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Outlook on American Life

2022 Tax Return Trends

First Time
Retirees Dip

In Tax Season 2022 (which covers calendar 2021), the number of H&R Block clients who took pension distributions, qualified retirement payments, or social security for the first time dropped by 2% from Tax Season 2021 (calendar 2020, the height of the pandemic).

Despite this dip, the number of new retirees collecting pensions has climbed steadily since 2017.

Considering retiring or unretiring?

Block helped more than 2 million retirees this year.

A 22% increase over the last five years.

But the rate of new retirees slowed in tax year 2022.

Ages 66 and 67 are still the most popular to retire.

But Unretirement is trending up.

Unretire: verb (unofficial) - taking on side gigs/part time jobs

up 16% since 2017.

What's right for you? Let's chat.

Retirement Age Rises

At Block, we see the average age of workers when they first collect retirement benefits—whether from a pension, 401(k), or Social Security—inching steadily up over the past five years. The most popular age to retire is 66 and 67.

Unretirement Ticks Up

We've seen some retirees taking on gig work or side hustles to maintain income and avoid dipping into retirement savings. In tax season 2022, we saw 4% of retirees “unretire” with the net change in unretirement increasing 16% since 2017.

Thinking of retiring or unretiring?
Learn more about how your taxes could change.

Small Business Rebounds in Tax Year 2022

During the pandemic, we saw a significant decline of small business in all states. For states, such as California and New York, the decline was severe. However, in 2021 small businesses were on the rise again.

States like Florida and Texas are actually seeing a 2% increase in the numbers of small businesses open compared to before the pandemic.

79% of people want to be their own boss.

Do you?

Small business took a hit during the pandemic but we've seen a rebound.

New schedule C filings up 26% in 2021.

We helped 170,000 new bosses turn side hustles into full time gigs.

App-based drivers up 48%

Sellers up 95%

Renting up 152%

Still thinking about it?

We're here to clear things up

Learn more about how we support new entrepreneurs and small business owners.
If you are thinking about becoming your own boss, we're here to help.

Up or Down, Crypto Persists

As we've seen lately, crypto is not immune to the ups and downs of the financial markets. And with the number of crypto owners in the US nearly doubling in 2021, it'll continue to be an area to watch in the year ahead. In tax year 2022 alone, the number of crypto owners we've helped jumped 85%.

Whether you “buy and hold” like 85% of crypto owners do, or actively trade like 38% of owners do, it's a constantly evolving marketplace that we can help you navigate for taxes year-round.

1 in 5 Americans say they own crypto.

Almost half of them bought in 2021.

We helped 85% more crypto investors in 2021.

For our investors, top 10 traded assets switched from stocks

like APPL and TSLA

to crypto

like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

If you actively trade

like 38% of crypto investors do

reach out for advice.

Crypto Coins Top Tech Stock in Assets Traded

Back in 2020, the Top 10 assets traded by volume among our customers were stocks such as Apple or Tesla. In tax year 2022 (covers 2021), the top three categories switched to cryptocurrencies: dogecoin, bitcoin and Ethereum.

Women Changing the Investor Profile

Up until 2021, about 70% Crypto investors were male, however, the gender gap is shrinking with 39% of those who plan to purchase crypto for the first time this year being women. (Gemini 2022)

In good and bad times, this new class of asset can impact your taxes.
Learn more to get smart on how to navigate.