The Money Mustache Community

Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Taxes => Topic started by: Roadrunner53 on February 06, 2018, 07:33:45 AM

Title: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Roadrunner53 on February 06, 2018, 07:33:45 AM
With the new tax cuts, how much extra money did you get in your paycheck? My girlfriend told me she got $3.00 more per week! WOW, didn't Paul Ryan say we could save for retirement, save for our children's education, go on a vacation and so much more!

That $156 a year is going to rock her world!
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: protostache on February 06, 2018, 11:31:34 AM
My monthly paychecks vary because part of my compensation is commission based, but based on my February check it's about $500/month. My W-4 says Married 0, though, so I'm not at all confident that's going to be correct come next April. I guess we'll see.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: TheWifeHalf on February 06, 2018, 06:18:22 PM
I think we're in that small group of people that the Trump tax cuts don't make a difference.
But TheHusbandHalf got a $1.50/hour raise on Tuesday.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: JLee on February 06, 2018, 06:40:41 PM
I don't know what the end result will be when I actually file for 2018, but my employer withholding dropped by ~$250/mo.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: ysette9 on February 06, 2018, 08:53:10 PM
I’m getting more in my paycheck but I am not sure if I’ll get to keep any of it. I am still trying to work out the numbers of the entire impact. I’m expecting to get screwed because I live in a state that didn’t vote for him
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Mississippi Mudstache on February 07, 2018, 07:02:40 AM
Hard to say. I got a raise that kicked in Jan 2018 that adds a few %, plus I finally qualify for my company's 401k in Jan 2018, which reduces it by 20% (but not quite because it also reduces my tax withholding). So I really don't have a clue. I know it's not enough to have a meaningful impact on my finances.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: simonsez on February 07, 2018, 07:07:01 AM
$96/every 2 weeks

I'd estimate that about $40 of that is due to the formula change.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: apkanne on February 07, 2018, 11:09:15 AM
$30/week
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: JSMustachian on February 07, 2018, 01:53:24 PM
My paycheck increased $82 and I get paid biweekly so $2132 a year.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: thedigitalone on February 07, 2018, 02:16:05 PM
My take home went up by $73.71, paid bi-weekly so $36.85 per week, $1916.46 for the year.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: HPstache on February 07, 2018, 04:06:33 PM
$8 a week, but I could also up my with holdings due the the higher child tax credit
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Ricksun on February 07, 2018, 06:46:16 PM
$326 biweekly, which makes no sense since all my calculations say I'd owe over $8,000 at this level of withholdings.  I wonder how many others are affected like this and just don't know it until next April.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on February 07, 2018, 07:09:55 PM
$186/month in take home pay, $2,232 annually.

Definitely significant.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: RetirementDreaming on February 07, 2018, 10:19:50 PM
$77/pay period, $1848 annually.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: MNBen on February 08, 2018, 11:16:25 AM
 $71 per paycheck, $1,852 annually
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: YttriumNitrate on February 09, 2018, 08:56:09 AM
I think my paycheck went up about $40 a month. Of course, since payroll services don't know if you itemized or took the standard deduction, the current numbers are basically just someone's guess as how you may be affected by the new tax laws. Since my wife and I didn't have enough to write-offs to itemize pre-2018, I'm guessing we will need to adjust down our withholding amounts.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: EscapeVelocity2020 on February 09, 2018, 09:23:42 AM
$406/mo, $4,800/yr.  Preliminary tax calculators had my savings much higher than that, but I'm one of those that didn't need the extra, not that I'm complaining.  I'll check my withholding after I do my 2017 taxes because my 'refund' (annual loan to the gov't) is already too high.  But all thing being equal, that's what my paycheck went up by - don't tell my wife :)  It'll help defray my new SCUBA hobby.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: spicykissa on February 09, 2018, 04:34:57 PM
Not sure--I have shift differentials and overtime and other vagaries to contend with, so it's hard to tell. My husband's went up $216.34/mo, or about $2600 per year.

