Code for How Taxing Is Tax Filing? Using Revealed Preferences to Estimate Compliance Costs

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Youssef Benzarti, UCSB and NBER

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
.DS_Store	application/octet-stream	6 KB	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure1a.do	text/x-stata-syntax	715 bytes	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure1b.do	text/x-stata-syntax	732 bytes	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure1c.do	text/x-stata-syntax	726 bytes	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure1d.do	text/x-stata-syntax	723 bytes	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure1e.do	text/x-stata-syntax	735 bytes	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure1f.do	text/x-stata-syntax	744 bytes	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure2a.do	text/x-stata-syntax	2.1 KB	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure2b.do	text/x-stata-syntax	2 KB	01/22/2020 06:53:AM
2018_0664_figure4a.do	text/x-stata-syntax	404 bytes	01/22/2020 06:53:AM

Project Description

Summary:

This paper uses a quasi-experimental design to estimate the cost of filing taxes. Using US tax returns, I observe how taxpayers choose between itemizing deductions and claiming the standard deduction. Taxpayers forgo large tax savings to avoid compliance costs, which provides a revealed preference estimate of such costs. I show that costs increase with income, consistent with an opportunity cost of time explanation. These estimates suggest substantial costs of filing federal income taxes, significantly larger than previously es- timated using surveys.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: taxes; compliance costs; public finance

JEL Classification:
      H24 Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
      H31 Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household
      H83 Public Administration; Public Sector Accounting and Audits

Geographic Coverage: United States of America

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2020-10-27]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.