It’s tax season in the United States, and financial service startup Digit has launched a feature designed to automate savings from tax refunds. Working with the Duke University nonprofit CommonCents Lab, the company leverages behavioral economics and technology to help you automatically put away a predetermined amount of your tax return.
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), nearly 80 percent of all U.S. tax filers will receive a federal tax refund. The total amount is estimated to be $125 billion nationwide. Digit said that over 50 percent of people have less than $1,000 in savings and believes a tax refund is a good place to start saving.
“The average tax return is $2,800 per household, making it the biggest windfall of cash most people receive annually,” said company CEO Ethan Bloch in a statement. “This is the most significant savings moment of the entire year. By automating the process, Digit makes it incredibly easy for people to set aside a huge chunk of cash without spending a single mental synapse on making that decision.”
The automated tax refund feature will be rolled out throughout the tax season.