The survey found nearly two-thirds (65.8%) of consumers are expecting a refund from Uncle Sam this year, and when asked how they plan to spend their refund, 37.2% say they will use the money to pay down debt, 44.0 percent will put it into savings and 29.7 percent will use it for everyday expenses.

Looking at the group whose spending plans have been greatly impacted by payroll tax changes - a hefty 48.1 percent of those expecting a refund say they will pay down debt, and 40.2 will put their refund towards savings.

“Americans are extremely mindful of how they spend their hard-earned money these days, and that includes any refund they may get back from their taxes,” said BIGinsight Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow. “Thanks to years of practice stemming from high gas and food prices, and an uncertain economy, families will adjust to the changes in their take-home pay by purchasing generic brands, searching for coupons, downgrading on services like cable and internet and re-evaluating their overall spending habits.” 

Online tax preparation grows, most will use computer software to file taxes

When it comes to how Americans will file their taxes, the number of people who file their taxes online continues to increase. This year, 62.5 percent of U.S. taxpayers will file their taxes online, up from 60.7 percent last year and the most in the survey’s history. Additionally, 37.3 percent will prepare their taxes using computer software, 20.2 percent will use an accountant, 18.8 percent will use a tax preparation service, and 14.0 percent will prepare by hand.

About the Survey

The NRF 2013 Tax Returns survey, conducted for NRF by BIGinsight, was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to tax returns. The poll of 5,185 consumers was conducted from February 5-13, 2013. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 percentage points.

BIGinsight delivers executives timely, consumer-centric insights from multiple sources. As a comprehensive resource of information, BIGinsight represents the voice of the consumer and provides knowledge to marketers regarding consumer views on the economy, personal finance, retail, lifestyle, media and domestic and world issues. www.BIGinsight.com

As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad. Retailers operate more than 3.6 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans.

National Retail Federation