Did you hear that? As the April tax filing deadline is nearing, America’s employees let out a collective groan.
“I really thought my refund would be higher!”
“How can I possibly owe so much?”
“Why wasn’t I ready for this?”
This isn’t a comment on the economy or current tax policies. Tax season has always arrived with a jolt. Tax filing forces people to honestly assess their incomes, savings plans, and progress toward their financial goals.
Plus, those refunds matter. According to a Bankrate survey, 75% of American adults say their anticipated tax refund is important to their finances.
People count on their refunds to pay down debt, boost their savings, and fund major expenditures like home improvement or a long-overdue family vacation. When the refund doesn’t come or is smaller than expected, it can throw a significant wrench into those plans.
For employers, the period following tax season is one of the best times to communicate with employees about improving their financial health, especially as it relates to taxes. Money is on their minds.
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So, don’t miss this opportunity to help your employees help themselves. Here are a few tips for striking while the iron is hot:
1. Educate About Tax-Advantaged HSAs (And Similar Benefits)
As you know, health savings accounts (HSAs) are triple tax-advantaged. There are no taxes on HSA contributions, growth, or use for qualified medical expenses. Yet, this message doesn’t seem to have reached the typical American worker.
About a third of HDHP enrollees haven’t opened an HSA — meaning they are missing out on considerable tax savings.
Misunderstanding is at the heart of low HSA usage. These plans are still relatively new to many employees, and several myths persist about them, such as the belief that unused HSA funds are lost forever. However, with a bit of educational outreach, you can help your company’s employees see that HSAs can reduce their tax bills and medical costs while helping them save for retirement.
In previous articles, we have covered several strategies for demystifying HSAs, HDHPs, and similarly confusing tax-advantaged programs like flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Your options include:
- A well-timed and concise email. (Feel free to copy all you want from this HSA/HDHP email template.)
- Explanatory videos. (You can find a couple perfect examples of HSA explainer videos here.)
- Digital postcards, which take email to the next level with personalized and interactive features.
- A benefits decision-support tool, which can guide employees to data-driven, personalized plan recommendations with clear cost comparisons.
2. Remind Employees About Pre-Tax Fringe Benefits
Besides HSAs and FSAs, several other common (and not-so-common) benefits can also be funded with pre-tax dollars. If your company offers any of these programs, now is the perfect time to remind employees about their existence and tax-slashing superpowers. If you don’t provide them, use the following links to research further:
- Adoption assistance. Parents who adopt can write off up to $15,950 from their federal income taxes.
- Commuter benefits. Employees can deduct up to $300 per month in transit account contributions and $300 per month in parking account contributions.
- College savings accounts. Although 529 contributions are not tax-deductible, this popular college savings plan has tax advantages. Contributions are tax-deductible in certain states, and neither earnings nor use for qualified expenses are subject to federal income tax.
3. Launch or Promote a Financial Wellness Program
The driving force behind the financial wellness movement is the idea that financial, mental, and physical wellbeing are interrelated. When employees fret about taxes and other financial issues, their worries seep into all aspects of their lives. Research shows that financial anxiety can cause people to lose focus at work, lose sleep, and eat poorly, among many other things.
Financial wellness programs are designed to address these worries by helping employees gain control over their finances. Program components may include:
- Free financial counseling
- Access to budgeting or financial planning apps
- Employee discount programs
- Financial wellness challenges (such as saving a certain amount every month)
- Student loan contribution plans
If you’ve been considering starting a financial wellness program at your organization, the post-tax season might be the ideal time to do so. If you already have one, April is an excellent month for reminding employees.
(Many of the same techniques we recommend for promoting a general wellness program also work well for hyping your financial wellness offerings.)
4. Keep It Simple
While employees have money on their minds at the close of tax season, it’s far from the only thing weighing down their thoughts. Nor is it the only topic clogging up their inboxes.
If you plan to send a lengthy email littered with financial jargon, think again. The shorter the email, the more likely it is to stand out from the nonstop barrage of messaging employees receive daily.
Weighing in at a svelte 200 words, here is a right-to-the-point email template you can use to remind employees about your company’s tax-reducing benefits:
Dear ,
Nobody likes paying taxes, but if you’re like me, you look forward to a hefty refund every spring. Many of us count on our tax savings to help pay down debt or fund major purchases.
If your refund check was a little light this year, keep in mind that our company offers several tax-advantaged benefits designed to help you keep more of your income:
Each benefit draws from pre-tax income, meaning the more you contribute, the less you’re taxed.
If you have any questions about contributing to or using these accounts, don’t hesitate to contact an HR team member. Stay tuned for more information as open enrollment rolls around this fall.
Also, as a employee, you’re entitled to several free financial tools and resources to help you make the most of your income and plan for the future. It’s all part of our company-wide financial wellness initiative. Click here to learn more.
(Build off that throughout the year with three more free email templates covering some of the most commonly misunderstood financial wellness topics.)
Keeping the Lines of Communication Open Year-Round
In this article, we’ve discussed taking advantage of tax season and the days following it to communicate with employees about pre-tax benefits and financial wellness. Tailoring your benefits messaging to the topics that are top-of-mind for your employees at different times of the year is an essential year-round communications strategy.
What themes should you highlight during the other 11 months? Find out with your free 2025 Benefits Communications Calendar.