Determinants of Tax Preparer Usage: Evidence From Panel Data

This study provides new evidence on the factors associated with using tax return preparers from a balanced panel of microlevel tax return data for 1982-4. The results of fixed-effects logit models that control for unobservable differences across individuals indicate that (1) the time-cost of return preparation has a positive albeit small impact on preparer use, (2) the type of tax return filed and employment status are important determinants of preparer use, and (3) the effect of income and marginal tax rate on preparer use in models that control for complexity and source of income is unclear.