2018 Tax Survey

Did your 2018 tax as a percentage of taxable income go up or down compared to 2017?

  • It went up.

    Votes: 22 40.7%
  • It went down.

    Votes: 31 57.4%
  • It stayed the same.

    Votes: 1 1.9%
  • It stayed the same because I voluntarily paid more in taxes than required.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    54
  • Poll closed .

Jaybeaux

Well-Known Member
Jan 3, 2016
2,024
Upper Potomac River
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After all of the discussion about the tax law changes, I thought it may be fun to see how things worked out now that it is time to file. So, here is a simple poll. Calculate the ratio of the tax you paid to your taxable income and compare it to the same value from your 2017 taxes. Maybe this will demonstrate the impact that the new law has on people. I chose taxable income because that is net of deductions and exemptions.

Example: Taxable Income, Line 43 on 2017 Form
Total Tax, Line 63 on 2017 Form

Result: Line 63 divided by Line 43

Jaybeaux
 
Mine went down a little, maybe not a lot, but better than going up.

What really aggravates me though is social security. I paid in all the years I worked. Pretty sure, cause I saw the deductions on my pay and they sent me statements over the years. So now that I'm drawing, I have to give part of it back in taxes! Bastards!
 
Mine went down a little, maybe not a lot, but better than going up.

What really aggravates me though is social security. I paid in all the years I worked. Pretty sure, cause I saw the deductions on my pay and they sent me statements over the years. So now that I'm drawing, I have to give part of it back in taxes! Bastards!

Thy started under Reagan....
 
Do you suppose the one thing might have something to do with the other?

It was a scam. My weekly check would of gone up $80. I took that additional out and sent it to the Feds for taxes. I will let you know how it works out. I bet it's the same as last year.....
 
Sheesh...I don't even have all my tax forms yet! I'm a couple weeks away from knowing the total damage...

I second this by a longer shot, They are not due until April 15th or October 15th. You guys must not be entrepreneurs, we are too busy trying to get the new year off to a good start to screw with taxes. We are trying to make money now!!!

MM
 
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The tax reduction I saw in my paycheck this year was lost as when I did my tax returns for 2018, I got a fraction of the refund I have been getting. Thanks Trump!
It has nothing to do with the "refund." What was your taxes paid/income earned last year and this year?
 
I second this by a longer shot, They are not due until April 15th or October 15th. You guys must not be entrepreneurs, we are too busy trying to get the new year off to a good start to screw with taxes. We are trying to make money now!!!

MM
Plus weekends.... And before boating season starts... I am working 7 days a week right now... Come May ..3 days a week
 
The tax reduction I saw in my paycheck this year was lost as when I did my tax returns for 2018, I got a fraction of the refund I have been getting. Thanks Trump!
I'd note that the goal is not to get a refund. Wouldn't you rather have the money now, than give the government a free loan? As long as you didn't have pay additional taxes, and you saw less taken out throughout the year, I'd call that a win.
 
I'd note that the goal is not to get a refund. Wouldn't you rather have the money now, than give the government a free loan? As long as you didn't have pay additional taxes, and you saw less taken out throughout the year, I'd call that a win.
I think refunds should be re-directed to us Seniors on SS so we can buy more fuel.
 
Don’t even have my tax prep appointment with my accountant until mid March. She lets me know what the annual damages are, and I write the checks and mail them at the very last minute before the deadline.
 
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I just punched my last w2 into HRBlock last night. I now owe $2800!!! This is the first time in my tax paying life that I have ever had to pay money. I claim 4 and have a family of 4. I also deduct my mortgage interest, boat interaest and farming losses.

Compared to last year, we made about $12K more than in 2017. Unfortunately, the fact that I can no longer claim employee business expeneses has casued me a significant tax impact.
 
Had a great year at work so yea my check going to the feds will be larger than last year.
 
Mine is pretty basic. I have fixed retirement income and use standard deduction. So we lost the $8100 personal exemptions, but gained $12,700 in standard deductions. So a net gain of $4600 in deductions.
 
Ok, so before this deteriorates into "I paid more", or "I paid less", remember that is not what was asked. The question on the table is "How much tax did you pay in 2018 compared to 2017 expressed as a percentage of Taxable Income? To claim that you had to write a check or got a huge refund is irrelevant because we have no way of knowing what your withholding level is/was, was it changed, or did you make more or less money. Frankly, I was trying to keep this "agnostic" by using the percentage so as not to get too personal. So, to give an example:

Taxable Income (all sources): $100,000
Tax Liability: $25,000
Tax Withheld: $27,000
Refund Due: $2,000

I'm looking for: 25,000/100,000 = 25%

So if your 2017 number was 27%, and your 2018 number was 25%, you benefited from the tax law changes. Conversely, if your 2017 number was 25% and your 2018 number was 27%, you took it on the chin.

Hope this helps.

Jaybeaux
 
I just punched my last w2 into HRBlock last night. I now owe $2800!!! This is the first time in my tax paying life that I have ever had to pay money. I claim 4 and have a family of 4. I also deduct my mortgage interest, boat interaest and farming losses.

Compared to last year, we made about $12K more than in 2017. Unfortunately, the fact that I can no longer claim employee business expeneses has casued me a significant tax impact.

That was the killer for me also. 10k hit for me.
 
I just punched my last w2 into HRBlock last night. I now owe $2800!!! This is the first time in my tax paying life that I have ever had to pay money. I claim 4 and have a family of 4. I also deduct my mortgage interest, boat interaest and farming losses.

Compared to last year, we made about $12K more than in 2017. Unfortunately, the fact that I can no longer claim employee business expeneses has casued me a significant tax impact.

Lucky man. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have to pay.
 
Ok, so before this deteriorates into "I paid more", or "I paid less", remember that is not what was asked. The question on the table is "How much tax did you pay in 2018 compared to 2017 expressed as a percentage of Taxable Income? To claim that you had to write a check or got a huge refund is irrelevant because we have no way of knowing what your withholding level is/was, was it changed, or did you make more or less money. Frankly, I was trying to keep this "agnostic" by using the percentage so as not to get too personal. So, to give an example:

Taxable Income (all sources): $100,000
Tax Liability: $25,000
Tax Withheld: $27,000
Refund Due: $2,000

I'm looking for: 25,000/100,000 = 25%

So if your 2017 number was 27%, and your 2018 number was 25%, you benefited from the tax law changes. Conversely, if your 2017 number was 25% and your 2018 number was 27%, you took it on the chin.

Hope this helps.

Jaybeaux
I think the best way would be Tax Liability/Total Income=Effective tax rate. The effective rate generated would reflect all differences in policy between the two tax years, current and last.
 

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