Tax-Time Savings: Lessons, Recommendations and Practical Applications

October 18, 2017

10-11:30 am PT/ 1-2:30 pm ET

Welcome

Carmen ShorterSenior Manager for Learning, Field EngagementProsperity Now

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Prosperity Now’s mission is to

ensure everyone in our country has a

clear path to financial stability,

wealth and prosperity.

To connect, strengthen and inspirecommunity tax programs so that they can …

✓ More effectively & efficiently deliver critical tax assistance

✓ Couple that assistance with other financial capability services

✓ Advocate for fairer tax policy

• Welcome from Taxpayer Opportunity Network

• Sharing of the CFPB’s Promising Practices for Tax Time Savings

• Tax Time Savings Program Evaluation & Findings

• Integrating Financial Capability at Tax Time

• Learnings from Prosperity Now Technical Assistance Cohort

• Q & A

What’s in store for today?

Today’s Speakers

Rebecca ThompsonProject Director

Taxpayer Opportunity Network

Prosperity Now

Dave SieminskiPolicy Analyst

Office of Financial Empowerment

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Satori BaileyDirector, Asset Building Programs

Center for Economic Progress

Today’s Speakers

Anne Leland ClarkFinancial Capability + Learning Director

Prepare + Prosper

Carmen ShorterSenior Manager for Learning,

Field Engagement

Prosperity Now

Ariana HoytProgram Assistant

Building Skills Partnership

Welcome from Taxpayer Opportunity Network

Rebecca ThompsonProject Director, Taxpayer Opportunity NetworkProsperity Now

CFPB Tax Time Savings Initiative

David SieminskiPolicy Analyst, Office of Financial EmpowermentConsumer Financial Protection Bureau

▪ The CFPB has prepared these materials as a resource for tax preparers. This material is

provided for educational and information purposes only. It is not a replacement for the

guidance or advice of an accountant, certified financial advisor, or otherwise qualified

professional.

▪ This document was used in support of a live discussion. As such, it does not necessarily express

the entirety of that discussion nor the relative emphasis of topics therein.

▪ This presentation includes references to third-party resources or content that consumers may

find helpful. The inclusion of references to third-party sites does not necessarily reflect the

Bureau’s endorsement of the third-party, the views expressed on by the third party, or

products or services offered by that party. The Bureau has not vetted these third-parties, their

content, or any products or services they may offer. There may be other possible entities or

resources that are not listed that may also serve consumer needs.

Disclaimer

CFPB Tax Time Savings Vision

Savings outreach and education to consumers at

tax time should be available across all service and

product platforms - both commercial and VITA.

2018 Tax Season

▪ Recruit approximately 70 VITA Programs for large scale demonstration

▪ Collaborate with TON, CEP, CBPP, and Prepare and Prosper on training content and delivery

▪ Increase engagement with AARP TCE, and programs serving people with disabilities

▪ Enhance Technical Assistance

▪ Deliver new planning tools *

▪ Expand measurement of savings behaviors *

▪ Enhance data collection *

▪ Hold end of tax season convening

Implementation of CFPB Promising Practices

Promising practices to encourage saving

Helping Tax Filers Choose to Save

1. Communicate with consumers about saving before they come to the tax site

2. Offer saving choices more than once at the tax site

3. Provide multiple product choices for saving

4. Use “anchoring” and prompts to help consumers focus on a savings goal

5. Don’t overwhelm consumers by offering too many different types of services

6. Provide incentives, including non-financial rewards, to encourage saving

7. Make saving fun and exciting

Training and Motivating Staff and Volunteers to Help Tax Filers to Save

8. Build commitment among staff and volunteers to encourage saving

9. Make sure tax preparers know how to help consumers save while filing

10. Dedicate staff or volunteers to encourage saving

1) Communicate with consumers about saving before they come to the tax site

Benefits

▪ Contributes to an increased interest and readiness to save

▪ Helps people to remember their intentions at appropriate times

and to activate pre-determined strategies to save

▪ Increases likelihood consumers will take steps in advance such

as deciding where to save and to bring account information

2017 Cohort approaches

▪ Include savings messaging in pre-tax season communications

through email or text messages to previous year customers.

▪ Include saving information and reminders in the appointment

conversation

4. Use “anchoring” and prompts to help consumers focus on a savings goal

Benefits ▪ Provides a concrete recommendation of

the amount, combined with an opportunity to decide on a purpose for saving

▪ Valuable for tax filers who have not considered saving previously and who may be inclined to forego the opportunity because they don’t know what the “right amount” is for them to save

