By TIERNEY PLUMB
Washington Business Journal

Most Americans avoid fretting about the April 15 deadline because they don't wait until the last minute to file their taxes, according to a Marist Poll.

Eighty percent do not procrastinate, while 20 percent do, according to the survey.

The proportion of early submitters goes up when looking at U.S. residents who expect to get a refund, with 89 percent of those respondents saying they send in their returns before the deadline.

Residents in western states are more likely to sit on filing their taxes than residents in other parts of the U.S., with 29 percent saying they wait until April 15 to mail in their returns.

A majority of Americans - 56 percent - are hopeful that they will receive a refund, but nearly one in four does not expect to get any money back from the government.

Of those expecting to see the money, half plan to pay their bills with it, including 51 percent of residents who earn less than $100,000 a year.

And 35 percent of Americans who expect to cash in say they will mostly save it, while 15 percent plan to hit stores with it.

Women, however, are not as likely to do so: 11 percent of women say they will spend the money, compared with 19 percent of men.

As for other uses of refunds, 59 percent of women and 42 percent of men say they will pay their bills with it.

The survey of 1,118 random U.S. adult residents was conducted April 1 to April 3.