A new report lays out the findings from research conducted by Prosperity Now, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University and SaverLife (formerly EARN) on the behaviors and outcomes related to savings and the financial-wellbeing of LMI tax filers.
Key takeaways from this research include:
- Low-and-moderate income tax filers are saving at higher rates than previously measured.
- Households use their tax refund in a variety of ways and for numerous reasons. Savings is just one of the uses of the refund and not the most important one for many filers.
- Savings interventions and supports offered at VITA sites are not being consistently implemented across the field.
- Taxpayers who both intended to save and, subsequently, successfully saved some of their tax refund experienced fewer financial hardships and increased financial well-being in the months after tax filing.
Access the full report: Evaluating Tax Time Savings Interventions and Behaviors (Prosperity Now, January 2020)