How much do you owe in taxes this year? Last year I got a good refund (I always declare no dependents as a safety net) but I just got off the phone with my tax accountant in New Jersey and found out under the new tax rules, I owe almost $8000! What the heck is happening?

Question

Somehow this has to be a mistake. I had heard it was going to be bad for people in states with higher real estate taxes, like New York, New Jersey and california, but this is terrible. I thought one of the key reasons to own a home was for the tax benefits? I am going to have to dip into a Home Equity LOC just to make this payment. Is anyone else experiencing this?

Flossy · Answer

I’m expecting a huge bill living in CT and I lost the home office deduction.   If I lived pretty much anywhere besides CT NY NJ CA, this wouldn’t be as bad.  We pay or get a small refund anyway with our investment income.  This is a state legislature issue.  They need to learn to spend less and more impactfully our dollars.    I’m hoping I am sneaking into a lower tax bracket?.

Anonymous · Answer

We set our withholdings so we always get a several thousand dollar refund, then put that chunk towards our student loans. Normally we get a refund of about $3000-$4000 but in 2017 our refund was a whopping $7,000+! I knew the tax changes were going to affect us negatively but I was shocked that our 2018 refund was only a little over $500. We had used H&R Block for years but these past two years we used a CPA.

Lady Pele · Answer

After being laid off in 2017, my new job is at a lower salary.  I tried to work out the withholding properly with the tax changes, and had about $1k back in refunds.

Nurselady1 · Answer

I wish I understood taxes/finances enough to where I adjusted this year. I work full time as a nurse And had several temp jobs for extra cash throughout the year. Still don't make tons of money. $$$student loans...I ended up owing the state not much. And got back 300! I wanted to cry. I worked so hard this year. I usually get back between 3500-5000.  I want to prevent this from ever happening next year. (Was going to put away money for baby and house). Maybe also need an accountant to break things down? I go to H&R block yearly. Could be time for a change.

Carrie Topolski · Answer

I got $4,200 back. I started putting more in though because I lost my credit for my son when he turned 17 and I knew that my taxes were about to change. I overpaid. I can tell you I am not uberwealthy. I'm very middle class.  I struggle week to week but I made an adjustment this year to balance things out.

surfnwrite · Answer

The tax law is a huge scam on everyone but the uberwealthy and corporations.

Tracie Bober · Answer

Also, the IRS published new tax rates and encouraged employers to adjust withholding (so that people saw more money in each paycheck) only to find out that they were not withholding enough....and then get penalized.

surfnwrite · Answer

The reason you owe more is that the deduction you used to be able to take for state and local income taxes and real estate taxes has now been limited to $10,000 a year combined. Some people pay $10,000 or more just in real estate taxes alone so in that case those people would not be able to deduct ANY of their state and local income tax. Alternatively, people in places like Florida and Texas, with lower real estate tax and NO income tax, will not see big increases in their tax to the IRS this year.

Anonymous · Answer

Our accountant told us we would owe around 10k this year. We increased our withholding from each paycheck last year.  We owe an additional 3k on top of that. Total tax bill $13k. Last year we owed 5k.

Anonymous · Answer

i haven't filed yet. most of my income was freelance. does this only affect people who own property?

How much do you owe in taxes this year? Last year I got a good refund (I always declare no dependents as a safety net) but I just got off the phone with my tax accountant in New Jersey and found out under the new tax rules, I owe almost $8000! What the heck is happening?

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