among up to three different accounts.
When it came to who can qualify as a dependent, a third (34%) assumed that any adult who lives with them can qualify.
Nearly half (49%) knew a child under 18 or a child who is a full-time student under 24 (40%) would be considered a dependent on tax forms.
The study, commissioned by Self and conducted by OnePoll, found one of the top reasons Americans are filing early this year is because they are flat broke from holiday spending.
Over one in three will be getting that money early just to make up for all the gifts they bought.
Two in five (44%) plan to pay off their credit card bills while 36% want to make their money grow by investing it. Thirty-six percent plan to turn their refund into rays of sun and will put the dough toward a vacation.
Half (55%) of Americans are already excited to get their hands on their refunds.
Of those anxiously awaiting their refunds, a third admitted they’re “very dependent” on their refund coming through.
Going without a refund and paying the IRS just isn’t feasible for many this year. Forty-four percent admitted that owing the IRS money would completely derail their 2020 budget.
“If you’re anticipating a large refund this year, be sure to have a plan in place for how to use that money," said Self CEO James Garvey. "Give every dollar a job, whether it’s toward debt or savings or even a little to enjoy yourself.”
Results revealed three in four respondents named filing taxes as a top stressor.
Filing taxes is such a dreadful experience that respondents would be willing to do pretty outlandish things in order to escape the anxiety of filling out tax forms.
Forty-six percent would be willing to lose an hour of sleep every night for a month if that meant they wouldn’t have to file taxes.
A third (36%) said they’d suffer the embarrassment of a terrible haircut or lose their favorite sweater forever (also 36%) if they could skip filing in 2020.
Of those waiting until April to file, 52% are waiting until they deadline because they know they’ll owe money this year. Forty-one percent admitted they wind down the clock because they tend to procrastinate.
“If you need help filing, look into resources in your local community or online that can help give you guidance to correctly file your taxes on," Garvey said. "Getting it late or getting it wrong could cost you in fees or penalties down the road.”
WHAT RESPONDENTS WOULD RATHER DO THAN FILE TAXES
- Lose an hour of sleep a night for a month 46%
- Get a bad haircut 36%
- Lose favorite sweater forever 36%
- Eat a bowl of insects 30%
- Give up chocolate for a year 28%
- Walk to work for a week 20%
PLANS FOR TAX REFUNDS
- Credit card bills 44%
- Savings 41%
- Food shopping 40%
- Utilities 38%
- Investment 36%
- Vacation fund 36%
- Pay back holiday shopping 35%
- Rent/mortgage 31%
TOP STRESSORS
- Filing taxes 73%
- Check up at the doctor’s 67%
- Holiday shopping 64%
- Teeth cleaning at the dentist 64%
- Family events 64%
- Paying off credit card 64%
- Traveling 61%
- Checking bank statement 60%
- Paying rent/mortgage 59%
- Visit from in-laws 59%
- Parent-teacher conference 55%
