Doing taxes at the last minute

Patterns are fun to find in Google trends, a tool that visualizes search traffic volume.

Look at the graph for the search term IRS in the United States:

The graph generally has two spikes yearly. Why might this be? I’ll take a guess.

The first spike is in Jan-Feb when people are probably double-checking definitions and new rules (what is a dependent, how much charity is deductible, etc)

The second spike is for April when people are likely scrambling to file near the deadline.

(And if you’re wondering, the lower, more regular graph, is about news references and shows fewer spikes.)

I’m working on tax stuff now…not quite last minute, but definitely contributing to the March traffic.

How’s your tax prep going?



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  • SheffieldSteel

    Usually we file taxes at the last minute, but this year we filed early… and got our rebate on the same day as the State of North Carolina announced that, due to cash flow problems, residents should expect a delay in receiving their rebates.

    This seems to be one of those rare occasions when a lack of fiscal responsibility (procrastinating on tax returns) doesn’t result in some sort of bailout or reward from the government.

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