There are so many things at the beginning of the year that raise the stress levels of the American workforce. Many employees suffer from “sunset anxiety” as days get shorter and colder. Plus, the first quarter of the New Year is a critical time when performance evaluations are conducted, bonuses are awarded and promotions are decided. Employees make more career mistakes that could be detrimental to their professional growth. And if you’re launching a start-up, the pressures to avoid mistakes are even greater. But perhaps the greatest stressor of all is “tax-filing anxiety” as we approach tax-filing season.
U.S. States Most Under Stress Of ‘Tax-Filing Anxiety’
Tax season raises stress for people who wonder how much they will have to pay, if they will be audited or the sheer complexities of filing their taxes. A new analysis by Delia Law, a firm of experienced IRS tax attorneys, finds that some U.S. states have more tax-filing anxiety than others.
Using Google Trends, the team at Delia Law collected data on the following five phrases: “tax help,” “how to file taxes,” “tax extension,” “tax penalty” and “IRS payment plan.” They gave each search term a weighted score and used it to calculate each state’s final “filing taxes stress score.” According to the stress scores, the following states are feeling the heat more than others:
- California (76.95)
- Hawaii (72.62)
- New Mexico (71.76)
- Arkansas (70.48)
- Oklahoma (70.29)
- Georgia (69.67)
- Kans (67.81)
- Oregon (67.76)
- Alaska (67.43)
- Rhode Island (67.43)
Californians are the most stressed about filing their taxes. “This could be down to California’s high cost of living, which makes people feel stressed about how much money they might have to pay in taxes,” says Dawn Delia of Delia Law. “The state also has many freelancers and entrepreneurs, who often face additional complexities when reporting income and dealing with deductions.”
Hawaiians are the second most stressed about filing their taxes, scoring four points behind California, closely followed by New York and New Jersey. “Hawaii has some of the highest income tax rates in the nation,” according to Delia, “which can cause financial stress for residents.”…