Share |

Association for Retail Technology Standards
National Council of Chain Restaurants
Loss Prevention (LPInformation.com)
Retail Advertising and Marketing Association
Community of Online and Multichannel Retailers
STORES Media, Knowledge Series, and more
NRF Foundation Research & Education
Forum for International Retail Association Executives

News

Holiday & Consumer Trends Image: Text decoration - bullet

Tax Returns/Rebates Image: Text decoration - bullet

February 26, 2009

Americans File Taxes Earlier and Online in Hopes of Faster Refunds, According to NRF Survey

Click here for complete survey results and sample charts

For Immediate Release
Kathy Grannis (202)783-7971 or grannisk@nrf.com
www.nrf.com/press

Americans File Taxes Earlier and Online in Hopes of Faster Refunds,
According to NRF Survey

Washington, February 26, 2009 – Anxious to get hard-earned money back in their pockets, Americans expecting a tax return will be filing early this year, according to NRF’s Tax Returns Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch. Of those expecting a refund, 71.0 percent will have filed by the end of February, compared to 37.5 percent of people who are not expecting a refund.

In addition to filing earlier, people who expect a refund are much more likely to file online (59.9% vs. 38.9%); another indication that taxpayers eager to get money back from Uncle Sam would like to receive money as soon as possible.

“Many families, eagerly anticipating extra cash, are filing taxes earlier this year,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Retailers planning to offer special promotions during tax season may want to consider rolling them out as soon as possible.”

This year, two-thirds (68.4%) of consumers expect a refund from their 2008 taxes. The majority of people expecting a refund will use the money to pay down debt (48.0%). Others will put their refund in savings (38.9%) or invest in a major purchase like a television or car (11.0%). One-fourth (26.7%) will use refunds for everyday expenses, similar to behavior seen in 2008 and 2007.

“Whether consumers use a refund to pay down debt or simply to get a handle on everyday expenses, ‘free money’ goes a long way these days,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. “Americans are looking for ways to increase their spending power and this extra boost is a great way to start.”

When it comes to tax preparation, many Americans are leaving number-crunching to other people. According to the survey, more people are letting accountants do the number-crunching this year (25.7% vs. 23.5% in 2008). Others plan to rely on friends and family to prepare taxes (12.0%) or use a tax preparation service (17.7%). Half of Americans will do their taxes themselves, either by hand (12.8%) or with computer software (31.8%)

About the Survey

The NRF 2009 Tax Returns Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted for NRF by BIGresearch, was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to tax returns. The poll of 8,426 consumers was conducted from February 3-10, 2009. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 8,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2008 sales of $4.6 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.

###

Email to Friend | Printer Friendly

Subscribe to the NRF News Feed