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.

Featured Research

Prospects for Federal Tax Policy After the 2020 Election

November 10, 2020

Improving the Federal Tax System for Gig Economy Participants

October 18, 2019

A Preliminary Look at 2018 Tax Data

July 19, 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

What the U.S. Can Learn from the Adoption (and Repeal) of Wealth Taxes in the OECD

January 30, 2019

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