Many people were surprised at tax time this year when they learned that they owed taxes.  "How can this happen?  I thought we were getting tax breaks?"  

It is entirely possible that most people paid less tax for 2018 than they did in 2017, however they owed taxes for 2018 while receiving a refund for 2017.  That's because along with the tax reductions came reduced withholding tax tables.  That means that people were taking home more in their paychecks and sending less in to the government.  That felt great  . . . . at the time.

We sent out a link last year as the IRS was encouraging employers to help their employees by recommending that they complete the IRS Federal Income Tax Withheld (FITW) Estimator and it is available now for 2019.   This new Estimator makes it easier for people to have the right FIT withheld.  It even allows for users to target a specific desired refund amount, learn which tax credits and deductions they may qualify for, and automatically calculate the taxable amount of any Social Security benefits. 

Here's how it works. For most people, the Tax Withholding Estimator requires only 10-15 minutes. Users should have at hand the most recent pay stub for themselves and/or spouse and last year's tax return.  

• Worksheets with titles-e.g., "Worksheet 1" and "Worksheet 2" are replaced by "Multiple Jobs Worksheet" and "Deductions Worksheet";
• A new marital status box for head of household;
• A checkbox for optional higher withholding (there will be a separate tax table for this);
• A full-year value of child, dependent and other tax credits;
• A full-year amount of other (non-wage) income; and
• A full-year amount of itemized deductions (over the standard deduction amount).