What Are Tax Refunds Spent On?

It has been a week since the April 15th Income Tax deadline and some people are already receiving their tax refunds.  In 2018, about 70% of those who filed received a refund but no one is sure about the number of refunds in 2019 due to  changes in the law.

When people were polled on how they planned to spend their refunds, about 27% stated they would use it to pay down debts.  This is nine percent less than in 2018.

Nine percent planned to make a major purchase while another nine percent want to put the money in a non-retirement saving account, and nine more percent plan to invest the monies.  Only seven percent want to deposit it into their retirement account while an equal number want to spend the money on a vacation.  Only three percent hoped to spend their refunds on luxury items.

The amount people want to invest or spend differs according to their age or sex.  Its interesting that the 25 to 34 age group is more likely to invest the money, make a major purchase, or pay off a loan than any other group.  On the other hand the 35 to 44 age group tied with the 55 to 64 group for depositing the money into a retirement account.

If you go to this site, it has the information broken down by age group and sex for both 2018 and 2019.  Both graphs give students a chance to practice reading and interpreting information.  Its also set up in a way, students can use the information to create graphical representations of results.  They can also use the numbers to create a visual representation of the increases and decreases between 2018 and 2019.

The site also has information on the expected amount of refunds which range from $2021 for the 55 to 64 age group up to $5,400 for the 65 and above group.  On the other hand, about 50% of the 18 to 24 age group do not expect a refund while only 26% of the 55 to 64 years old do not expect a refund.

If you want to have students create a tax breakdown by state where they list number of tax refunds issued, the amount, and the average amount in 2017, check out this site.  There is enough information for students to create graphical representations showing a variety of information. They can also create a ratio of number of tax returns per state to the population of adults over the age of 18.

Lots of real world data to be analyzed and turned into a report much as others might assemble the information so companies or stores might know how much each group has so they can plan an advertising campaign that might appeal to certain age groups.

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.