Taxes?

Desert Captain wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
Just did my taxes {Turbo Tax} and got the rude surprise that awaits most folks who have yet to do so...

We always take the standard deduction which has been nearly doubled to $24,000. Our income and estimated tax payments were virtually the same as last year. I was expecting a nice refund given the increase in the standard deduction but... Our taxes went up!

Turbo Tax always takes me through a hundred questions in a search to see if we should itemize {we never do} and the standard deduction is always our best path. In completing these question TT showed that for the first time the interest on our RV loan is no longer deductible, it always had been in the past.

So with a taxable income of $42,000 and the new standard deduction of $24,000 we paid more then ever before. Looks like they nearly doubled my taxes... Arrrrg!

:M

Check your math.

Agreed. If your income has not changed and you have always taken the standard deduction in the past, your taxes will decrease due to the simple math of higher deductions and the fact that rates decreased across the board.
There are many people finding they are receiving lower refunds this year. But that is due to the fact the withholding tables were adjusted to reflect the new tax rates. Less money was withheld from their checks, so there is smaller refunds even though their actual taxes decreased. It is amazing the number of people who equate the size of their refund to the amount of taxes paid. It has been said that the worst legislation ever was the laws that instituted withholding by employers. Until that time, you had to actually pay your taxes, so you actually saw how much it was. Now many people have no concept of how much taxes they actually pay since they never see the money and they are so out of touch they don't realize those amounts withheld out of their checks is actually money they earned and are now paying directly to the treasury.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with my math, the numbers I posted are spot on. Nothing is withheld from our social security or my brides retirement so there is no change there. We make quarterly estimated tax payments to both the Fed and state. These payments have not changed in years and we normally come close to breaking even which is my intent.

The only way I end up paying more despite the smokescreen of a much larger {an extra $11,000} standard deduction is the fact that this so called tax relief for the middle class is a scam. My taxes nearly doubled and we are barely middle class.

:M

Re-read your post and if it is factually correct the issue is you made around $3200 more gross income in 2018 than you did in 2017. You said your taxable income in 2018 was the same as your taxable income in 2018. Taxable income is the amount AFTER you have taken your deductions, whether it is the standard deduction or itemized deductions. You use the standard deduction. For a couple the total of the standard deduction in 2017 (standard deduction plus personal exemptions) was $20,800. In 2018 the personal exemption was eliminated and the standard deduction increased to $24000. To have a taxable income of $42000 you would have earned $62,800 in 2017 and $66,000 in 2018. So yes, it is likely your taxes did increase since your income increased. If you are self-employed they would have increased substantially, since you are liable not only for the income taxes on that additional income, but also the so-called double FICA for Social Security and Medicare.
EDIT: Checked the tax tables. For married filing Jointly, the taxes for 2017 on a taxable income of $42000 is $5371 For 2018 it is $4662. That is a decrease in actual taxes of $709. There is something wrong with your calculations if you actually have a taxable income of $42,000 in both 2017 and 2018 and your calculations show you have an increase in Federal income taxes.