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.

Tax Bill Passes Exempting Tribal General Welfare Benefits

September 29, 2014

Entrepreneurship and a Pro-Growth Tax Code

September 23, 2014

Public Finance Textbooks Miss the Excess Burden of Taxes

September 19, 2014

Pro-Growth Provisions in the Jobs for America Act

September 18, 2014

The Cost of Tax Compliance

September 11, 2014

Earnings Stripping, Competitiveness, and the Drive to Further Complicate the Corporate Tax

August 20, 2014

IRS Penalties Force Colorado Marijuana Retailers to Face Higher Tax Burdens

July 11, 2014

The IRS Needs Tax Reform Not a Bigger Budget

July 3, 2014

Questionable Moments in Tax History: Why the Word “Hoensbroek” is in IRS Instruction Booklets

June 6, 2014

How Many Words are in the Tax Code?

April 15, 2014

2,999 Americans Renounced U.S. Citizenship in 2013

February 7, 2014

Baucus Administrative Reforms Target Bank Accounts as a “Closing the Tax Gap” Measure

December 17, 2013

Twelve Steps toward a Simpler, Pro-Growth Tax Code

October 30, 2013

Ripe for Reform: Improper EITC Payments Exceed $11 Billion per Year

October 23, 2013

The Income Tax Code Spans More than 70,000 Pages