5 common mistakes that could be costing American taxpayers thousands of dollars every year ⁠36%

By Eric Revell⁠74%

4/9/2026, 12:01:15 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 27 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Indoctrination, and Hasty Generalization, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 31.7% saturation with 163 hits. Analysis detected 1,575 faulty-reasoning hits from 515 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 43.2% and a BS Rank of ⁠36% (14,014 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 64.00% of the article peer group.

Tax season is closing in on the April 15 deadline to file your return or request an extension and a new report details some common mistakes that Americans are making throughout the year that are costing them money. 
A report by GOBankingRates broke down five tax mistakes that could cost American taxpayers thousands of dollars every year. 
Those common mistakes range from not claiming deductions that were available to the taxpayer or failing to track deductible expenses to misreporting income. 
Here's a look at the five tax mistakes outlined in the report. 
RETIRED? 
HERE'S WHEN THE IRS MIGHT TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT YOUR FINANCES 
Christina Taylor, vice president of tax development and delivery at tax technology platform April, told GOBankingRates that taxpayers who only think about their returns during the filing season "miss credits and optimizations they're actually eligible for, which is how you end up giving part of your refund back to the IRS." 
She added that last year "Americans overpaid their federal taxes by about $3,200 on average, and spent billions of dollars and 6.5 billion hours on tax prep." 
AVERAGE TAX REFUND UP NEARLY 11% FROM A YEAR AGO, IRS DATA SHOWS 
Taxpayers also tend to fail to keep track of their deductible expenses over the course of the year, which happens more frequently when filers are operating under the assumption that they will claim the standard deduction rather than itemizing their return. 
Those situations can be avoided if taxpayers keep track of their charitable contributions, whether made with cash or through non-cash donations, along with medical expenses and any interest expenses that they may be able to deduct from their state tax bill. 
IRS REFUND TRACKER EXPLAINED: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE THIS YEAR'S TAX FILING DEADLINE 
Taxpayers may overpay taxes on income from their investments or from stock compensation in the form of restricted stock options or nonqualified stock options that are sold. 
Jennifer Kohlbacher, a CPA and director of wealth strategy at Mariner Wealth Advisors, told GOBankingRates that taxpayers often fail to calculate or report their tax basis correctly, which can increase the amount of capital gains taxes they owe. 
Taxpayers who operate a small business or are self-employed are required to make estimated tax payments to the IRS each quarter throughout the year, and failing to pay the appropriate amount can cause the taxpayer to face penalties for the amount underpaid as well as any related interest. 
Life changes that affect a tax filer's status, like getting married or having a child, are situations in which taxpayers should update their withholding information to account for the change, which can reduce the size of their refund by raising their take-home pay. 
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE 
Taxpayers may make mathematical errors when filing or make typos in their tax return that could cause the IRS to flag a tax return for review or even an audit. 
Reviews by the IRS can also cause taxpayers' tax refunds to be delayed. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 9.9%Eric Revell: 2.6%FoxBusiness: 4.4%Confirmation Bias9.9%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 4.7%FoxBusiness: 3.4%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 8.9%Eric Revell: 3.6%FoxBusiness: 4.1%Availability Heuristic8.9%This article: 12.4%Eric Revell: 1.3%FoxBusiness: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic12.4%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.4%FoxBusiness: 0.7%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 7.4%Eric Revell: 3.0%FoxBusiness: 3.7%Overconfidence Bias7.4%This article: 2.7%Eric Revell: 11.0%FoxBusiness: 12.9%Framing Effect2.7%This article: 13.6%Eric Revell: 1.4%FoxBusiness: 1.5%Loss Aversion13.6%This article: 8.3%Eric Revell: 1.4%FoxBusiness: 1.1%Status Quo Bias8.3%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 8.0%Eric Revell: 9.5%FoxBusiness: 8.8%Optimism Bias8.0%This article: 8.2%Eric Revell: 1.7%FoxBusiness: 2.0%Pessimism Bias8.2%This article: 31.7%Eric Revell: 6.9%FoxBusiness: 7.9%Negativity Bias31.7%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 2.5%FoxBusiness: 4.5%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 7.4%Eric Revell: 0.5%FoxBusiness: 0.9%Fundamental Attribution Error7.4%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.6%FoxBusiness: 1.7%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.8%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 3.1%FoxBusiness: 3.8%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 9.9%Eric Revell: 2.8%FoxBusiness: 2.3%Recency Bias9.9%This article: 2.5%Eric Revell: 0.4%FoxBusiness: 0.4%Primacy Effect2.5%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.2%FoxBusiness: 0.8%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.4%Straw Man0.0%This article: 31.7%Eric Revell: 6.7%FoxBusiness: 7.2%Appeal to Authority31.7%This article: 8.0%Eric Revell: 1.2%FoxBusiness: 1.6%False Dilemma8.0%This article: 5.8%Eric Revell: 0.8%FoxBusiness: 1.2%Slippery Slope5.8%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.2%FoxBusiness: 0.2%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 17.7%Eric Revell: 4.2%FoxBusiness: 6.3%Hasty Generalization17.7%This article: 2.3%Eric Revell: 0.4%FoxBusiness: 0.8%Red Herring2.3%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.9%FoxBusiness: 1.2%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 2.3%Eric Revell: 3.4%FoxBusiness: 6.1%Appeal to Emotion2.3%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.8%FoxBusiness: 1.2%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 17.3%Eric Revell: 3.9%FoxBusiness: 4.4%Post Hoc (False Cause)17.3%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 9.3%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.4%Burden of Proof9.3%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.2%FoxBusiness: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 1.0%FoxBusiness: 2.4%Anecdotal0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 16.1%Eric Revell: 2.1%FoxBusiness: 1.9%Ambiguity (Equivocation)16.1%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.2%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.3%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.2%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 13.6%Eric Revell: 1.3%FoxBusiness: 1.8%Unattributed Quote13.6%This article: 17.3%Eric Revell: 0.9%FoxBusiness: 1.4%Quote-first Misdirection17.3%This article: 10.1%Eric Revell: 3.2%FoxBusiness: 4.1%Biased Writer Voice10.1%This article: 18.6%Eric Revell: 1.9%FoxBusiness: 1.7%Indoctrination18.6%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eric Revell: 0.7%FoxBusiness: 2.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 4.9%Eric Revell: 2.8%FoxBusiness: 4.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…4.9%

515 words analyzed.

Speakers

3speakers26%attributed speech380writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 14 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 38 words • 100.0% coverageGOBankingRates • 19 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 1 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 100.0% coverageChristina Taylor • 51 words • 100.0% coverageChristina Taylor • 27 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 41 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 41 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 27 words • 0.0% coverageJennifer Kohlbacher • 38 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 48 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 43 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 30 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

Christina Taylor

100%flagged-word coverage
78 attributed words58% of attributed speech100% writer coverage
0%35.0%70.0%Unattributed Quote+65.4 ptsWriter: 0.0%Christina Taylor: 65.4%65.4%Quote-first Misdirection+55.4 ptsWriter: 10.0%Christina Taylor: 65.4%65.4%Indoctrination-25.3 ptsWriter: 25.3%Christina Taylor: 0.0%0.0%Biased Writer Voice-13.7 ptsWriter: 13.7%Christina Taylor: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -6.6 ptsWriter: 6.6%Christina Taylor: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.