# My MASSIVE tax savings! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682 "2018-02-27T18:08:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/81 "2019-01-31T03:10:45Z")
> [@justanothermike](#): > > They weren’t questions as much as statements trying to paint my words in such a way as to make me an idiot. I didn’t realize there was a formula to meet in order to be understood. I mistakenly thought I could just give my experience like others without scrutiny. I forgot where I was. My apologies. Alternatively, you could actually read what people are saying rather than just repeat how oppressed you are over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![justanothermike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@justanothermike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justanothermike)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/82 "2019-01-31T03:42:35Z")
Feel free to show me where I failed to read. I’m pretty sure I’ve done so when formulating responses. Thanks for your kind and very helpful reply. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/83 "2019-02-01T18:07:22Z")
In '17 I paid 11.8% to the feds. In '18 it came out to 9.7%. That amounts to $914 less, or $76 more income for me per month. I just wonder if the top 0.1% got more or less than a 2.1% federal tax cut overall. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/84 "2019-02-02T06:03:47Z")
JohnnyLA, don’t forget, if your property tax is over $10,000, you won’t be able to write that off versus your Federal taxes. That should more than off set you savings. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/85 "2019-02-02T06:15:56Z")
@justanothermike - The total tax liability, or even effective tax rate is the useful item to compare year to year. The refund doesn’t convey enough information to do a meaningful comparison. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/86 "2019-02-02T07:43:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > OK, I think the pay schedule is sorted out after the holidays and the tax reform. My **_MASSIVE_ Tax Cut™** is $6/month. So every month and a half, I can buy a Big Mac Meal! Woohoo! Or save it up for seven or eight years and have enough for a set of four tires for your car. What’s their tread level now? But do you really need new tires? It’s the super-rich who really need the money, and even after the cuts their percentage tax rate probably isn’t all that much lower than yours. Can’t you find a way to do your duty and just mail a $72 check to one of the Koch brothers or such? It’s not like they don’t need the money. [Donald J. Trump once cashed a check for 13¢](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/trump-files-spy-magazine-prank/). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/87 "2019-02-02T07:55:40Z")
I don’t know if I’m going to be able to figure out if I would’ve done better without running my taxes as if this was 2017. Maybe the accountant will be able to tell me. There was a ton of extra work last year so I made More than I ever have in my life by a long shot. I’m hoping I withheld enough. I’ll find out soon. Unfortunately I will not be making that much money this year. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/88 "2019-02-05T23:43:13Z")
I just ran my 2018 retirement income through both the 2018 and 2017 versions of TurboTax. 2018 tax is 18.5% less than it would have been under the 2017 law. (Income was SS, IRA, small investment income and a bit of consulting) ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/89 "2019-02-06T03:42:49Z")
My income went up almost 12% but my total tax liability went down almost 16%. But we’re almost tailor-made for this tax plan: moderately high income, standard deduction, two kids, so I expected a nice savings. (Interestingly, almost all the savings is packed in the way child tax credits work now - my total tax before credits last year was just a bit less than 11% less than it was this year. If you take the kids out and refigure last year’s taxes based on fewer allowances the savings is less than 2% [still a savings though, with the income bump]) ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/90 "2019-02-06T04:16:49Z")
Assuming I did the math right, my tax liability in 2017 using my 2018 income would have been over 30% higher than my actual liability for 2018. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/91 "2019-02-06T12:15:29Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > If I apply my effective tax rate from last year to this year’s income, it appears as though I saved about $70/month due to the lower marginal rates. I may be reading this wrong but it looks like being “forced” into the standard deduction has actually hurt me. I did the math for my usual itemized deductions and it came to just over $11,000, so the new standard was about the same, little bit more. But what really pisses me off is that I fall into this sour spot in AGI where I can no longer deduct my IRA contributions. I’m wondering now if I should bother with the IRA anymore, until/unless circumstances change. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/92 "2019-02-06T13:20:35Z")
