News on Youtube Feb 19 2019

good afternoon everybody welcome back to

another video here on February 18th 2019

here on your gorgeous Presidents Day

Monday here I am meteorologist David

Schlotthauer in this video we're

actually going to be discussing a couple

of things lots of ice, lots of rain

across the southeast that's gonna lead

to flooding and now we're beginning to

be concerned a little bit about too much

snow now for the Iowa for the Wisconsin

for the Minnesota area that part of the

u.s. also the four corners we're talking

a lot about snow here over the next 10

days so let's get on with the video

because we do have a lot of detail to

cover. So here's a look at the European

model here for Tuesday morning already

and you can see here what's what we're

seeing just a little bit of snow can be

light to moderate at times across the

four corners nothing much there but this

system and this system down here are

both going to be colliding to each other

and this is going to create a lot of

rain and a lot of ice for the parts of

Virginia West Virginia and it's because

of the surface high pressure system the

air the cooler air with it will try to

flow southward under the warmer air and

that's going to create freezing rain

you'll see that here for Wednesday so

you can see here for Tuesday afternoon

this is when I plan on going live on my

youtube channel I'll make sure I make

that today so I can warn I'll let you

guys know about several hours in advance

when that does know live and you can see

here light to moderate to perhaps

heavier rain all across the deep south

and also the south east here including

Georgia Alabama Louisiana Mississippi

Arkansas eastern half of Texas the

Oklahoma area and also for Tennessee and

North and South Carolina seen a lot of

that heavy

a little bit of shower activity there

for Florida alright this system is

really gonna get more mature though so

here's a look at Wednesday morning and

you can see here remember that cooler

air to the north of this this is going

to be the setup for a lot of cooler air

that's gonna underlie the warmer air so

the cooler air digging sneaking below

the warmer air and that's gonna create

an area of freezing rain as this high

moves through the area and that's gonna

create damming we call it pressure

damming when we see this taking place

and that's gonna create that freezing

rain again lots of rain I will have the

rain totals here in just a little bit so

here's a look at now Wednesday afternoon

you can see where that high pressure

actually is still producing a lot of

light to moderate freezing rain all

right so again these areas have had too

much ice this winter instead of snow and

technically instead of rain it's

freezing rain but falls under the

umbrella with the same thing but I'll

tell you what our height it's just not

looking good when you look at ice and

power outages difficulty driving

hazardous in fact dangerous driving

conditions are likely all right lots of

rain down here once again across

Tennessee the southeast their Georgia

Alabama Mississippi then we're gonna

keep an eye okay this is Thursday we're

gonna keep an eye on a deep trough

that's really gonna be taking place it's

located right about here okay it's a

huge trough

I mean it's digging pretty far south and

this is a setup for Colorado rocky lows

too deep in it pretty quickly all right

you'll see that here with the isobars

and with the all the dynamics gonna be

taking place there's also a threat maybe

for severe weather with this one also

all right so lots of snow for the four

corners here over the next four to six

days okay you can see that there for

Phoenix Arizona for the Albuquerque new

map

ago can get some very strong winds some

snow there also for the st. George Utah

area also for Colorado getting in on a

lot of that snow that's going to be

taking place now again here's that

surface low that deepens Saturday

morning now this is what the latest

European model ECM WUF okay models the

one of the most accurate models I could

show you guys and you can see with what

this model actually shows here lots of

snow and some freezing rain with this

too so to make matters worse it's not

looking good okay I've been keeping an

eye on this and I would tell you I would

told you already that I would and you

can see there lots of snow on the north

western and also western and northern

sign of this lots of rain and warmer air

with this that are again there is a

chance for severe weather as this takes

place here muggy warm kind of mild

weather in across the sector right here

where that warmer air is where all that

moisture lies okay so you can see there

may be again that severe weather and

look at that curlicue everyone just look

at the structure like probably a per

this is pretty good almost pretty much

classic here you got to the lower

pressure system here okay you got the