We've owed taxes the last two years and had itemized due to high SALT--not sure what'll happen when all is said and done.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: JumpInTheFIRE on February 14, 2018, 12:26:10 PM
Well, according to Paul Ryan $1.50 per paycheck is a fantastic thing. His tweet:

"A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, PA, said she was pleasantly surprised her pay went up $1.50 a week ... she said [that] will more than cover her Costco membership for the year,"

These guys are so out of touch they think we should be excited about getting a buck fifty when the corporations and 0.1% are reaping billions from this change.  Meanwhile, Congress is spending money we don't have at a fantastic rate.  Once the Republicans gained power deficits and fiscal conservatism no longer matter.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: frugalnacho on February 14, 2018, 01:09:03 PM
I think my paycheck went up about $40 a month. Of course, since payroll services don't know if you itemized or took the standard deduction, the current numbers are basically just someone's guess as how you may be affected by the new tax laws. Since my wife and I didn't have enough to write-offs to itemize pre-2018, I'm guessing we will need to adjust down our withholding amounts.

It doesn't matter if you itemize or not, it's based on the number of allowances you put on your w4.  Your payroll is going to use this to calculate withholding:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/n1036.pdf

This is the old way to calculate withholding:

http://payroll.wsu.edu/taxes/howto.htm

My calculations for withholding for the previous and current method are both within 2-3 cents of my actual paycheck.  I am MFJ with 6 allowances.

My paycheck increased $14.57 per pay period.  24 pay periods per year so $349.68 less annually. 
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Michael in ABQ on February 14, 2018, 03:02:51 PM
My bi-weekly paycheck went up about $12.00. Then again I have 8 allowances on my W-4 so they weren't taking out much anyways. Next year with the larger tax credits I should get it all back and then some (as pretty much happened this year).
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Mezzie on February 14, 2018, 05:55:15 PM
I got $200 more (and I only get ten paychecks a year, so the math is easy). I'm going to increase my 403 to the new limit and add $150 more to my 457.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Million2000 on February 15, 2018, 06:40:26 AM
$13

Enough to cover the increase in rent this year. What's funny is that I have heard that this was a ploy to motivate people to vote for republicans this year. After looking at my paycheck and the 1.5 trillion dollar budget deficit over the next 10 years, yeah, I'm motivated alright just not in the way they wanted.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: MightyAl on February 15, 2018, 06:47:15 AM
$75 paid bi-weekly so about $1955 this year.  Not anything to sneeze at but definitely not life changing like your politicians want you to believe.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Roadrunner53 on February 15, 2018, 07:09:32 AM
Paul Ryan said it was going to be great! You could save for retirement, save for college, go on vacation, buy a new car! It was going to be the greatest thing on earth...oh, but it only lasts 8 years. By the time the 8 years is up, we will all have pockets full of moola falling onto the streets. We will have so much money, we won't be able to spend it fast enough! EARTH SHATTERING!
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: frugalnacho on February 15, 2018, 07:28:01 AM
Well I do plan to FIRE in the next 8 years and will hopefully have enough moola that it will out live me.   The Paul Ryan prophecy may just come true.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Mezzie on February 15, 2018, 07:30:30 AM
$13

Enough to cover the increase in rent this year. What's funny is that I have heard that this was a ploy to motivate people to vote for republicans this year. After looking at my paycheck and the 1.5 trillion dollar budget deficit over the next 10 years, yeah, I'm motivated alright just not in the way they wanted.
That's been my take as well. I'm paid by taxes, anyway; I don't have anything against them. :p
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: ice1717 on February 15, 2018, 12:42:14 PM
$326 biweekly, which makes no sense since all my calculations say I'd owe over $8,000 at this level of withholdings.  I wonder how many others are affected like this and just don't know it until next April.

$371 biweekly.  I'm calculating we will owe $10,000 in April at the new level of withholdings. 
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: YttriumNitrate on February 15, 2018, 03:05:45 PM
It doesn't matter if you itemize or not, it's based on the number of allowances you put on your w4.  Your payroll is going to use this to calculate withholding:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/n1036.pdf
Yes, but the whether or not you will end up increasing or decreasing the number of allowances taken depends very much on whether you are itemizing. I doubt that a large percentage of people have calculated their taxes for 2018 under the new law and adjusted their allowances accordingly.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Babybalrog on February 15, 2018, 03:19:19 PM
$25 / fortnight
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: VoteCthulu on February 16, 2018, 01:04:50 PM
$72.31 / paycheck, or $1880 per year. That's a lot of extra bacon I'll have to walk off!
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: EscapeVelocity2020 on February 16, 2018, 01:14:44 PM
...
I'll check my withholding after I do my 2017 taxes because my 'refund' (annual loan to the gov't) is already too high. 
...

