Americans seem to have a peculiar avoidance reaction during the month of April. While most Americans expect to get a tax refund this year, many will file their returns at the last minute. In fact, nearly half of all taxpayers (48%) wait until the filing deadline before they think about their taxes, according to a recent survey conducted by TurboTax, America’s best-selling tax preparation software.
This finding is particularly perplexing when you consider that more than half of American taxpayers (55%) expect to get a refund this year. With so many people anticipating refunds, what is preventing them from completing their taxes sooner? According to the TurboTax survey, confusing IRS lingo frustrates most Americans. In fact, IRS lingo was cited as the most difficult part of doing taxes by one out of four Americans.
- 20% cited the difficulty in identifying which deductions to take.
- 7% felt that obtaining the right forms posed the greatest challenge.
This year, the average American expects to spend 7.3 hours preparing a tax return. This comes as no surprise when you consider that the I.R.S. code is twice as long as the King James version of the Bible. Factor in the complex calculations and the abundance of required forms and you have a process that strikes fear and panic among millions of Americans.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to drastically decrease the burden on your time and stress level.
"Tax preparation need not be as painful as in the past. Tax preparation software, such as TurboTax, will perform the necessary calculations for you, find the deductions you’re eligible for, flag inconsistencies that might cause an audit, and provide the appropriate forms -- all from the convenience of home," says Scott Cook, Intuit chairman. "Not only does tax software make filing a return easier and faster, but the IRS recommends it. According to the I.R.S., returns prepared with tax software contain significantly fewer errors than those done by hand."
With only 40% of Americans highly confident that they are taking all the deductions they’re entitled to, there is a lot riding on the accuracy of one’s forms. Now that four out of ten households have at least one PC (Wall Street Journal, 1/6/97), tax preparation tools such as TurboTax are a natural and convenient way to ensure accuracy -- guaranteed.
The TurboTax survey was conducted by David Michaelson & Associates, which surveyed 1,017 Americans between January 17 to January 19, 1997. Intuit Inc., a financial software and Web-based services company, develops and markets Quicken, the leading personal finance software; TurboTax, the best-selling tax preparation software; and QuickBooks, the most popular small business accounting software.
Intuit's Quicken Financial Network (http://www.qfn.com/) offers a variety of news, information and market spaces including the No. 1 mutual fund Web site, NETworth.galt.com, and the most dynamic personal insurance Web site, Quicken InsureMarket SM. Intuit's products and services enable individuals, small businesses and financial professionals to better manage their financial lives and businesses. In addition, Intuit's systems and solutions provide many of the nation's leading financial service providers with communication, sales and marketing opportunities that deliver new customers, better serve existing customers and lower costs.
