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Tax filing and take-up: Experimental evidence on tax preparation outreach and benefit claiming

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  • Goldin, Jacob
  • Homonoff, Tatiana
  • Javaid, Rizwan
  • Schafer, Brenda

Abstract

The U.S. federal government, states, and non-profits all devote substantial resources to increasing take-up of refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) through educational outreach. We study a different approach to increasing take-up: policies that encourage tax filing. In a large field experiment, we find that IRS letters about free tax preparation modestly increased filing, with a large share of the new filers claiming the EITC and the CTC. The results suggest policies that increase filing can be an effective way to increase take-up of tax-administered social benefits, even policies that do not raise awareness of the benefit itself.

Suggested Citation

  • Goldin, Jacob & Homonoff, Tatiana & Javaid, Rizwan & Schafer, Brenda, 2022. "Tax filing and take-up: Experimental evidence on tax preparation outreach and benefit claiming," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:206:y:2022:i:c:s0047272721001869
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104550
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    3. Aimee Chabot & Maximilian Hell, 2023. "Using Technology and Iterative Research to Strengthen the Social Safety Net," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 706(1), pages 256-275, March.
    4. Iselin, John & Mackay, Taylor & Unrath, Matthew, 2023. "Measuring take-up of the California EITC with state administrative data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).

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