Study: Taxpayers spend 17 hours on average preparing their returns

A new study from a conservative group says American taxpayers spend 17 hours on average completing their personal tax paperwork.

The study from the American Action Forum (AAF) was released on Tuesday, Tax Day.

{mosads}”The individual income tax generates 2.6 billion hours of paperwork from roughly 150 million tax filers. This equates to 17 hours per response, or roughly two work-days dedicated to tax returns,” according to Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at AAF.

The group also found that companies spend about 275 hours each preparing their taxes.

The IRS says the cost of tax paperwork for businesses and individuals comes out to $86 billion, but AAF says their estimate puts it as high as $170 billion annually.