Higher-income Americans were twice as likely to have a bigger tax refund this year
The Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded on Ipsos' Omnibus platform, asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.
Why we asked: Around Tax Day this year, we saw a bunch of stories pop up filled with anecdata and mean data about tipped workers (about 1 in 10 U.S. workers) getting huge refunds under the new rules about how tips are federally taxed (or not) as income. We wondered how people felt their refunds netted out overall.
What we found: First, it’s important to note that refund discussions are complicated because many work to reduce their refunds by increasing their withholding, so as to avoid giving the government essentially a no-interest loan of money until it comes back in the refund. The tax rules on this also change from time to time.
That said, overall most people either said their refund was about the same (32%) or they didn’t get one (26%). Slightly more said they got a larger-than-usual refund (18%) than a smaller-than-usual refund (13%). Republicans were more likely to say they got a larger-than-usual refund, which could be bias?
But guess who was most likely to say they got a larger refund? Looking at splits across gender, age, race and ethnicity and income, it was the households making $100k or more who were most likely to say they got a larger refund (22%, or twice as likely to say so than those making under $50k). Incidentally, if you’re wondering as I was, waiters and waitresses — a profession especially reliant on tips — typically make… less than $50,000.
More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:
A positive signal on the economy: More people have money left over after bills
AI data centers are unpopular with most Americans
If you trust AI recommendations generally, you trust them for most things
Americans are well aware of gas prices' rise
Seven years in, few see COVID as a threat
The Ipsos Vibe Check: Here's how Americans feel about the government this week
The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?