2017 Cohort approaches▪ Use CFPB worksheet with questions

about goals suggested amounts to save

8. Build commitment among staff and volunteers to encourage saving

Benefits

▪ Key personnel have a common sense of mission beyond tax

preparation

▪ Team efforts are generally more efficient and productive

▪ Coordinated approach helps to smooth client flow at the tax site

2017 Cohort approaches

▪ Recruit staff and volunteers already committed to providing

financial education or other financial empowerment strategies

▪ Provide added education and training to team on challenges of

asset poverty and benefits of tax time saving

▪ Provide talking points that help team feel comfortable about

having saving conversations with clients

9. Make sure tax preparers know how to help consumers save while filing

Benefits

▪ Volunteers are better able to navigate tax preparation software to

execute on client savings goals

▪ Volunteers are better prepared to meet client needs and wishes

▪ Volunteers have more comprehensive information about saving

options

2017 Cohort approaches

▪ Used already trained financial specialists as tax prep volunteers

▪ Provided enhanced saving training in addition to tax prep training

▪ Incorporated saving into mock and practice returns prior to tax

season

10. Dedicate staff or volunteers to encourage saving

Benefits

▪ Takes burden of additional tasks off of the tax preparation

volunteer

▪ Allows the dedicated staff member or volunteer to develop a

relationship and build trust with client

▪ Focused tasks for each volunteer or staff person helps to smooth

client flow at the tax site

2017 Cohort approaches

▪ Use trained financial coach as dedicated savings staff person

▪ Provide enhanced saving training to existing support staff such as

greeter or intake specialist

Lessons from the Field

Satori BaileyDirector, Asset Building Programs

Center for Economic Progress

Anne Leland ClarkFinancial Capability + Learning Director

Prepare + Prosper

Moving People to Save at

Tax Time: LESSONS FROM THE FIELD

Presented by Center for Economic Progress and

Prepare + Prosper

October 18, 2017

Introduction

Anne Leland Clark

Financial Capability + Learning Director

Prepare + Prosper

anne@prepareandprosper.org

Satori Bailey

Director, Asset Building Programs

Center for Economic Progress

sbailey@economic.org

Shout Outs!

Steve Holt, Holt Solutions

Who We Are

CEP (est. 1990) P+P (est. 1971)

Tax sites 16 8

Taxpayers served 17,284 11,687VITA volunteers 696 489

Site staff positions

Site Manager

Assistant Site Manager

Financial Capability Manager

Intake Manager

Tax Manager

Financial Manager

Tax site volunteer roles

Tax Site Specialist

Tax Preparer

Quality Reviewer

Savings Coach

Tax Site Specialist

Tax Preparer

Reviewer (+ hybrid)

Financial Advocate

Who We Are cont…CEP (est. 1990) P+P (est. 1971)

Savings campaignLife Happens, Save for It

(7 of 15 tax sites)

Got Some, Save Some

(all tax sites)

Savings products

myRA

U.S. Savings Bonds

Savings accounts

CFR Focus prepaid card

myRA

U.S. Savings Bonds

Savings accounts

Savings incentivesSaveYourRefund

Additional sweepstakes funds

Water bottle

SaveYourRefund

Why We Did This Together

Evaluation Goals

PROCESS EVALUATION

• How closely did program implementation resemble program design?

• How did taxpayers, site staff and volunteers feel about program implementation?

OUTCOME EVALUATION

• What were the tax time savings results?

• What taxpayer attributes are associated with tax time saving?

• What program effects could be observed?

• What may explain cross-organizational differences?

• How do taxpayers conceptualize tax refund savings?

Methodology

Methodology across CEP,

Chicago, and P+P, Twin

Cities

Surveys with 1,180 taxpayers, staff, & volunteers

Focus groups with 128 taxpayers, staff, & volunteers

On-site observation at 15 tax sites

Analysis of data from 16,805 taxpayer records

Challenges

• Refund delay

• TaxSlayer implementation

• Data availability

– Software reporting

– Taxpayer consent

– Survey completion rates

– Incomplete data matching

Methodology – Validated Data

Collection

MethodCEP P+P

Tax Returns on-site 9,104 7,701

Intake Surveys (matched) on-site 9,104 7,619

Savers Post-Preparation Surveys (all) on-site 966 682

Follow-Up Surveys (all) online 602 216

Confirmed Savers Databases administrative 298 869

Site Staff Mid-Season Surveys online 44 35

Volunteer Mid-Season Surveys Online 168 115

Definitions: Saver

A taxpayer who took action at the time of return preparation to use all or part of their federal (and/or state) refund to:

1. Direct deposit into an existing savings account

2. Direct deposit into a new savings account

3. Purchase Series I U.S. savings bond(s)

4. Make a deposit into a new or existing myRA

A 3-Part Predictive Model

Taxpayer characteristics

Structural (dis)ad-vantages

FinCapprogram

performance

Expected tax time savings results

There is no simple recipe for tax-time saving success, but there

are predictors…

Findings

Findings: Taxpayer’s “Propensity to Save”

• Refund amount – refund size influences

savings decision more than income!

• Having money in savings

• Having saved refund prior year

• Arriving with intent to save

I came

knowing I was

going to save

58%came thinking might save

22%

came with no ideas about saving

20%

Findings: Tax Site Structure & Flow

• VITA is inherently decentralized

– Program operations– Tax site managers and volunteers– Site host space constraints

• Co-location, whenever possible, was helpful

• If not possible, streamline the process

Financial Capability Program Integration

Site Staff Volunteers

n =MeanScore

n =MeanScore

CEP 32 4.00 168 3.99

P+P 35 4.00 115 4.11

How do you rate the performance of the site in

integrating financial products, services, & savings opportunities into the tax process?

