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Are most of you seeing drastic changes in your tax refund this year?

Mine was almost identical (rate went up 0.2% from last year).

And please, people, don't focus on the amount of your return. Ideally, you shouldn't be getting any return (or should owe a little). Otherwise, you are loaning the federal government money at 0% interest.
Yep. I've always paid in. But i was using their money for a year instead of them using mine.
 
Elimination of the personal and dependents exemption was sneaky. The objection is the tax cuts are peanuts for most, but not so much for the richest 1% and megacorporations, which is fueling the deficits and national debt, now at record highs. (A household earning $1 million or more will get an average cut of $69,660, an income bump of 3.3 percent. Compare that with the a tax cut of $870, or 1.6 percent, for the average household earning $50,000 to $75,000.)
Ironically, blue states that link their tax system to the feds are reaping the benefits because their standard deductions are low and you can't itemize if you take the federal standard deduction. So lots of people (me!) are paying more overall.
BTW: "By 2027, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, every income group below $75,000 will actually see a tax increase. Only those income ranges above $75,000 will still see a cut by 2027. And according to the Tax Policy Center, only taxpayers higher than the 90th percentile -- that is, those earning about $225,000 and above -- will have better-than-even odds of getting a tax cut in 2027."
You say the new tax law " is fueling the deficits and national debt, now at record highs." You are partly right -- the national debt is going up and is higher than ever before. However, tax receipts to the government are also at record highs. The increase in the national debt is being caused by out of control spending, not the new tax law.
 
Everything you say in your post is counter to my experience. I do income taxes to help out my neighbors and friends -- all middle income taxpayers. Every single return that I have done so far shows that the new tax law benefits middle income tax payers. One return that I completed last night was for a family of 4 with an income around $70K. With the higher standard deduction and higher child tax credit their tax bill was lowered by about $2K from last year. This is very meaningful to them. They don't consider $2K "peanuts." I don't understand how anyone making less than $100K per year wouldn't be greatly helped by the new tax law.
It may be "counter to your experience" if your experience is not representative. If you are doing taxes, I hope you are better at math than to use a sample size of 1. I stand by the stats. My primary point is that the cuts are skewed to the wealthy and big corporations. The children of your clients will have to face the resulting national debt. Also, if you live in certain states, the federal cut is offset by the unintended consequence of state increases.
 
You say the new tax law " is fueling the deficits and national debt, now at record highs." You are partly right -- the national debt is going up and is higher than ever before. However, tax receipts to the government are also at record highs. The increase in the national debt is being caused by out of control spending, not the new tax law.
Stick to doing simple tax returns, bozo. You cut taxes and the revenues go up? Doesn't work that way, genius. For example, corporate income tax receipts fell from $297 billion in 2017 to $205 billion in fiscal year 2018, an unprecedented 31% drop.
According to the Committee For A Responsible Budget:
While individual income tax receipts have increased in nominal dollars since last fiscal year, this statistic paints a misleading picture in a number of ways. Specifically, it ignores reductions in other sources of revenue, doesn't account for inflation, and relies in part on revenue raised by last year's tax code. Considering the entire tax code and focusing specifically on this tax year shows that total revenue has declined between 4 and 9 percent. It will get worse in future years.
 
You say the new tax law " is fueling the deficits and national debt, now at record highs." You are partly right -- the national debt is going up and is higher than ever before. However, tax receipts to the government are also at record highs. The increase in the national debt is being caused by out of control spending, not the new tax law.
Does anyone know what the cost of Obamacare has been over the last 8 years and next 2? How far over is it from the cbo projections. I believe the projection was severally lowballed when it was presented.
 
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It may be "counter to your experience" if your experience is not representative. If you are doing taxes, I hope you are better at math than to use a sample size of 1. I stand by the stats. My primary point is that the cuts are skewed to the wealthy and big corporations. The children of your clients will have to face the resulting national debt. Also, if you live in certain states, the federal cut is offset by the unintended consequence of state increases.
Maybe the reason you are paying a lot in taxes is that you don't read very well and aren't taking advantage of the tax breaks in the new law. I said I do many tax returns and all have found the new tax law to be beneficial. Then I mentioned a single example. I am not using a sample size of 1 to justify my statement. I think my experience is representative of middle class taxpayers in Pennsylvania. The rise in the national debt is being caused by insatiable spending by the federal government.
 