Pretty excited after checking the latest W4 calculator (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/fw4--dft.pdf) and updating with my employer.  I might have to double check later this year that I am not under-withholding once salary ranges are set, but the compounding of updated IRS rates and more exemptions is gonna be good.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: MDM on February 16, 2018, 04:07:26 PM
Pretty excited after checking the latest W4 calculator (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/fw4--dft.pdf)....
Gonna hafta brush up on Roman numerals: ;)
(https://s13.postimg.cc/vb5cz56ev/screenshot_301.png)
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Cpa Cat on February 16, 2018, 04:13:13 PM
I find the whole thing annoying.

I know what the impact of tax reform is going to be for all of my clients (software generates a worksheet). I know what their 2017 withholdings were. Based on this info, I could have advised them about what to do about their withholding.

Then the IRS forced through new payroll withholding tables, that are now being inconsistently rolled out among payroll providers.

It would have been so much easier if they had just left withholding alone and let people adjust based on their own personal circumstances OR issued new W-4s that are based on... you know... reality.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: robartsd on February 16, 2018, 04:24:11 PM
My paycheck increased by almost $74/mo. I think my federal withholding should just about match my federal tax liability for 2018.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: wenchsenior on February 17, 2018, 09:36:42 AM
~300 $/biweekly, which I suspect will be mostly be taken away again at the end of the year. 
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: HPstache on February 17, 2018, 10:03:32 AM
~300 $/biweekly, which I suspect will be mostly be taken away again at the end of the year.

How so?
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: wenchsenior on February 22, 2018, 10:26:08 AM
~300 $/biweekly, which I suspect will be mostly be taken away again at the end of the year.

How so?

Because we right in the gray zone of income where it is unclear whether the changes will result in a higher or lower overall tax bill.  I suspect our tax bill will end up pretty close to what it has been under our old with-holding, not almost 8K less as indicated by this larger paycheck. We are losing a dependent exemption, which isn't made up for by the new standard deduction.  And this was our last year itemizing.  However, our overall tax rate has dropped a hair and I'm still unclear on how this new tax law will affect my little side business, so who knows?  Very rough calculations indicate that this new with-holding rate is a bit too generous and the gov't appears to be giving us a loan every 2 weeks.  Which is fine, as long as I'm prepared for it.

I hate this tax bill in general, but if the gov't is determined to give me loans (or more money), I'll take it and run with it. 
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: wbranch on February 22, 2018, 11:23:32 AM
My bimonthly pay went up $44/payperiod. Wife's weekly pay went up $15.

Just reviewed withholding and adjusted so hopefully put us close to breaking even when completing 2018 taxes.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: jscott2135 on February 22, 2018, 03:42:09 PM
$156/every two weeks so $4,056. I am petrified we'll end up owing a ton so I adjusted our withholdings to almost null it out.  Being in Oregon I'm really uncertain of how this will impact us come income tax time since we have a high state tax etc.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: cantgrowone on February 26, 2018, 09:42:51 AM
Increase of:
$63.20 weekly. $3286.40 per year.

I doubt that a large percentage of people have calculated their taxes for 2018 under the new law and adjusted their allowances accordingly.

How can I easily do this? I thought I had my 2017 taxes calculated correctly but we owe $2,500 from 2017.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: MDM on February 26, 2018, 09:58:22 AM
Increase of:
$63.20 weekly. $3286.40 per year.

I doubt that a large percentage of people have calculated their taxes for 2018 under the new law and adjusted their allowances accordingly.

How can I easily do this? I thought I had my 2017 taxes calculated correctly but we owe $2,500 from 2017.
If the 2017 version of the case study spreadsheet (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/forum-information-faqs/case-study-spreadsheet-updates/) matches your 2017 actual return, the 2018 version will likely give a good prediction.