Taxpayer Exposure to Savings Message

n =Never

Came Up

1 Person

Mentioned

>1 Person

Mentioned

Engaged in

Conversation

CEP 392 10% 28% 43% 19%

P+P 183 7% 15% 42% 34%

When you came in to get your taxes prepared, did you hear about

saving some of your refund? (pick the best answer)

Findings: Enthusiasm of “FinCap” Team

• Personality matters

• Focus is important

• Champions are needed across all roles

• Integration with bank partner representatives was challenging but possible

Findings: It Takes Investment & Time

CEP Savings Rates (7 campaign sites)

P+P Savings Rates(all 8 sites)

SiteSavers

Rate

Form

8888 Rate

Form

8888 ranking

Chicago Heights 14.1% 13.1% 1

Loop 13.3% 10.1% 2

Uptown 7.2% 4.4% 5

Elgin 5.2% 4.7% 4

Bronzeville 4.4% 4.9% 3

Aurora 0.7% 1.0% 7

Auburn Gresham 0.6% 1.3% 6

ALL 6.6% 5.4% ---

SiteSavers

Rate

Form

8888 Rate

Form

8888 ranking

ESNS 18.5% 17.7% 1

MUL 16.7% 15.0% 3

P+P main 15.5% 13.8% 4

ResourceWest 15.4% 16.4% 2

EFC 12.2% 8.3% 5

Hallie Q. Brown 10.0% 6.3% 8

Hope 10.0% 7.3% 6

Creekside 7.8% 7.0% 7

ALL 13.7% 12.0% ---

Recommendations

Tax-time savings work is often conceived as an exercise in

persuasion— convincing taxpayers to take a savings action.

However, our evaluation results suggest that it may be as much a process of facilitation—making it easy for those who decide to save and helping them do so during tax

preparation.

• Staff or volunteer, more than one is ideal

• Attributes of engagement, listening and persuasion over financial knowledge

• Tax site as a “sales floor”

• Cross-train in other functions (like intake!) but be careful not to overburden

Recommendations: Recruit a Dedicated,

Enthusiastic Savings Promoter

Recommendations: Shared Responsibility

for Tax Time Savings Goals

• Savings goals not just assigned to “fincap” team

• Everybody at a tax site prepared to “make a pitch”

• Don’t elevate tax operations over financial capability program in site management structure

4 questions:

1. Do you have money in savings?

2. How big was your refund last year?

3. Did you save some of your refund last year?

4. Do you intend to save some of this year’s refund?

Recommendations: Savings as a

Standard Part of Intake

Recommendations: Co-location of Intake,

Tax, and “Fincap” Teams

• Suspend judgement, particularly based on income

• We’re not “selling” savings, we’re providing opportunity and everyone deserves an opportunity

Recommendations: All Taxpayers are

Potential Savers

Further Discussion: Post-Receipt Savings

41% of CEP and 29% of P+P taxpayers saved 100% of refund

57% CEP filers and 52% P+P filers reported post-receipt savings.

THANK YOU!

Report summary and full report: www.economicprogress.org/taxtimesavings

Integrating Financial Capability

Carmen ShorterSenior Manager for Learning, Field EngagementProsperity Now

Takeaways from the Field

Ariana HoytProgram AssistantBuilding Skills Partnership

Building Skills Partnership

BSP’s mission is to improve the quality of life of low-wage property service workers and their families by increasing their skills, access to education and opportunities for career and community advancement.

Tax Time Integration

Consistent Messaging

Outreach and Recruitment

Appointment Scheduling

First Interaction at

VITA Site

Tax Preparation

Financial Coaching

Tax Review & Signature

• Financial Coaching with “Action Plan”• Pledge to Save • Save Your Refund Tools• Tax-Time Assistance

Tax Time Integration Success• 161 Tax Returns Completed in Northern California• 43% of clients receiving a tax refund set a savings goal• 28% of clients receiving a tax refund saved part of their refund using Form

8888• 17% clients receiving a tax refund purchased savings bonds• 24% clients met with a financial coach & created an action plan

The “Saver’s Wall of Fame” introduced the concept of savings right when clients entered the tax site. Including a visual around savings helped clients also understand the priority of our tax site and frame conversations around savings.

Tax Time Integration Challenge

Relatively low percentage of families took advantage of the opportunity to meet with a Financial Coach.

Additional challenge: CURRENT POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

Many clients didn’t feel confident in their status in the United states. Our role was to reassure the tax filer that the IRS is a separate entity that does not share any of their information with any other governmental agency.

Next StepsTax Volunteers & Financial

Coaching Training

Greeters

Messaging at Tax Sites

Long-term client relationship with Financial Coach

Panel Discussion

Dave SieminskiPolicy Analyst

Office of Financial

EmpowermentConsumer Financial Protection Bureau

Satori BaileyDirector, Asset Building

Programs

Center for Economic Progress

Anne Leland ClarkFinancial Capability +

Learning Director

Prepare + Prosper

Ariana HoytProgram Assistant

Building Skills Partnership

Q & A

What questions do you have?

Share them in the Questions box!

Thank You!

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