Unless you know that you made a filing error, don't blame yourself for a small refund this year.
Many taxpayers are
finding that their refunds are smaller than expected or that they owe taxes
this year.
In 2018, the
withholding tables used by employers were adjusted to put more money into wage
earners' paychecks. This was done without fully taking into account the impact
of many tax law changes that were also taking effect in 2018. The consequence
is that many taxpayers are seriously under-withheld.
The impact of the
changes being seen in 2018 federal income taxes, as a result of the Tax Cuts
and Jobs Act of 2017, is likely going to vary depending on each individual
taxpayer's circumstance and their prior reliance of familiar aspects of the tax
code that have seen significant change.
The increase in the
Standard Deduction and the elimination of the Personal Exemptions are likely to
cause the greatest changes for most taxpayers.
For 2018, the
increased Standard Deduction amounts for all filers are:
- Single or Married filing
separately—$12,000.
- Married filing jointly or
Qualifying widow(er)—$24,000.
- Head of household—$18,000.
Please be aware that
this increase in the Standard Deduction is accompanied by the suspension, for
tax years from 2018 to 2025, of the Personal Exemption, which in 2017 was
$4,050 for the taxpayer, spouse, and each dependent.
For taxpayers who
have previously itemized their deductions, it is likely that itemizing will be
less attractive, due to the following, and other, changes:
- State, local, property, and
sales tax (SALT) deduction – capped at $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing
separately).
- Mortgage interest – capped at
interest on $750,000 of mortgage debt.
- Home equity loan or line of
credit -- interest is deductible only if loan was used to buy, build, or
substantially improve your home and your total mortgage debt doesn’t
exceed $750,000.
- Miscellaneous deductions
subject to the 2% limit – suspended.
- Personal casualty and theft
losses – suspended (with exceptions).