Maybe the reason you are paying a lot in taxes is that you don't read very well. I said I do many tax returns and all have found the new tax law to be beneficial. Then I mentioned a single example. I am not using a sample size of 1 to justify my statement. I think my experience is representative of middle class taxpayers in Pennsylvania. The rise in the national debt is being caused by insatiable spending by the federal government.
So what do you do when spending is insatiable? Lower taxes, of course. That'll teach those big spenders.
 
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Those millions of Americans are now getting the tax advantage. By raising the standard deduction to $24k those that give but don't have a total of $24K of personal exemptions plus taxes and charity giving are ahead.

So most of middle and lower income America IS getting a tax break. i.e. paying less taxes in 2018 than they did in 2017.

After reading some of the comments here I now see how so many people that really are benefiting by the new tax law are still managing to complain as if it has hurt them..... :(
I realize the the new tax law is a benefit to most people. My concern is with the reduced giving because people that no longer itamize will be less likely to donate. Allowing all to claim donations as a tax write off would encourage more donations. That was my point.
 
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Early indications, based on a draft that I've prepared for my 2018 return, are a loss of about $10k in deductions (still using itemized deductions over the standard exemption, but barely) and a sizable increase in total income tax. Likely bitten by the elimination of SALT (higher real estate taxes in the burbs plus the Philadelphia income tax). Still need to spend a bit more time reviewing the return.
 
I was told there would be no math on this board.

But, have to say, I am enjoying this thread...a lot.

This is, to me, a fundamental failing in our school system. I mean jeeze, it is clear people have NOT been managing their tax withholding. I can't tell you how many people I know who claim zero dependents so that they get a big tax refund (at no interest). Smart people have the minimum amount withheld by law and invest that money. If you have to pay in on April 15th, you've at least gotten interest on that money.

Yeah smart people should have invested this money and took a bath in trumps stock market. Ideal plan.
 
After the tax law changed, they reduced my withholding from my pension. I did a rough calculation of my 2018 taxes and found they would be about the same as last year, so I increased my withholding back up. Although the tax rate was lowered, what killed me was the elimination of the personal exemption--$8100 for me and the wife.
 
So what do you do when spending is insatiable? Lower taxes, of course. That'll teach those big spenders.
Well, at least we can agree on something. My opinion is that the tax cut should have been capped at an income level of about $150K and spending cuts should have been implemented to make up for the lost revenue.
 
Early indications, based on a draft that I've prepared for my 2018 return, are a loss of about $10k in deductions (still using itemized deductions over the standard exemption, but barely) and a sizable increase in total income tax. Likely bitten by the elimination of SALT (higher real estate taxes in the burbs plus the Philadelphia income tax). Still need to spend a bit more time reviewing the return.
Given the change in tax brackets, it's hard to see how a loss of $10,000 in deductions would result in a sizeable increase in total income taxes.
 
You say the new tax law " is fueling the deficits and national debt, now at record highs." You are partly right -- the national debt is going up and is higher than ever before. However, tax receipts to the government are also at record highs. The increase in the national debt is being caused by out of control spending, not the new tax law.

oh stop it with the record revenue nonsense, revenues in 2018 were in fact up by a whopping 14B to a new "record," if you ignore population growth and inflation that would be bad. If you account for economic growth, job growth and inflation it is a pathetic increase. If you compare to some recent years, there should have been an increase of 150-200B, so revenues are way down, but wooohooo we are record levels.
 
I never get a refund. For the past 35 years, I've had to pay quarterlies. I still pay quarterlies, even though I'm retired. If I have a refund, I just put it against my next year's tax estimate. It lowers my quarterlies. I could never see a reason to get a refund, then send it back to them for the April bill.
 
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I wish they would just eliminate the entire withholding system.
You want to balance the national budget?....Have every taxpayer start cutting a personal check for their tax obligation to fund the government and try to tell me government officials won't start being held accountable for their spending!
But for some reason people don't realize they are the ones paying for all these things we do as a country just because it magically gets withheld from their check and they never see it.
 
