You Really Need to Open This. Using Behavioral Economic Nudges to Increase Property Tax Compliance

Abstract

By utilizing low-cost, behavioral economic "nudges," we achieved a significant increase in the rate of on-time property tax payments in Guilford County, North Carolina. Using a large-scale randomized control trial, we were able to demonstrate that a short, handwritten note - combined with minor alterations to a county-issued "reminder letter" - increased the likelihood that single property owners made a full or partial tax payment by 35.6%. In isolation, the small alterations to the reminder letter increased the likelihood of full or partial payment by 12.4%. All told, our interventions saved the county of Guilford around $70,000 in collection costs.