More Americans Plan to Spend Tax Refunds on Vacations

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Feb 14, 2011, 07:00 ET

BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new survey, 30% of American taxpayers plan to spend their anticipated federal and state tax refunds on vacations. This is up dramatically from 16% when a similar poll was first taken in 2006. The surveys were commissioned by Taxsoftware.com, which launched the first iPhone app for federal tax returns last month.

In comparing results of the 2011 and 2006 surveys, the new poll also found that of the 59% of Americans who expect to receive tax refunds:

More people plan to spend their refunds on savings or investments this year than in 2006 (66% v. 55%) or to pay off debts (59% v. 52%).
Fewer people plan to give their refunds to charity (15% v. 20%).
About the same percentage plan to make home improvements (31% v. 30%); buy products such as cars, electronics, or furniture (23% v. 24%); or pay mortgages or education loans (19% v. 20%).
Those who plan to "do something else" with their refunds rose to 38% in 2011, up from 27% in 2006.

(Note: respondents could choose more than one way on how they plan to spend their refunds; percentages have been rounded up or down.)

Taxsoftware.com spokesperson Mickey Macedo said that, "millions of Americans apparently see a light at the end of the economic tunnel. This poll shows they are confident enough in the economy or their own jobs to already be planning to use tax refunds for vacations or to save, invest, or lower their debts. These are encouraging signs of the times that will likely have favorable ripple effects on other segments of the recovering economy," he said.

The online survey was conducted Feb. 1- 3, 2011 by Synovate, and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. The survey consisted of 1,000 responses by adults 18 years of age or older in the contiguous United States. The sample is balanced to be representative of the general population based upon region, gender, age and household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau.