New national tax literacy poll highlights need for better tax education

All Americans are affected by the tax code—but do they understand the tax code? 

To find out, the Tax Foundation’s educational program, TaxEDU, and Center for Federal Tax Policy conducted a poll with Public Policy Polling.  

The poll surveyed more than 2,700 U.S. taxpayers over 18 years old—spanning the political spectrum and income distribution—to gauge Americans’ knowledge of basic tax concepts and opinions of the current tax code. 

Tax literacy was a focal point of the poll for two reasons: taxpayers should understand the taxes that impact their daily lives and financial decision-making, and knowledge helps improve the tax policy debate, leading to more sound tax policy. 

Now the results are in, and it’s clear that most Americans are confused by and dissatisfied with the federal tax code. 

Read more about the poll results here.