There are also the "what if?" worksheets of TurboTax, TaxAct, etc. (https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3492987#p3492987)
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Inaya on February 26, 2018, 10:36:48 AM
$26 per paycheck; $676 annually. So I save about half my monthly rent each year.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: hadabeardonce on February 28, 2018, 05:51:34 PM
Pretty excited after checking the latest W4 calculator (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/fw4--dft.pdf)....
Gonna hafta brush up on Roman numerals: ;)
(https://s13.postimg.org/vb5cz56ev/screenshot_301.png)
That joke is worth its weight in gold.

Seriously though, *two thumbs up*
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: MDM on February 28, 2018, 06:50:51 PM
Pretty excited after checking the latest W4 calculator (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/fw4--dft.pdf)....
Gonna hafta brush up on Roman numerals: ;)
<snip>
That joke is worth its weight in gold.

Seriously though, *two thumbs up*

Thanks - but now the IRS ruined it because they have a version with real numbers as of yesterday. :(

Don't think I've ever followed the W-4 instructions.  Instead, just projected tax due and adjusted withholding to match.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Fomerly known as something on March 03, 2018, 05:09:18 PM
$8 bye-weekly.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: LessIsLess on March 08, 2018, 07:06:43 AM
It's silly to make fun of Paul Ryan.  Even if the increase is only $10/week, that's still extra money you didn't have before.  Give it away if you think it's nothing.

I personally know if people who will receive thousands of dollars in tax cuts, and they're just regular wage earners. 
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: EscapeVelocity2020 on March 17, 2018, 10:57:11 PM
It's silly to make fun of Paul Ryan.  Even if the increase is only $10/week, that's still extra money you didn't have before.  Give it away if you think it's nothing.

I personally know if people who will receive thousands of dollars in tax cuts, and they're just regular wage earners.

Well, it was about $400/mo with no effort on my part, just paycheck change.  Now that I've updated my withholding for what I expect (admittedly having over withheld with years of variable pay, got ~$18,000 refund this year), it looks like I'll safely have $2500 - $3000/mo extra.  Of course, this is money that I earned that I get to keep, but it's also money that I didn't expect or 'need'.  I'm not complaining and I'm spending some of it at restaurants and on tips to help 'trickle down', but this is seriously not the best way to make America more egalitarian.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: ysette9 on March 18, 2018, 01:01:47 PM
I should probably take that extra $50 or whatever it is and invest it for my kids. They are the ones who will be stuck paying for the bill of this tax bill when someone in government finally comes to his/her senses.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: harvestbook on March 18, 2018, 08:21:49 PM
My 2017 tax analysis showed that under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, my federal income taxes will increase $300 next year if all else is the same. It's not a win for everyone.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: RangerOne on March 19, 2018, 04:26:27 PM
I have to use calculators to figure it out since I think the new tax law took effect in February after annual wage increases. I also have 2 kids moving forward this year so best I can tell, on a per pay check semi-monthly bases, my pay went down by 0.61 cents technically if I were getting the same pay...

Now I assume this doesn't take into account the new Child tax credit, which there is no way in hell I would have gotten this year because switching jobs is dumping more income on me. So realistically come tax time I will get $4k back I wouldn't have gotten. Which is worth $166.67 per pay check.

Nothing to sneeze at this make a fair bit of difference. That amount basically covers most of my property tax or some other significant annual expense. I imagine people without kids are seeing a bigger per pay check break but they wont get that child tax credit.

I am also not sure I 100% trust the tool they use to estimate pay check after deductions. I think it may be always applying the new tax laws with "what if" and that makes things a little fuzzy... Especially given my exemptions changed.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: MDM on March 19, 2018, 04:32:39 PM
I am also not sure I 100% trust the tool they use to estimate pay check after deductions. I think it may be always applying the new tax laws with "what if" and that makes things a little fuzzy... Especially given my exemptions changed.
If you get ~the same results from a couple of sources, say the "what if?" worksheets of TurboTax, TaxAct, etc. (https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3492987#p3492987) and the case study spreadsheet (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/forum-information-faqs/case-study-spreadsheet-updates/), then chances are the results are correct (to the extent your input ends up being correct).
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: RangerOne on March 20, 2018, 04:38:24 PM
Hmm, I reviewed the new W4's a little closer because if you didn't bother to update it it just kept your old allowances.

It seems they have kept a certain allowance value which can be used to essentially give you your child tax credit up front in every pay check.

