Center for Federal Tax Policy

Individual Tax Compliance and Complexity

The full cost of a tax system is more than simply the amount of tax paid. It also includes the cost of tax planning and paperwork. Economists call these “tax compliance” costs, and the IRS estimates Americans spend 6.6 billion hours per year filling out tax forms—including 1.6 billion hours on the 1040 form alone.

Your Tax Refund Doesn’t Tell You How Much You Paid in Taxes

March 3, 2020

Two Years After Passage, Treasury Regulations for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Surpass 1,000 Pages

December 12, 2019

Closing the Tax Gap and Improving the Tax Code Are Complementary Goals

November 21, 2019

Improving the Federal Tax System for Gig Economy Participants

October 18, 2019

A Preliminary Look at 2018 Tax Data

July 19, 2019

The Tax Gap Tops $500 Billion a Year

May 15, 2019

The House Offers a Small Step Forward on Retirement Savings

May 10, 2019

The First Filing Season under the TCJA

April 15, 2019

Policymakers Should Learn from Tax Complexity in Brazil and the United States

April 5, 2019

To Remedy Tax Compliance Problems, Gig Economy Firms Need Policy Certainty

March 1, 2019

Don’t Judge Your Taxes by Your Refund

January 29, 2019

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act After A Year

December 17, 2018

Millennials Filed One-Third of 2016 Tax Returns

September 5, 2018

Reviewing Different Methods of Calculating Tax Compliance Costs

August 21, 2018

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Simplified the Tax Filing Process for Millions of Households

August 7, 2018

Taxing Patreon Contributions

June 8, 2018

IRS to Issue Guidance Clarifying Viability of SALT Deduction Cap Workarounds

May 23, 2018

New IRS Data Shows Most IRA Contributions Were Made by Middle-Class Taxpayers

April 26, 2018

Are Pre-Filled Forms the Solution to Tax Compliance Costs?

April 9, 2018

Senate Finance Retirement Savings Bill Falls Short of Offering Comprehensive Solutions

March 14, 2018