Will You Pay More or Less Under the Tax Law?

Find out what to expect as you file your taxes for the first time under the 2017 overhaul.

Published Mar. 4, 2019 at 5:30 a.m. ET

American taxpayers are about to see the effects of the most far-reaching overhaul of the tax system in more than three decades. It became law in December 2017, but the first real accounting will show up now as taxpayers are filing the first individual returns under the new system. The plan cuts individual tax rates, expands the standard deduction, boosts the child tax credit and trims or eliminates some tax breaks.

About two-thirds of households will see tax cuts and about 6% will pay more, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington group run by a former Obama administration official. Whether you get a bigger refund than usual depends on changes to your paycheck withholding and estimated-tax payments in 2018.

What does it mean for you? Using a simplified version of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, which analyzes the impact of the biggest factors in the law, you can estimate your tax liability for 2018 through 2027.

Note: Information you enter will not be stored or used by The Wall Street Journal or any other parties.

Methodology: Among other things, this calculator assumes head of household filing status is a single filer, and that children are aged 16 or below and are eligible for the earned income tax credit. Tax liability calculations factor in the alternative minimum tax (AMT), the child tax credit, the net investment income tax, and the earned income tax credit.

Illustrations and Additional Design: Jessica Kuronen

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