Our Research Methodology

1 Official IRS Data

Our foundation is official government data. We use:

• IRS Data Book — Annual statistics on audits, refunds, collections, and enforcement actions
• IRS Publications — Pub 17, 334, 463, 502, 503, 505, 525, 526, 535, 587, 590-A/B, 596, 970
• Revenue Procedures — Annual inflation adjustments, standard deduction amounts, bracket changes
• Form Instructions — Official guidance directly from the IRS

Every factual claim we make is verified against these official sources.

2 Taxpayer Experience Data

To understand what happens in practice, we analyze anonymized discussions from public tax forums where taxpayers share their experiences:

• Refund processing timelines (how long people actually waited)
• Deduction outcomes (approved, denied, or asked for documentation)
• Audit experiences (what triggered them, how they resolved)
• Tax software experiences (satisfaction, issues, recommendations)

Important: We never quote or identify individual users. All data is converted into aggregate statistics.

3 Data Collection & Cleaning

Raw data goes through several cleaning steps:

• Remove duplicates — The same story posted multiple places is counted once
• One vote per person — Each user contributes one data point per topic, regardless of how many times they posted
• Filter outliers — Extreme values are flagged for manual review
• Verify dates — Tax year attribution is confirmed before counting

4 Statistical Analysis

Our analysts apply standard statistical methods:

• Sample size requirements — We only publish statistics with at least 30 data points
• Median over average — For dollar amounts and timelines, we use median (less affected by extreme cases)
• Confidence intervals — We calculate and report the range of uncertainty
• Year-over-year comparison — We track changes across tax years when possible

5 Writing & Fact-Checking

Our editorial team transforms analysis into clear content:

• Plain language — We explain complex tax topics without jargon
• IRS citations — Every factual claim includes a link to the official source
• Visual presentation — Charts and tables make data easy to scan
• Editorial review — All content is reviewed before publication

6 Verification Process

Before anything goes live:

• Source check — Every IRS citation is verified against the current publication
• Math check — All percentages and calculations are double-checked
• Common sense check — Does this statistic match what we know from other sources?
• Tax year check — Is this information current?

7 Keeping Content Current

Tax information requires regular updates:

• Annual review — All articles are reviewed when new IRS guidance comes out
• Inflation updates — Dollar amounts updated when IRS announces changes
• Quick corrections — Errors are fixed immediately with visible notes
• Date stamps — Every article shows when it was last updated