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.

Related Articles

Public Finance Textbooks Miss the Excess Burden of Taxes

September 19, 2014

Pro-Growth Provisions in the Jobs for America Act

September 18, 2014

Why do I have Four Different Retirement Accounts?

September 16, 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

The Clinton’s Estate Tax Planning Demonstrates the Arcane Nature of the Estate Tax

June 23, 2014

The Simple Case for Tax Neutrality

May 13, 2014

It Takes 175 hours for a U.S. Business to Comply with U.S. Taxes

May 1, 2014

A Muddled Tax Code Reflects Muddled Thinking

April 15, 2014

Tax Complexity a Problem in Every State

April 15, 2014

How Many Words are in the Tax Code?

April 15, 2014

The High and Regressive Costs of Tax Preparation

April 11, 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

October 23, 2013

A Lot Has Changed in the 27 Years Since the Last Major Tax Reform

October 22, 2013