I changed jobs and that threw in a couple of new variables, but we have gone from a refund of a couple grand, to paying in a couple. I’ve seen on the news that a ceiling on the property tax credit is impacting some, but we aren’t in a crazy high property tax area (as opposed to NJ). We are just getting the standard deduction this year, as opposed itemized deductions.

Not a political post, just trying to gauge whether we should pay someone to look at our taxes to see what we may be missing.
 
I wish they would just eliminate the entire withholding system.
You want to balance the national budget?....Have every taxpayer start cutting a personal check for their tax obligation to fund the government and try to tell me government officials won't start being held accountable for their spending!
But for some reason people don't realize they are the ones paying for all these things we do as a country just because it magically gets withheld from their check and they never see it.
yeah...I find the "flat tax" argument interesting. There is so much money going into tax avoidance and preparation, it would have to be advantageous to most americans. On the down side, people that pay no of close to no tax (AKA, poor people or low income people) get a tax increase. But if you just said "hey, give the feds 17.8% of eveything you make", life would be so much simpler (but, I suspect, the govt would have much less leverage so it will never happen)
 
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It’s that time of year again — tax season. For the next few months, almost every single American will be a Ron Paul-style libertarian, on to revert back to their normal political lives when all is said and done.

Considering the vast majority of Americans are paying less in taxes than they ever have, it’s no surprise that President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are seeing a spike right now. That isn’t good news for Democrats, who are pointing out a very easily-explained trend in our taxes right now.

As you may have noticed, tax returns this year are considerably lower than they have been in the past. If you ask Senator Kamala Harris, it’s because Trump’s tax cuts were robbing the middle class as a gift for his wealthy conspirators. There’s just one problem — that’s not how any of this works.

To make a long story short, if you’re paying less in taxes, the less you’re going to get back. A tax return is basically a cashier handing you your change. If you’re getting a return at all, it means that you overpaid throughout the year, and the government is giving you your own money back.

Share this around to everyone who doesn’t understand the very basic idea of how taxes work.

~ Facts Not Memes
 
I earned about $6000 more this year and paid about $300 less in taxes. I win!!! Then again, I'm retired and don't itemize deductions, so, I'm not in the best position to determine if the tax cuts are helping most people. The standard deduction almost doubled, so I was going to make out no matter what.
 
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I realize the the new tax law is a benefit to most people. My concern is with the reduced giving because people that no longer itamize will be less likely to donate. Allowing all to claim donations as a tax write off would encourage more donations. That was my point.
I don't think that charities will really lose all that much. The big donors will still be itemizing.
 
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Stick to doing simple tax returns, bozo. You cut taxes and the revenues go up? Doesn't work that way, genius. For example, corporate income tax receipts fell from $297 billion in 2017 to $205 billion in fiscal year 2018, an unprecedented 31% drop.
According to the Committee For A Responsible Budget:
While individual income tax receipts have increased in nominal dollars since last fiscal year, this statistic paints a misleading picture in a number of ways. Specifically, it ignores reductions in other sources of revenue, doesn't account for inflation, and relies in part on revenue raised by last year's tax code. Considering the entire tax code and focusing specifically on this tax year shows that total revenue has declined between 4 and 9 percent. It will get worse in future years.

For your consideration,

https://www.heritage.org/taxes/report/tax-cuts-increase-federal-revenues
 
I am not sure congress is that smart to aim at some states.

My tax situation is easy to explain

  • Top line income up approx. 15% (combining W2, 1099's, 1098's, LLC and S-Corp)
  • Deductions seriously reduced due to SALT $10k limit (i.e. just my property tax for residences is over $25k before even getting to S&L income)
  • Took hit on business deductions (LLC and S corp)
  • Net taxable income up
  • Taxes up significantly as the reduced personal rate % never made up for the SALT limits (not in NJ or NY either)
  • Getting $$$ back, but that is not what is relevant - as total tax way up. this was not a tax cut for me.
What business deductions could you possibly lose?
I earned about $6000 more this year and paid about $300 less in axes. I win!!! Then again, I'm retired and don't itemize deductions, so, I'm not in the best position to determine if the tax cuts are helping most people. The standard deduction almost doubled, so I was going to make out no matter what.
I think your demographic won't see much of a decrease. Actually, many middle income folks without children will not see much IMO.
 
