WHAT THE DATA SAY: 57% of Americans and 67% of Gen Z stressed about filing their taxes

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

66 DAYS UNTIL ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST STRESSFUL DAYS

April 15 is on the horizon, and 57% of American adults find completing their own tax-filing nerve-wracking, according to our Harris Poll survey.

• 46% file early in the season, 33% mid-season, and 19% wait until the deadline – or after.
• 54% prefer to file with the assistance of someone else.
• Among those who receive support, 33% meet with a tax professional, 22% use an online tax service, and 15% use paid tax software.
• Maximizing tax returns is top of mind: 60% believe filing too quickly could affect their deductions.
• 66% say it’s smart for people to use legal loopholes in tax law to maximize their filing.

YOUNG PEOPLE TURNING TO AI FOR TAX HELP

Tax filing using AI is growing in popularity among America’s young adults, based on our Harris Poll research with Fast Company.

• 70% of Gen Z would consider using AI-based tax preparation software to file their taxes, compared with 45% of Americans overall (61% Millennials, 47% Gen X and 25% Boomers).
• 44% of Gen Z already has used AI to ease tax filing (versus Boomers at 4%).
• AI could help calm Gen Z’s tax nerves: 67% of Gen Z say completing tax filings is nerve-racking (compared with 57% of Americans overall).

LOUD BUDGETING BECOMING A THING

Gen Z also is introducing us to “loud budgeting,” or speaking up about saving money and not overspending, according to our Harris Poll study with Credit Karma.

• Comedian Lukas Battle introduced loud budgeting in a TikTok video viewed more than 1.5 million times.
• 27% of Americans admit to spending to cope with stress.
• 69% of Americans say they have financial regrets from 2023.
• 53% say their economic situation worsened last year.
• Many point to poor spending habits: 41% regret not saving money, and 22% overspent.

WHERE AMERICA GETS THE NEWS IT DOESN’T TRUST

Social media CEOs were in the spotlight last week during a Senate Judiciary hearing that reinforced just how low public trust is in the platforms.

• 65% of Americans do not think social media is a trusted source of news, yet 66% have used social media to seek out news, according to Harris Poll data.
• It’s not just young people: 82% of Gen Z, 78% of Millennials, 72% of Gen X and 44% of Boomers use social media as primary news sources.
• It’s not partisan either: 67% of Democrats, 66% of Republicans and 66% of Independents use social media for news.
• Read more about the trust deficit in the new edition of Stagwell’s Risk and Reputation Radar.

ICYMI

In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• HARRIS POLL: Would the NFL Ever Put Super Bowl On Pay-Per-View? Bad Idea
• CODE AND THEORY: What if you invested $20m in AI instead of a Super Bowl ad?
• KWT: Can Generative AI Help Employee Advocacy?
• NRG: Which games left their mark at The Game Awards?
• CODE AND THEORY: Thanks to Gen Z, Deeper Connections Will Become the Currency of the Future
• HARRIS POLL: 2 generations, 1 corner office: 20 years separate the Harris Poll’s co-CEOs