How Americans plan to spend tax refunds

The 2024 tax season is in full swing, with some Americans already seeing refund checks hit their mailboxes or bank accounts directly. 

As of mid-February, over 25.5 million taxpayers had submitted returns, with the average refund coming to $1,741, according to the Internal Revenue Service. In total, 67% of taxpayers say they expect a refund this year, a recent Bankrate survey found.

So what do Americans plan to do with that money? Nearly 30% of taxpayers receiving refunds plan to put theirs into savings, Bankrate found.

Here are the other ways taxpayers plan to use their refunds:

Saving and paying down debt are the top responses across generations, except for Gen Z, which plans to prioritize investing over paying down debt, Bankrate found.

And about 20% of taxpayers plan to use the cash for fun expenses like vacations, home improvements and retail splurges.

There’s some debate around whether it’s actually a good thing to receive a tax refund versus adjusting your withholdings and receiving larger paychecks throughout the year. But as long as your taxes get paid, it’s up to you which strategy works best for your situation.

Similarly, if you do receive a tax refund, it’s up to you to decide the best way to use it, from covering day-to-day expenses to saving for a future goal.

Asking any financial planner what to do with your tax refund will likely garner you the same answer: it depends. 

Planners want to help you figure out the best decision for your unique personal situation, and that means the right answer will vary from person to person — and could change at a moment’s notice due to an emergency expense or sudden loss of income.

Riki Cooke, a certified financial planner based in Indiana, often recommends his clients apply a “50/50 rule” to their tax refund by using “half of the refund for something financially wise and the other half for something fun.”

As for the “financially wise” options, he recommends topping off your emergency fund first, then looking at your high-interest debt before other saving or investing goals.

While people with a lot of debt may feel like they need to put more or all of their check toward paying it off, Cooke says that you’re more likely to stick to your debt-payoff budget in the long-term if you give yourself room for fun.

“Budgeting methods need some guilt-free spending included or they are less sustainable,” he says. “If you have a lot of debt, you could consider using the 50/50 rule as a starting point by committing to using at least 50% of the refund toward your debt.”

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