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Connecting Propel to tax refunds & creating new filers

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MAY 31, 2023

In January, we announced the launch of Propel Tax with our trusted partners at Column Tax. We had long heard from our users that tax filing is widely seen as intimidating, stressful and expensive. But we also know that filing taxes opens the doorway to incredible benefits for low-income households, with possibly thousands of dollars of refunds and credits on the table. So we set out to offer a high-quality and truly free tool designed specifically for low-income households — with the hope that families who would most benefit from tax filing could easily do so. With our first tax filing season behind us, we are happy to share that over the past five months, we processed more than 18,000 tax returns for SNAP households who use Propel, delivering more than $50 million in refunds.

Our impact in Year 1

  • Of those families who filed with Propel Tax this tax season, 40% did not file in the prior year. This represents an estimated $10 million in net new money from the refunds they received.
  • Our users submitted over 18,000 IRS-accepted returns, and were able to claim more than $50 million in refunds
  • We saved our users about $1 million in tax filing fees. Based on an analysis of comparable services, we conservatively estimated that households pay an average $60 in fees each year.
  • We made every effort to simplify filing and saw high completion rates overall on Propel Tax.

Positive reception from Propel users

We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our users. Several expressed appreciation for the zero cost, user friendly service. Bill Frey wrote in a Google Play review, “Easy to use app, and I mean very user-friendly. Included this year is free tax filing. A win-win for us on a fixed income.” Others remarked on the overall ease of the process, including first time filers. Lisa Clemetson wrote, “This was my 1st time ever to do taxes & they made it easy and simple, helping me every step of the way.”

What we learned works

  • Creating choice. Offering low-income households more options in how they file taxes is extremely valuable. We continued to link to services like VITA, GetYourRefund, United Way Worldwide and others — in addition to our tax filing tool. We believe that people who use Propel know their families’ needs best, and we know their needs vary widely across households. Providing a range of in-person, online and in-app options allows households to pick the method that best suits their unique needs.
  • User-friendly design. We designed the tool to be fast and easy, with average completion around 10 minutes, understanding that our users already navigate complex processes and have limited bandwidth. We extensively tested its design and messaging, continuously refining it to ensure that it was clear, intuitive, and accessible.
  • Trust is essential. Over 5 million low-income households regularly use the Propel app to manage their public benefits, conduct banking, save and earn money. User trust and loyalty to the Propel app are consistently high, making it uniquely positioned to support people who might otherwise be reticent to engage with a complex, high-stakes, and intimidating process like tax filing.
  • High quality customer service. We offered support each step of the way, including connecting users with real humans to answer their questions when they needed that support.

What’s Next

Propel Tax far exceeded our expectations in just its first year. In addition to the impact in numbers, we learned a lot from our users throughout the process. We look forward to applying these learnings to reach even more households in next year’s tax season, as part of our mission to improve the financial health of low-income households.