The Effects of Refund Anticipation Loans on Tax Filing and EITC Takeup
36 Pages Posted: 30 Jun 2016 Last revised: 7 Aug 2017
Date Written: June 6, 2016
Abstract
The IRS has an uneasy relationship with tax return preparers. Preparers may ease the tax filing process and improve take-up of benefits like the earned income tax credit (EITC); however, preparers also profit from financial products sold in connection with tax preparation that have been viewed as exploitative. But can we have a market for low-income tax preparation without such products, and should we? I estimate the effects of regulation curtailing the market for refund anticipation loans (RALs) on a variety of outcomes, including demand for paid tax preparation, EITC take-up, and demand for other financial products, to explore the source of RAL demand and the relationship between RALs and tax compliance. Nearly eliminating RALs reduced demand for paid tax preparation and EITC take-up, and increased demand for an alternative product, which suggests that lack of access to the payment system may be an important driver of RAL demand and that even present-biased individuals may benefit from RALs.
Keywords: EITC, Tax Collection, Tax Compliance, Regulated Industries, Behavioral Public Finance
JEL Classification: H26, K23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation