Survey: One in Five Americans Would Rather Renew Driver’s License at a DMV Than Work on Their Taxes

Taxes | February 4, 2025

Survey: One in Five Americans Would Rather Renew Driver’s License at a DMV Than Work on Their Taxes

A new survey from Invoice Home sought to uncover the current state of consumer tax filing for Americans in 2025 and the hurdles people are willing to put themselves through when it comes to filing annually. 

Jason Bramwell

Waiting at a Department of Motor Vehicles facility to renew your driver’s license can be a time-consuming, boring, and a pull-your-hair-out experience. But 19% of Americans say they would still rather do that than file their taxes this year, according to a new survey from Invoice Home, a billing and invoicing service provider for small businesses and freelancers.

Other things people would rather do than work on their taxes include:

  • Take a driver’s license online exam (15%)
  • Give up nonessential spending for a month (12%)
  • Take a high school-level math or history exam (12%)
  • File a health insurance claim (9%)

More than 2,000 people were polled for Invoice Home’s inaugural U.S. Tax Filing Survey, the results of which were released on Feb. 4. The survey’s goal was to uncover the current state of consumer tax filing for Americans in 2025 and the hurdles people are willing to put themselves through when it comes to filing annually. 

Conducted with third-party research firm Censuswide, data shows only 41% of Americans who file their own taxes are confident in how to file, while a large percentage still struggle with the process. A different survey recently released by Adobe revealed that only one in four Americans feel confident about filing their taxes.

“The U.S. tax filing process can be intimidating,” Invoice Home says. “More than half (53%) of U.S. consumers who file their own taxes plan to file as soon as they receive a W-2; however, another one in five (21%) plan to file in April right before the deadline. Data shows that more than one in 10 (16%) respondents will rely on their tax return to cover cost-of-living expenses that month, with another one in 10 (11%) saying if they owe money to the government this season, they won’t be able to pay it.”

Consumers surveyed indicated that they’re seeking reliable and trustworthy resources to ease their frustration when it comes to filing income taxes. One option is leaning on artificial intelligence, Invoice Home says, as more than two in five (43%) respondents would trust AI to file taxes this year over hiring a tax professional. Even older generations who grew up with a paper filing system are open to trusting AI. Of the 43% of respondents who would trust AI, 49% of Gen Z, 54% of millennials, 43% of Gen X, 25% of baby boomers, and 18% of the Silent Generation agree, according to the survey.  

Petr Marek

“Across generations, we’re seeing an even greater adoption of digitally native tools for financial processes,” Petr Marek, co-founder and CEO at Invoice Home, said in a statement. “Consumers who file their own taxes truly rely on these resources to understand and navigate the system, and we expect this to grow even more in 2026, as data shows respondents will plan to set themselves up for success for next year’s taxes by investing in online digital tools/resources (16%) and accounting software (11%).”

This year, respondents said they plan to file their taxes using third-party tools like TurboTax or H&R Block (39%), a licensed tax professional (24%), family member/friends (17%), digital software tools (16%), and IRS e-file tools (14%).

Thanks for reading CPA Practice Advisor!

Subscribe for free to get personalized daily content, newsletters, continuing education, podcasts, whitepapers and more…

Subscribe for free to get personalized daily content, newsletters, continuing education, podcasts, whitepapers and more...

Leave a Reply