You guys too? The Dutch government also promised the Dutch public (almost) everyone would be better off by about 150 dollars starting this January. There have been quite a few prominent Dutchies doing the math this month and also coming to very, very disappointing numbers. Wealth is massively siphoned away to companies and the 1 %, y’all. [World's richest 1% grabbed 82% of all wealth created in 2017, Oxfam study finds](https://money.cnn.com/2018/01/21/news/economy/davos-oxfam-inequality-wealth/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/93 "2019-02-06T17:11:07Z")
No change in our taxes this year. The change in standard deduction washed out our mortgage interest deduction entirely, and makes it unappealing to take out a larger mortgage if we needed to do so. Of course that’s potentially good for society… the tax code should should reward home ownership instead of mortgage indebtedness. But dropping the SALT deduction disincentivizes home ownership, so :shrug:. At least society can look forward to the benefits of the coming boom in scraping barnacles off mega-yachts. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/94 "2019-02-06T19:06:39Z")
Wow, I never thought of deep-red Georgia as a high-tax state, but my state and property tax easily blew out the $10K SALT limit. Suburban swing voters are gonna be pissed. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/95 "2019-02-06T19:29:28Z")
My income was a little lower than last year, but I ended up paying about $400 more. I believe that the Republican tax plan amounted to stealing from the upper middle class to give to the rich. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/96 "2019-02-06T19:34:45Z")
Well, Sheldon Adelson got a $670 million reduction in taxes. He was so happy that he gave $30 million to Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/97 "2019-02-07T19:07:49Z")
[Trump voters explode after realizing they’re getting screwed by the GOP’s tax plan: ‘I trusted you!’](https://www.alternet.org/2019/02/trump-voters-explode-after-realizing-theyre-getting-screwed-by-the-gops-tax-plan-i-trusted-you/) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/98 "2019-02-07T20:07:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Trump voters explode after realizing they’re getting screwed by the GOP’s tax plan: ‘I trusted you!’](https://www.alternet.org/2019/02/trump-voters-explode-after-realizing-theyre-getting-screwed-by-the-gops-tax-plan-i-trusted-you/) The first tweet refers to a usual $5000 “return”, so possibly just an idiot who withheld less and doesn’t understand how taxes work. The comment about falling just above a bracket doesn’t inspire confidence. Although it’s possible for a legitimate gripe buried there. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/99 "2019-02-07T21:04:23Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > The first tweet refers to a usual $5000 “return”, so possibly just an idiot who withheld less and doesn’t understand how taxes work. The comment about falling just above a bracket doesn’t inspire confidence. Although it’s possible for a legitimate gripe buried there. Yeah, and there was one who said that he had never had to pay the IRS before, and now he did, with $150k income. I think he probably meant that he had never owed on his return before, but whether he understood that or not, hard to say. As far as the $5000 return guy, well, if he has been working at the same place, making about the same money, and now his return is different than it was before, that doesn’t mean that he withheld less, as the withholding tables were changed, and it does not seem as though they were changed in a way that kept people about where they were. It does seem as though they gave too little withholding in many cases. (whether that was intentional to give people a bigger boost in their paycheck they wouldn’t know the cost of until after the midterms is a different speculation.) It is possible in both of these cases that their actual taxes are lower, but the only thing that some people thing about on taxes is their return, and seem to not even notice that they have taxes withheld, so that is what they measure their tax burden by. They were trump supporters, and in order to have supported trump on taxes, economic, or financial terms, one would have had to have had a poor grasp of them in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682/100 "2019-02-07T21:20:19Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Trump voters explode after realizing they’re getting screwed by the GOP’s tax plan: ‘I trusted you!’](https://www.alternet.org/2019/02/trump-voters-explode-after-realizing-theyre-getting-screwed-by-the-gops-tax-plan-i-trusted-you/) [del]Hate to say, “I told you so”[/del] Fuck that. I’m _loving_ telling all of these dumb fucks “I told you so.” It’s a shitty thing to do, no doubt, but somehow I don’t feel bad about it at all. Probably because they were told what would happen and they dismissed us, calling us “snowflakes,” and actually even made fun of us for caring and trying to warn them. Who’s the snowflake now, motherfucker? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-massive-tax-savings/809682.md?page=6)