How U.S. shoppers Are Applying Their Tax Refund in 2026

To learn how people are actually putting that money to work, Sacodes surveyed 1,000 U.S. shoppers about their tax refund plans. What we found says a lot about where people stand financially and what they're hoping for in the year ahead.

Key Takeaways

• 48% of U.S. shoppers expect a tax refund this year, averaging $1,853.
• 18% of U.S. shoppers plan to use their tax refund to pay off credit card debt.
• 33% of U.S. shoppers plan to use their tax refund for savings.
• 1 in 10 U.S. shoppers have used ChatGPT or another AI tool to decide ways to use their tax refund, with Gen Z the most likely to do so (18%).

How U.S. shoppers Think About Their Tax Return

When a refund hits, the decisions people make with it tend to reflect their broader financial reality. Here's what the numbers reveal.

Nearly half of U.S. shoppers (47%) said they actively stack their tax refund with other savings tools. They do things like combine it with coupons, like TurboTax discount codes during tax season, cashback apps, credit card rewards, or other discounts to maximize the value of their orders. This approach allows shoppers to make bigger orders while still keeping costs under control.

One-third of U.S. shoppers said they plan to put their refund into savings this year. Younger generations were especially likely to take this approach (38% of Gen Z and 37% of millennials). Another 20% of U.S. shoppers plan to spend the extra cash on everyday essentials, while 18% would use it to pay down credit card debt.

Some consumers are turning to new technology for guidance. One in 10 U.S. shoppers said they have used an AI tool to help decide ways to use their tax refund. Gen Z was the most likely to rely on AI for financial decisions, with 18% reporting they had done so.

Others are concerned about what will happen if they don't get a refund. More than 1 in 4 U.S. shoppers (27%) said they would struggle to afford it if they owed money at tax time.

How U.S. shoppers Stack Deals on Top of Their Tax Refund

Receiving a tax refund often encourages shoppers to think strategically about ways to stretch that money further.

Nearly half of U.S. shoppers (47%) said they actively stack their tax refund with other savings tools. They do things like combine it with coupons, cashback apps, credit card rewards, or discount codes to maximize the value of their orders. This approach allows shoppers to make bigger orders while still keeping costs under control.

Overall, 38% of U.S. shoppers have timed at least one major purchase to coincide with receiving their refund, and 23% have considered doing so. Among Gen Z, 32% reported intentionally scheduling major orders around their refund.

The top 3 big-ticket items U.S. shoppers most often buy with their refund include:

• Laptop or desktop computer (20%)
• Furniture (15%)
• Flight or vacation (15%)

Receiving a refund can also change how people shop in the weeks that follow. Some (28%) hunt for deals more aggressively after receiving their refund, while others (35%) feel more financially conscious about spending.

How Tax Refunds Catch U.S. shoppers Up

For many households, a tax refund serves as a financial safety net rather than a windfall.

More than half of U.S. shoppers (52%) said they have relied on their tax refund to catch up on bills they were already behind on. For 15%, this situation occurs regularly every year, highlighting how key refunds can be for maintaining financial stability.

Despite that reliance, refunds rarely create long-term financial change. Only 12% of U.S. shoppers said a tax refund had ever been a true turning point for their finances. Meanwhile, 52% reported that receiving a refund did not significantly change their spending or saving habits.

How quickly people use their refund also varies widely:

• 25% of U.S. shoppers spend the majority of their refund within a month.
• 22% manage to keep most of it saved rather than spend it right away.
• 18% spend it within several months.
• 16% go through it in a week or less.

When the receipt is in, most U.S. shoppers aren't popping champagne when their refund hits. They're catching up on bills, padding their savings a little, or finally pulling the trigger on something they've been putting off for months. It's less about a windfall and more about a breather, and for plenty of households, that's exactly what they need.

Methodology

Sacodes commissioned an online survey of 1,000 U.S. shoppers to explore how people think about, plan for, and ultimately spend their tax refunds. The survey was conducted in March 2026. The sample included adults across these generations: Gen Z (17%), millennials (50%), Gen X (24%), and baby boomers (9%). The sample was 46% male, 53% female, and 1% nonbinary or other. For questions involving open-ended dollar amounts, outliers were removed applying the interquartile range (IQR) method prior to calculating averages.

Topics RefundsCredit