How Will Tax Reform Affect My Refund?

[desertrat1969]

dont hold your breath on expecting much in the way of refunds or realized tax breaks. I just did out taxes and our taxes went up 49.28% let me break that down for you. Married with one dependent. we itemize as I have medical issues and we have had a run of deaths in the family over the past 5 years that has donations on the high side. this year We also upgraded our solar so we had energy credits. My husband is a fire fighter and educator. I tutor a bit and draw disability. So we aren't making millions, not even 6 figures. Losing the work deductions and what ever else is hidden in the new law actually INCREASED our tax by 2% and reduced our normal tax refund by 49.28%. That means, WE PAID MORE....a LOT MORE!  Matter of fact, if I did not itemize, we would have owed $358. Next year, our daughters 529 account will be taxed as we start to draw on it for her education expenses.  Needless to say, I am going to files a W-4v to have voluntary tax withholdings of 10% taken from my pathetic SSDI to hopefully stay on top of MORE taxes that will be owed. When we pay off our house in a couple years, and if we dont make any increases to our roughly 15% paid in taxes, we will be owing taxes at the end of the year. When our daughter drops off as a dependent in a couple years, we will be owing taxes. Yes, its slightly easier to file the new taxes without having to account for all the unreimbursed work expenses, but this "tax reform" is a boot to the head for us.  The only ones it seems to actually help, are those that making less than $50-55k per year as a married couple...that's from conversions among my friends. If you make over $75k, depending on how you file and you withholdings, you could be in for sticker shock! To me, this is a slap in the face to those main stream middle class workers, especially public servants 

[desertrat1969]

in a nutshell....if you make over $75,000 and file jointly, you might seriously want to think about having an extra $20/pay period withheld or you could be left holding the bag at the end of the year...a very empty bag.

[Bees]

Yeah, I'm not a fan either. The new rules do not favor things that have been a part of US law for a long time. It does not favor home ownership,families, marriage,or support for local services provided by the states. It does favor estates and landlords. go figure.

 There is a tax credit , a temporary measure , that was added in which kind of replaces the personal exemptions. The exemption lowered your taxable income-this cuts down on the tax owed. It is a not refundable credit.

https://www.thebalance.com/no-more-personal-exemptions-you-can-still-claim-these-tax-credits-4169655

quote 

s of 2018, you can also claim a tax credit for dependents who are older than age 16. The TCJA provides for a Family Tax Credit now as well. It's only worth $500, but that's better than nothing. Most of the qualifying rules are the same as for the Child Tax Credit, except adult dependents don't have to have valid Social Security numbers. Your dependent will need an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN), however, or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). 

Unfortunately, this credit is not refundable, so the most it can do is shave $500 off your tax bill for each qualifying dependent.

[sealtainn]

what this tax change has done for some has complicated their taxes significantly.