So I was intrigued by a tiny test — eight questions — about tax facts every taxpayer should know. On behalf of the personal finance site NerdWallet, Harris Poll conducted an online survey just before tax season started.

The results were pretty bad. Most taxpayers could answer only two of the eight questions correctly.

I shouldn’t brag, but I did pretty well. I got a seven of eight right. I would have had a perfect score, but I misread one of the questions. (I can’t tell you which one, or I might give away the answer.)

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“Lack of knowledge may help explain why so many people pay to have their taxes prepared and filed,” NerdWallet’s Kevin Voigt writes.

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If you make $64,000 or less, you can get your taxes done free through the IRS free file program. As Voigt reports, hiring a tax professional, such as an accountant, costs an average of $273 per return. The average cost for a tax return prepared by H&R Block was $154, and $228 at Liberty Tax Service. If you haven’t paid to have your taxes done, click here to find out more about the IRS free file program. And even if you’ve already filed, check it out for next year.

Take NerdWallet’s tax test. This really is stuff you need to understand. You’ll find the answers here.

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1. Which of the following best describes a W-4?

a. A form you fill out to tell your employer how much to withhold from your pay for taxes.

b. A form provided by employers that shows taxes withheld from pay for the year.

c. A document that shows a person’s taxable capital gains for the year.

d. A professional designation that allows people to prepare taxes for others.

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2. True or false? If you file for a tax extension, you can delay the due date of your payment.



3. True or false? Contributions to a 529 college savings plan are tax deductible on federal income taxes.



4. True or false? A person paid to prepare federal income tax returns doesn’t need a valid preparer tax identification number.

5. What is the deadline to make a tax-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA for 2016 taxes?

a. April 18, 2017.

b. October 17, 2016.

c. December 31, 2016.

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6. Are gambling losses tax deductible on federal income taxes?

7. True or false? Mileage driven for volunteer work is tax deductible.



8. True or false? You can adjust your federal tax withholdings any time of the year

Color Money Question of the Week

Tell me how you did on the test, and if you did poorly, does it bother you? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. In the subject line, put “Tax Test.” Please include your name, city and state. (I promise I won’t share your score with the IRS!)

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Live chat today

Join me for a live discussion at noon (ET). My guest will be Robert Fishbein, vice president and corporate counsel for Prudential Financial. We’ll be taking about retirement, saving for college, getting rid of debt and anything else that’s on your mind about your money.

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To participate in the discussion click this link.

Color of Money columns this week

I’d love to get your thoughts on my columns for this week.

— Are you saving enough for retirement? To know, you first have to understand how much you’ll really need.

Use this tool if you don’t want to be broke in retirement

The Post’s Abha Bhattarai reported last week on a study that found of the nearly 80 percent of American employees who have access to a workplace retirement plan such as a 401(k), only 32 percent of them sign up for such accounts.

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So for last week’s Color of Money question I asked: If you haven’t been saving for retirement, why not?

James of the District provided what I suspect is a common and understandable reason why he isn’t saving for retirement.

“My wife stopped working several years ago to be a caregiver to her ailing mom,” he wrote. “My job at a prominent DC Law Firm (support staff employee) was outsourced to a company with horrible benefits. I went from paying for family coverage of $1,572 (health dental, vision insurance) to $8,684 (health insurance only) annually. The insurance has a yearly deductible of $6,500 for individual and $9,000 deductible for family. We have to pay out of pocket until we reach our deductible. This is definitely a hardship on our family. This situation has taken away our pay-yourself-first savings and any savings toward retirement.”

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Scott Kemper of Omaha wrote: “I have been saving in my 401(k) and other savings accounts, but a banker told me that I would be better off paying off my house. This way I minimize my interest payments over time, which goes into a banker’s pocket, and I’ll be able to build equity in my house. So I reduced the amount of my pay going to my 401(k), which also seemed to mean more money is now withheld for taxes. Where should I fall on the spectrum of saving for the future?”

I think Scott got bad advice. Although I’m a huge advocate for getting rid of your mortgage before you retire, you shouldn’t do so at the expense of your retirement savings. Here’s the thing, Scott, you don’t want to be “house rich and cash poor.” The expression simply means you don’t want all your money tied up in your home. You need to have access to funds to pay for living expenses, etc. If most of your money is tied up in your home, the only way to access it is to sell it or take out a loan.

So you need to do both, work toward paying off your home before you retire but also save and invest.

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Here’s some reading on this issue:

Have a question about your finances? Michelle Singletary has a weekly live chat every Thursday at noon where she discusses financial dilemmas with readers. You can also write to Michelle directly by sending an email to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Personal responses may not be possible, and comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writer’s name, unless otherwise requested. To read more Color of Money columns, go here.