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Many Plan to Use Their Tax Refunds to Pay off Debt

New York, NY – As the deadline for filing their 2008 income taxes approaches, many Americans may be missing out on credits and deductions due to their lack of familiarity with the tax system and tax law changes, according to a new study conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of H&R Block. Half of Americans who are filing taxes this year (50%) believe that they cannot claim credits or deductions they may have overlooked on previous returns. Thus, in this time of economic crisis, many Americans may be missing out on potential refund money.

* Even among adults with a college degree and those with a household income of at least $50,000, over four in ten do not think it is possible to claim deductions or credits that were missed in previous tax returns.

As a reflection of the current economic crisis, over one in three 2008 income tax filers (36%) say that they plan to put their refund money towards paying down debt while 18% plan to save it and 12% plan to spend it on necessities. Only 4% plan to splurge on items such as a flat screen TV or on a vacation with their tax refund.