Tax refund amount could change

Stop before you splurge on holiday gifts this year, and ask yourself if you’re going to get a far bigger tax bill than you expect next year.

Or, if you get a tax refund, is it likely to be smaller? Millions of Americans won’t get their usual tax refunds next year.

Thinking about your taxes now is essential, particularly since we started receiving more money in our paychecks in February because of changes in the payroll withholding tables under the new federal tax law.

Jeff Jones, H&R Block president and CEO, said consumers often first start thinking about their taxes when they receive their W-2 forms early in the year. But he said tax talk is bubbling up now, given the political discussions during the midterm elections.

Republican leaders are talking up the possibility of passing a 10 percent middleclass tax cut next year. President Trump and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, conceded Wednesday there was no chance of pushing through a middle-class tax cut in Congress this year.

Consumers continue to wonder how the new tax rules, passed in December 2017, will affect the tax returns they file next year.

Jones estimates that about half of H&R Block clients who receive a refund will have bigger refunds and half will have smaller refunds.