In a recent survey, 37% of Millennials (those aged 18 to 34) said they plan to use some or all of their tax refunds to pay bills or reduce debts, while another 33% will save or invest the money.

photo_web_1486 The BMO Nesbitt Burns study was conducted by Pollara in mid March, and also found that 16% of Millennials intend to use their refunds to travel or purchase leisure items (compared to 14% of Canadians overall), while 14% will put the money towards their mortgage (compared to 9% of Canadians overall).

"Canadians' financial priorities and situations differ depending on their unique needs and goals, but it's encouraging to see that the majority of Millennials who are expecting a tax refund will use their money responsibly to reduce their overall debt and/or save and invest for the future," comments John Waters, Vice President and Head of Tax and Estate Planning at BMO Nesbitt Burns.

In another poll on the same subject conducted for CIBC in early April, 58% of respondents were expecting a tax refund, and 21% of them plan to use it to pay off high-interest loans or credit card debt. Another 19% of those expecting refunds will either put the money aside or haven't decided what to do with it, and 18% were going use it to pay bills or buy groceries. Only 13% of those polled for CIBC said they intended to save or invest their tax refunds.