So now the people who came up with climate change denial have invented tax increase denial. If you didn't actually get a tax cut it must be because you're too stupid to tell that you got a tax cut. Or you did your taxes wrong. Or you didn't move our of a blue state like you were supposed to in order to qualify for the big tax cut.
 
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I really have a problem with them limiting the SALT deduction. The states who this hurts pay by far the largest percentage of federal income taxes already. And not only that, those states get LESS back than what they pay in.

For instance, California gets back less than a dollar for every dollar of Federal Taxes it pays. South Carolina gets back $7.87 for every federal tax dollar spent. New Jersey, Colorado, New York, Ohio, Mass and California are also states that already get less in return for every dollar spent. So what did we do? Punish those states even more. It isn't right.
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I also heard the number of 600 billion being floated around for the Military budget. If not for the state listed above, how would it be possible to pay for that budget? It wouldn't be possible. The people who live there are there for one reason, that is where the jobs are. The taxes are high because population and density with some mismanagement thrown in.

But who has to pay higher taxes now? The state who already are paying for everyone else.

And not to mention, middle class isn't an even line. The salary to be middle class in NYC is much different than Johnstown PA or Alabama. The net effect is a big hit on middle class workers in those states.
 
I was told there would be no math on this board.

But, have to say, I am enjoying this thread...a lot.

This is, to me, a fundamental failing in our school system. I mean jeeze, it is clear people have NOT been managing their tax withholding. I can't tell you how many people I know who claim zero dependents so that they get a big tax refund (at no interest). Smart people have the minimum amount withheld by law and invest that money. If you have to pay in on April 15th, you've at least gotten interest on that money.
You were told to know math
 
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I own a small business and last year had to pay over 15k to the feds. This year I am getting $440.00 back. I was able to get may standard 12,500 deduction and not be taxed on 20% of the profit according to my accountant. Bottom line is that I am in much better shape this year as opposed to last. Bad news I live in Illinois and now that want to raise the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour by 2025. A lot of small businesses like me will probably have to lay people off or close down.
 
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I own a small business and last year had to pay over 15k to the feds. This year I am getting $440.00 back. I was able to get may standard 12,500 deduction and not be taxed on 20% of the profit according to my accountant. Bottom line is that I am in much better shape this year as opposed to last.
Great to hear---I am paying your 15K this year ;)
 
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I earned about $6000 more this year and paid about $300 less in axes. I win!!! Then again, I'm retired and don't itemize deductions, so, I'm not in the best position to determine if the tax cuts are helping most people. The standard deduction almost doubled, so I was going to make out no matter what.
Doubling the standard deduction isn't all it's cracked up to be because personal exemptions were eliminated.

A couple with no kids was able to deduct $21k in 2017 ($13k std ded + $8k pers ex). Now they just get a $24k std deduction.
 
I really have a problem with them limiting the SALT deduction. The states who this hurts pay by far the largest percentage of federal income taxes already. And not only that, those states get LESS back than what they pay in.
I don't see the problem. California is so awesome that people already gladly pay more to live there.
 
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yeah...I find the "flat tax" argument interesting. There is so much money going into tax avoidance and preparation, it would have to be advantageous to most americans. On the down side, people that pay no of close to no tax (AKA, poor people or low income people) get a tax increase. But if you just said "hey, give the feds 17.8% of eveything you make", life would be so much simpler (but, I suspect, the govt would have much less leverage so it will never happen)
Make it 22% and the first $50k is tax free. The low income and poor don't pay anything. No other deductions, etc. But, it will never ever happen. The loss of jobs from accountants, lawyers, and the entire IRS would cause a huge unemployment problem. It really is unbelievable in how much we spend as a society on tax prep, avoidance, and enforcement. Like the War on Drugs, the War for Tax Simplicity can't, and won't be won. Too many people feeding from the trough for it to go away
 
So now the people who came up with climate change denial have invented tax increase denial. If you didn't actually get a tax cut it must be because you're too stupid to tell that you got a tax cut. Or you did your taxes wrong. Or you didn't move our of a blue state like you were supposed to in order to qualify for the big tax cut.
Some people will pay higher taxes due to lost SALT deductions but they are in the minority, even in high tax states. Reason is most people have historically taken the standard deduction. That includes 67% of NY taxpayers. My guess is that half of the remaining 33% will make up for lost deductions via lower rates and credits. 15% or so of residents in high tax states will pay more and they will have above average incomes.
 
