Nearly half of American tax filers are worried about tax websites having problems on tax day, according to a new survey.
The survey, by Soasta, a provider of performance analytics technology, found that 46 percent of Americans who plan to file their 2015 taxes worry about tax website problems.
Among the reasons cited for concern, 31 percent worry their personal information could become vulnerable, 15 percent fret that their work online could be lost, and 13 percent fear they could be held financially liable for government penalties.
Millennials are especially worried, with 58 percent of those who plan to file 2015 tax returns are concerned that tax websites will have problems on April 15.
The survey of 2,035 American adults found 33 percent said they had already filed them online, 9 percent said they planned to file online before April 15, and 21 percent said they would wait until April 15 to file their taxes online.
Among the reasons cited for procrastinating, 6 percent of those polled said it doesn’t take that long to complete their taxes, another 6 percent said they hate doing their taxes, 5 percent admitted they always wait until the last minute, 4 percent need a deadline to motivate them, 3 percent said they always get distracted while doing their taxes, 2 percent said waiting until the last minute is exciting, and 1 percent said their employer takes too long to send the paperwork
Of the 51 percent of Americans who have not yet filed taxes, 20 percent say they will do some online shopping while preparing their taxes. Of those, 8 percent said they will order clothes or accessories in anticipation of their refund, 6 percent will order food from a restaurant online, and 6 percent say they will purchase a vacation package in anticipation of their refund.
“Millions of Americans are going online to file their taxes, and many of them will wait until the last minute,” said SOASTA chief marketing officer Ann Sung Ruckstuhl in a statement. “This means digital tax businesses must be prepared for the influx of traffic that comes with tax season, or the user experience suffers.”