Depending on your income each child could be worth as much as 4 allowances or down to 1 if you are high income. So at least 2 of those allowances are eating about $1k worth of the child tax credit I would get.

So thats kind of an interesting re-purposing of those allowances. It used to be the one allowance was effectively just counting in the exemption. But you could always up the number to account for larger itemization deductions.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: smoghat on March 23, 2018, 01:31:29 PM
I'm FIRE'd, on Obamacare and in a high property tax state.

Coupled with the nutty trade war, if someone wanted to directly attack my FIRE status, they couldn't have done better than the current "President."
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: DreamFIRE on March 23, 2018, 07:58:51 PM

$180/mo  - $2160/yr.  Woohoo!!!   This matches up pretty closely with what I had calculated.

This is nice additional chunk of money.   The downside is that my state income tax is up about 66% from what it was some years back, higher property taxes, higher home insurance, higher everything else pretty much.  And when I FIRE, higher healthcare coverage costs.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: BlueMR2 on March 24, 2018, 05:36:49 PM
It's right around a 90 cent an hour bump for me, which is VERY significant over the course of a year!
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: VoteCthulu on March 29, 2018, 12:43:22 PM
I'm FIRE'd, on Obamacare and in a high property tax state.

Coupled with the nutty trade war, if someone wanted to directly attack my FIRE status, they couldn't have done better than the current "President."
Really? I would think someone who succeeded in a full repeal of Obamacare would have done better at attacking your FIRE status.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: Jrr85 on March 29, 2018, 01:15:53 PM
I should probably take that extra $50 or whatever it is and invest it for my kids. They are the ones who will be stuck paying for the bill of this tax bill when someone in government finally comes to his/her senses.

You should be taking a lot more than that.  At the very least, you need to hope you have enough that you can give them your entire SS and either pay for helathcare without medicare, or give what it would actually cost to your kids. 

It's baked in the cake that younger people are going to pay a lot more in taxes, or retirees are going to get a lot less than they promised themselves (in theory healthcare could get lots cheaper, in which case it'd just be SS where one or the other or both have to get screwed).  That's one of my goals with saving for retirement, so that either way it goes, I can mitigate the harm to my children (or myself).  Of course I'm still young enough that I could get screwed with higher taxes and lower benefits too.   
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: ysette9 on March 29, 2018, 02:28:41 PM
And then there is always my backup plan: move to a country with better social support and long-term planning.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: VoteCthulu on March 29, 2018, 02:50:35 PM
And then there is always my backup plan: move to a country with better social support and long-term planning.
Any particular countries in mind? Most of those with generous social support are difficult to attain citizenship in.

I've considered living in Svalbard before moving to Norway, but I doubt many people would want to do that.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: ysette9 on March 29, 2018, 03:15:28 PM
Through this very community I am fortunate to learn I can apply for UK citizenship thanks to having been born to a mother with UK citizenship. I realize with Brexit this leaves something to be desired, but that still is a place that doesn’t let its citizens go broke and die on the streets the way we do here.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: VoteCthulu on March 29, 2018, 03:40:18 PM
Through this very community I am fortunate to learn I can apply for UK citizenship thanks to having been born to a mother with UK citizenship. I realize with Brexit this leaves something to be desired, but that still is a place that doesn’t let its citizens go broke and die on the streets the way we do here.
I'm not sure how much money living in the UK would save you, last time I visited I thought it was incredibly expensive. Granted, that was before the brexit vote and the crash of the pound, but I bet the cost of living is still pretty high there.
Title: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: ysette9 on March 29, 2018, 03:57:05 PM
Not for saving money, but for having guaranteed access to healthcare. Then again, that does save money in the long run. I am in a HCOL area do the prices there aren’t as shocking as it may be for some.

There is also the side benefit of not worrying about my kids being shot at school.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: VoteCthulu on March 29, 2018, 04:06:10 PM
Sounds like a good idea, then. Unfortunately it's much more difficult for most of us to find a better country that we can both afford to live in and gain citizenship in.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: ysette9 on March 29, 2018, 04:19:23 PM
I feel for you there. It was quite the surprise when this path opened up for me.
Title: Re: How much extra did you get in your paycheck?
Post by: clarkfan1979 on April 15, 2018, 06:34:35 PM
My employer withholding went down $70/month.