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I own a small business and last year had to pay over 15k to the feds. This year I am getting $440.00 back. I was able to get may standard 12,500 deduction and not be taxed on 20% of the profit according to my accountant. Bottom line is that I am in much better shape this year as opposed to last. Bad news I live in Illinois and now that want to raise the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour by 2025. A lot of small businesses like me will probably have to lay people off or close down.
Small businesses make out great. Same for people trapped in AMT.
 
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Make it 22% and the first $50k is tax free. The low income and poor don't pay anything. No other deductions, etc. But, it will never ever happen. The loss of jobs from accountants, lawyers, and the entire IRS would cause a huge unemployment problem. It really is unbelievable in how much we spend as a society on tax prep, avoidance, and enforcement. Like the War on Drugs, the War for Tax Simplicity can't, and won't be won. Too many people feeding from the trough for it to go away
It's not the accountant's lobby. It's all the special interests and the politicians. A deal for homeowners, a deal for railroad workers, a deal for families with kids a deal for kids in college, a deal for teachers, a deal for health insurance, etc. Accountants & lawyers didn't create those things. Congress did. Accountants & lawyers just help people take advantage of the laws.
 
Jesus -- seriously? Your refund literally means absolutely nothing. It is a function of how much you overpaid (or underpaid) taxes during the prior year. Only your total tax matters. Refund size means absolutely jack shit!

You are correct in concept for sure. However refund size does mean something if one is completely off-guard in a way that they are paying a few thousand at the end of the year. While it is on that person for getting caught off-guard and not paying more attention, it absolutely means a lot if they were not expecting it. We paid attention and did not get caught having to pay a lot at end of the year because we altered withholdings.
 
I changed jobs and that threw in a couple of new variables, but we have gone from a refund of a couple grand, to paying in a couple. I’ve seen on the news that a ceiling on the property tax credit is impacting some, but we aren’t in a crazy high property tax area (as opposed to NJ). We are just getting the standard deduction this year, as opposed itemized deductions.

Not a political post, just trying to gauge whether we should pay someone to look at our taxes to see what we may be missing.
I changed jobs and that threw in a couple of new variables, but we have gone from a refund of a couple grand, to paying in a couple. I’ve seen on the news that a ceiling on the property tax credit is impacting some, but we aren’t in a crazy high property tax area (as opposed to NJ). We are just getting the standard deduction this year, as opposed itemized deductions.

Not a political post, just trying to gauge whether we should pay someone to look at our taxes to see what we may be missing.
Two questions.....Was your take home pay more in 2018? Why would you want a large refund from the Government? Guaranteed, they wouldn't give you an interest free loan.
 
You say the new tax law " is fueling the deficits and national debt, now at record highs." You are partly right -- the national debt is going up and is higher than ever before. However, tax receipts to the government are also at record highs. The increase in the national debt is being caused by out of control spending, not the new tax law.
You’re 100% correct but here is the dilemma. We as a society have become addicted to all the social programs made available by federal and state governments. Actuaries knew as early as 1985 that entitlements promised to the baby boomers would blow a huge hole in the deficit but politicians were afraid to address the issue since BB were a huge voting block. It is ridiculous and absurd that in 2019 the FICA and Medicare rate deduction (combined) is 7.65%. At the very minimum it should be 15%. Another Absurdity is the $132,000 salary cap on Social Security deductions. The cap should be at least $250,000 since this individual in retirement will draw most if not all of what he or she contributed after 20 years. Now, combine that with a significant reduction in military spending, caps on labor contracts (teachers, police, municipal and state employees) and Incentivized welfare payments with labor credits. That deficit would be gone in 20 years. I know it would never happen in the U.S.
 
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