Few happy returns for American taxpayers; Tax overhaul means less refund money, and more people owe
Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refund will be less than expected or that they owe money to the
People have taken to social media, using the hashtag #GOPTaxScam, to vent their anger. Many are blaming President
The uproar comes after Trump and congressional
Prugh said he had no reason to think his family's tax situation would change this year, since he and his wife have lived in the same house for years and have received the same pay in their jobs and have two kids.
"It totally feels like a scam," said Prugh, who did not vote for Trump. "I did still get a small refund, but compared to what I was expecting from previous years, it was shock."
The average tax refund check is down 8 percent (
An
The early data can shift around a lot, tax experts say, but there's reason to believe frustrations could rise. The Government Accountability Office warned last summer that the number of tax filers who receive refunds was likely to drop for the 2018 tax year and the number of filers who owe money would rise.
The GAO pointed to an
Many Americans may confuse their small refund as a sign that they paid more in taxes as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Generally, that is not true.
According to the Tax Policy Center, 80 percent of filers received a tax cut and about 5 percent wound up paying more in federal income taxes. The tax cuts showed up in fatter weekly or biweekly paychecks for most Americans, but few people noticed, according to polling.
"There's a difference between taxes and your refund," said
What happened to many families is they received a tax cut, but their refund is smaller this year because the
The
"Getting a tax refund means that you gave the government an interest-free loan because you overpaid your taxes," said
But many Americans prefer refunds, even though personal finance experts say it's not a wise idea to get one.
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