The national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted April 4-7 among 1,003 adults, finds that the expectation of getting a refund is cited most often for why people like doing their taxes, but it is not the only factor.
Among those who dislike or hate doing their taxes, most cite the hassles of the process or the amount of time it takes: 31% say it is complicated, requires too much paperwork or they are afraid of making mistakes, while 24% say it is inconvenient and time-consuming. A much smaller share (12%) says they dislike doing their taxes because of how the government uses tax money. Just 5% of those who dislike or hate doing their income taxes say it is because they pay too much in taxes.When asked why they like doing their income taxes, 29% say that they are getting a refund, while 17% say they just don’t mind it or they are good at it; 13% say doing their taxes gives them a sense of control, while the same percentage cites a feeling of obligation – that it is their duty to pay their fair share.
Overall, people with lower incomes are more likely to have a positive of view of doing their taxes than those with higher incomes. About 
four-in-ten (41%) of those with family incomes of less than $30,000 a year say they like or love doing their income taxes compared with 30% of those with incomes of $75,000 or more. Blacks are far more likely than whites to say they like doing their taxes (52% vs. 28%).
Democrats have a less negative view of doing their taxes than do Republicans or independents. Six-in-ten Republicans (60%) say they dislike or hate doing their taxes. Just 32% like it or love it. The balance of opinion is similar among independents (62% dislike or hate it, 31% like or love it). Democrats’ opinions are more mixed: just under half (46%) either dislike or hate doing their taxes, while four-in-ten (40%) like or love it.
Overall, a third (33%) of Americans say they do their own taxes while 56% say someone else prepares their taxes. About six-in-ten (61%) of those who say they hate or dislike doing their income taxes have someone else do it for them, compared with 52% of those who say they like or love doing it.
four-in-ten (41%) of those with family incomes of less than $30,000 a year say they like or love doing their income taxes compared with 30% of those with incomes of $75,000 or more. Blacks are far more likely than whites to say they like doing their taxes (52% vs. 28%).Not Reporting Income Seen as Morally Wrong
Seven-in-ten (71%) Americans agree that not reporting all income on your taxes is morally wrong, while 19% say it is not a moral issue; just 6% see this as morally acceptable.
This is down slightly from February 2006, when 79% said that not reporting all income was morally wrong.
Republicans are more likely than both Democrats and independents to describe not reporting all income as morally wrong – 78% of Republicans say this, compared with 68% of Democrats and 69% of independents. There is almost no difference among partisans who say that not reporting all income is morally acceptable – rather, Democrats and independents are more likely to say that it is not a moral issue.
Across all demographic groups, majorities agree that this is morally wrong. However, those with less educational attainment and lower family income are less likely than those with college degrees and higher incomes to say this. About two-thirds of those with a high school diploma or less (65%) or incomes below $30,000 (66%) say that not reporting all income is morally wrong, compared with about three-quarters of those in higher income and education groups.
ABOUT THE SURVEYS
Most of the analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted April 4-7, 2013 among a national sample of 1,003 adults 18 years of age or older living in the continental United States (500 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 503 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 229 who had no landline telephone). The survey was conducted by interviewers at Universal Survey under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. A combination of landline and cell phone random digit dial samples were used; both samples were provided by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were conducted in English. Respondents in the landline sample were selected by randomly asking for the youngest adult male or female who is now at home. Interviews in the cell sample were conducted with the person who answered the phone, if that person was an adult 18 years of age or older. For detailed information about our survey methodology, see: http://people-press.org/methodology/.
The combined landline and cell phone sample are weighted using an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin and region to parameters from the 2011 Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and population density to parameters from the Decennial Census. The sample also is weighted to match current patterns of telephone status, based on extrapolations from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. The weighting procedure also accounts for the fact that respondents with both landline and cell phones have a greater probability of being included in the combined sample and adjusts for household size among respondents with a landline phone. Sampling errors and statistical tests of significance take into account the effect of weighting. The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey:
Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request.
Some of the analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted January 9-13, 2013 among a national sample of 1,502 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (752 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 750 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 369 who had no landline telephone). The survey was conducted by interviewers at Princeton Data Source under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. A combination of landline and cell phone random digit dial samples were used; both samples were provided by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. Respondents in the landline sample were selected by randomly asking for the youngest adult male or female who is now at home. Interviews in the cell sample were conducted with the person who answered the phone, if that person was an adult 18 years of age or older.
The combined landline and cell phone sample are weighted using an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin and nativity and region to parameters from the 2011 Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and population density to parameters from the Decennial Census. The sample also is weighted to match current patterns of telephone status and relative usage of landline and cell phones (for those with both), based on extrapolations from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. The weighting procedure also accounts for the fact that respondents with both landline and cell phones have a greater probability of being included in the combined sample and adjusts for household size among respondents with a landline phone. Sampling errors and statistical tests of significance take into account the effect of weighting. The following table shows the sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey:
Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request.
In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.
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