HACKENSACK, N.J. — Tax Day is here again, and a new survey finds plenty of Americans are STILL waiting to file for 2021. In fact, one-third of taxpayers wait until the filing deadline to do their annual taxes. Unfortunately, that’s a big problem for many people because 56 percent of Americans don’t even know when that deadline is!
In a poll of more than 1,100 people, commissioned by IPX 1031, 32 percent say they procrastinate when it comes to doing their taxes because they don’t expect to get a refund. One in four say they hold off until the last minute because the process is just too complicated and stressful. For those who still don’t know, Tax Day 2022 is April 18.
Researchers also found that the nation’s younger taxpayers are more likely to procrastinate each year. Millennials rank as the most likely Americans to file their taxes at the last minute — despite receiving the largest average refunds among all generations! Overall, however, the survey found that one in four people will see a smaller refund this year in comparison to 2021.
Nevadans love to gamble — with their taxes
When it comes to which Americans avoid doing their taxes the longest, residents in Nevada are the new kings of procrastination. Famous for being the home of Las Vegas, the poll finds Nevadans also like to gamble on getting their taxes done on time. Nevada moved up three spots from number four in 2021, averaging more Google searches related to the Tax Day deadline than any other state in the nation.
Specifically, researchers looked at search phrases such as “what happens if I file my taxes late?”, “when is it too late to file taxes?”, and “can I file late taxes?” across all 50 states to compile their annual list.
Rounding out the top five are the same states that appeared on the 2021 list, including Hawaii (2nd), Georgia (3rd), Alaska (4th), and California (5th).
As for the Americans who get their taxes done in a timely fashion, Iowa (50th) continues to be home to the fewest tax procrastinators in the country. Wisconsin (49th) and Michigan (48th) followed closely behind.
Speaking of Las Vegas, the poll’s review of the biggest procrastinators by city found Sin City is still home to the most last-minute tax filers in the U.S. The survey finds there are more than 1,300 Tax Day searches for every 100,000 people in the city. Denver, Baltimore, and Seattle round out the top four — all averaging over 1,100 Tax Day deadline searches on Google.
Where’s the money going?
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Americans received an average refund of $2,815 in 2021. Unfortunately, confidence in the economy is much lower this year and respondents are only expecting to receive just over $1,900 this year.
For the 50 percent of Americans who say they have already filed their taxes, 11 percent admit they’ve already spent that money! Over a third (37%) plan to save that money when it arrives and one in five (22%) plan to use the money to pay down their debt.
