Family Resource Allocation and Tax Decisions

Last registered on April 17, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Family Resource Allocation and Tax Decisions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015787
Initial registration date
April 11, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
April 17, 2025, 7:04 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Taiwan, Province of China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Kuan-Ming Chen
Affiliation
National Taiwan University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-04-14
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Labor
Additional Keywords
Family Decision, Tax
JEL code(s)
G5, H2, D1
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In the Taiwanese context, the tax system allows older individuals to be claimed as dependents by a designated family member—typically one of their adult children. When claimed as a dependent, the adult child receives a deduction from their taxable income. If a parent has multiple adult children, it is most tax-efficient for the family to designate the child with the highest income as the claimant, since that child faces the highest marginal tax rate. However, administrative data reveal that many families do not make this optimal choice. Our randomized controlled trial (RCT) is designed to identify the underlying causes of this phenomenon.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chen, Kuan-Ming. 2025. "Family Resource Allocation and Tax Decisions." AEA RCT Registry. April 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15787-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will conduct online surveys both before and after the tax filing month (May). The survey has three versions. The control version collects only demographic information and basic tax filing details. Treatment 1 adds an informational component: respondents receive a brief quiz to assess their understanding of the tax code and learn how selecting the optimal dependent can reduce their tax liability. Treatment 2 builds on Treatment 1 by including an additional behavioral nudge, encouraging respondents to inquire about their siblings' income and consider whether it would be more tax-efficient to switch the dependency designation. After the tax filing month, we will conduct another trial to collect the filing behavior after our treatments.

Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-04-14
Intervention End Date
2025-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Tax filing behavior before and after the trial.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We have one control and two treatments. We use the National Taiwan University Websurvey platform to recruit our respondents and then randomly assign them into the three groups.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by the computer powered by Qualtrics.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4800 individuals.
Sample size: planned number of observations
4800 individuals.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1600 control, 1600 treatment 1, and 1600 treatment 2.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
National Taiwan University
IRB Approval Date
2025-03-23
IRB Approval Number
202503HS012
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials