Tax refunds are shaping up to be smaller this year. Here's why.

[Sanguine]

Many people going to be upset, experts say

Teri Webster

Government income tax cuts, as promised, increased take-home pay for many people this year. But the downside is that tax returns are shaping up to be smaller.
How much smaller?

On average, returns are about 8.4 percent smaller this year. Specifically, the average tax refund this year is $1,865, or $170 smaller than last year's average of $2,035, according to IRS figures. The IRS data compared the cumulative statistics of Feb. 2, 2018 and Feb. 1, 2019, according to published reports.

"While some people likely noticed an uptick in their take-home pay, the amount might have been small enough that people didn't notice, especially those who get direct deposit and might not look at their pay stubs," NBC News explained...

One reason it's happening is due to adjusted tax withholding tables under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017. This marks the first year the changes went into effect....

https://www.theblaze.com/news/tax-refunds-smaller-2019?utm_content=bufferf2374&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=theblaze

A pretty clear explanation of what is happening.

Mods, please move this if it's in the wrong place.  Seemed more political than economic to me.

[libertybele]

A pretty clear explanation of what is happening.

Mods, please move this if it's in the wrong place.  Seemed more political than economic to me.

A clear explanation and easy enough to understand, but I would bet that many will see their tax return as the bottom line and make judgement of Trump/GOP tax laws based on the amount of $$ they get back on their return.

[austingirl]

A clear explanation and easy enough to understand, but I would bet that many will see their tax return as the bottom line and make judgement of Trump/GOP tax laws based on the amount of $$ they get back on their return.

In other words, they're imbeciles.

[Wingnut]

In other words, they're imbeciles.

 You've got to remember that these are just simple folks. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new America. You know… morons.

[Applewood]

Seems to me there are a lot of people who don't believe in saving money, so they count on this refund as their "savings."  They are looking for this refund to finance a vacation, a new car or some other major expenditure.  Foolish, if you ask me. 

[libertybele]

For those who have always received a refund and are now having to pay after Trump and the GOP proclaimed that this tax cut would benefit the middle class I can certainly understand people being upset.  People may have seen a few more dollars in pay without thinking or realizing that their tax liability went up or it put them in a different tax bracket and that they would have to adjust their withholding, which in turn is going to lower their take home pay that they were used to; even a few dollars for some is a lot.  This is not what was promised by Trump or the GOP. 

I think this is really going to hurt Trump in 2020.  You know darn well that the DEMS are going to focus on it being a tax increase for the middle class and a tax decrease for corporations.

It's not going to matter if unemployment is the lowest in history or that the stock market has benefited, the average Joe and those who are dependent on a refund at the end of the year won't be focusing on anything but their bottom line and how it compared to prior years. 

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/trumps-tax-scam-some-taxpayers-get-unwelcome-surprise-after-filing-returns-201206749.html

[libertybele]

Seems to me there are a lot of people who don't believe in saving money, so they count on this refund as their "savings."  They are looking for this refund to finance a vacation, a new car or some other major expenditure.  Foolish, if you ask me.

While I understand your point of view, consider that 78%, that's 4 in 5 workers live paycheck to paycheck. I wouldn't exactly put them in a category of taking a vacation or buying a brand new car. Now you take that same group who saw a little bit of an increase in their paychecks only to find out that they now owe money to the IRS, the 'New Green Deal' plan or a promise of reduced taxes by DEMS is going to look pretty good in 2020.