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Nearly Half of Americans Say They Pay Too Much in Taxes

Many overpay by choice to get a fat tax refund, but fine-tuning withholding can help cash flow now.

Internal Revenue Service Forms Ahead Of 2018 Income Tax Deadline — Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

By

Suzanne Woolley

March 14, 2022, 5:35 PM UTC

Think you pay too much in taxes? You probably do, if you are like the 46% of Americans who say they’re looking to get a refund check from the IRS this year.

A refund is, as financial planners like to say, an interest-free loan you gave to the U.S. government. But most taxpayers don’t see it that way. Just 7.4% of them agreed with the statement “I don’t like getting tax refunds because it means I overpaid throughout the year” in a nationally representative survey of 1,039 taxpayers by LendingTree Inc. released Monday.