Kiplinger\'s Personal Finance 03.2020

50 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE^ 03/2020

A

majority of Americans surveyed in a new

poll conducted by Kiplinger in partnership

with Barclays Bank say their taxes stayed about

the same after the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,

with remaining respondents almost equally split

between higher and lower taxes.

The tax overhaul lowered tax rates and ex-

panded income thresholds, but employers also

reduced withholding for many wage earners.

That may have reduced refunds or inflated bal-

ances due with the returns of many taxpayers—

and given the impression that savings under the

new law were less generous. In addition, the law

scaled back itemized deductions. Some 15% of

respondents report being affected by the new

$10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes.

Some 20% said they felt the impact of no longer

being able to claim miscellaneous itemized de-

ductions to write off items such as tax prepara-

tion and investment fees and unreimbursed

business expenses.

Other highlights: Nearly 40% of respondents

say they switched from itemizing deductions to

taking the standard deduction, which increased

to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for mar-

ried couples filing jointly for the 2018 tax year

(higher for taxpayers age 65 or older). Nonitem-

izers can’t deduct charitable contributions, and

roughly 20% of respondents report reducing do-

nations. But about two-thirds of those surveyed

say they give to charity regardless of any tax

break.

About three-fourths of respondents got a

refund on their last return. Nearly two-thirds

say they’d rather get a refund than a bigger

paycheck throughout the year.

The poll surveyed a national sampling of 852

taxpayers between December 3 and 13, 2019.

The median age was 49 years old, and the me-

dian household net worth was $203,850 (ex-

cluding a primary residence). We’ve included

highlights here (figures are medians unless

otherwise indicated).

Taxpayers Weigh In on the New Tax Law

Our poll shows that most Americans aren’t feeling a financial boost from the tax overhaul.

A KIPLINGER — BARCLAYS BANK POLL

ITEMIZING

The standard deduction was doubled last year, so fewer people now file an

itemized return.

How did the

2017 Tax Cuts

and Jobs Act

affect your last

tax return?

22

Some percentages don’t add up to 100% due to rounding or because respondents chose all answers that were applicable.

My taxes

stayed the

same.

59 % 22 % 19 %

I owed less. I owed more.

Did you

itemize

deductions

on your last

return?

38 %

45 %

17 %

No. I used to itemize but

now I just claim the higher

standard deduction.

Yes. I had

sizable

deductions,

so I still

itemized.

No. I rarely

itemized

deductions

in the past.

I can no longer take miscellaneous itemized deductions.

I can’t deduct state and local taxes that exceed $10,000.

I can only deduct interest on a mortgage of up to $750,000 (down from $1 million).

Now I can only deduct casualty losses if they occurred in a federally declared disaster area.

I can no longer deduct moving expenses when relocating for a job.

I can no longer deduct alimony payments.

None of these

20 %

15 %

8 %

7 %

4 %

1 %

58 %

Which of these tax changes affected you?

MONEY