This paper investigates how saving the federal tax refund affects gig economy participation forlow-income online tax filers in the six months following tax filing. Using longitudinal surveyand administrative data, we leverage random assignment in a unique refund savings experimentas an...

A large majority of U.S. households have debt, and lower-income households tend to have heavier debt burdens than the general population. These households commonly report using tax refunds to pay existing debts. Building on the limited evidence about the efficacy of providing rules of thumb...