cold front actually you got an occluded

front that takes place right here

splitting off from that is the warm

front that's actually taking place you

got a surface flow right there actually

with that warm front that's going to be

taking place again lots of atmospheric

River moisture down here going to still

continue to bring a lot of rain all

right and this is for Monday and when

you think it's all over no it's not I

think you're gonna still get a lot of

rain over the next 10 days for the

southeast you don't need any more rain

everyone I am telling you what right now

this is gonna lead to a lot of problems

on roadways so turn around do not drown

please I want I'm looking out for your

safety

I worry about every one of you and I

don't want any deaths to occur because

people decide that maybe I'll drive

through the water it's not that deep

because maybe the road below that water

has worn away and then you're driving

through big thick mud and so you know

swampy stuff alright so that's a look at

the radar forecasts I hope I did a good

job on that and we're now gonna look at

the snow forecast here because again

it's now the Upper Midwest and also the

Northern Plains and and the high plains

turn to get in on a lot of the snow and

you can see here this big corridor here

with that snowstorm right now in the

next 10 days this is to change this is

to be announced again this is not going

to be the same but right now 10 to 12

inches across central Iowa northwest

Iowa strong winds heavy snow blizzard

conditions possible maybe 20 inches of

snow there all right Jacqueline Nelson

you live up here right right there it

exactly you're gonna get them on a lot

of snow for the nebraska area a lot of

snow probably 10 to 15 inches and then a

lot of snow here for northwestern

Wisconsin for central Minnesota maybe 10

to 16 inches of snow for the

four-corners here we're looking at 1

to 3 feet of snow just depending on

your elevation if you're in the Phoenix

Arizona area you probably won't see any

snow at all but if you get in the higher

elevations where it's cooler you're

gonna get a lot more snow obviously

there many areas here 6 inches all the

way up to about 3 feet of snow

possible that's that 36 inches that we

have right there noted on the graph okay

so here's a look at now the Cascade

Range more snow on the way but I do see

it being a little higher in elevation so

more above say two or three thousand

feet high more likely above maybe 15

maybe 2000 feet high we're expecting

about 1 to

2 feet of snow some areas maybe even

3 to 4 feet here so good snowpack

hopefully that continues for Oregon and

Washington you guys certainly need more

snow and more rain than we do here in

California obviously and again any areas

down here do not need any more rain at

all as you guys are gonna get flooded

significantly and also ice accumulations

we'll get to that in just a little bit

all right

how much rain over the next pretty much

ten days here again a 10-day forecast 10

days 10 inches of rain possibly for the

Alabama area in the bullseye for the

heaviest rain in here okay so you guys

don't need any more rain Tennessee good

news is they're not in the worst right

now at this point I think the heaviest

rain will be just south of you

but still don't let your guard down

could see maybe fine to maybe seven

inches of rain better than 10 inches

like what we were predicting a couple of

days ago but down here still I'm very

confident that there is going to be a

lot of flood problems on roadways and a

lot of concerns even in Kentucky and in

southern Indiana southern Ohio gonna see

problems out there North and South

Carolina Georgia the Louisiana Arkansas

Eastern Texas too much rain in these

areas alright so again that's the sort

of thing that leads to flooding and once

again I'm gonna let you guys look at the

map here over the next 10 days once

again just a closer perspective I went

through this already I don't want to

mention it again just like I said please

be careful if you are driving because

there could be some landslides some

mudslides and stuff over the

Appalachians you don't want to get stuck

in that obviously then down here I've

over the next basically nine and a half

to ten days here you can see where most

of the rain is in a closer sector off

you obviously we're seeing possibly five

to nine inches in some areas again this

is the

potential this is a 5% chance that you

will see 10 inches in the next 10 days

but it just gives you an idea that oh

maybe it is we're in trouble if we get

flooded out you can see the previous

model only so 9.2 inches this model

shows 10 inches sharps so we'll

certainly monitor this very closely

because it just means more flood

problems for your area all right now

this is not rendering very well for

Florida obviously we're gonna see what

we can do here and it only goes out to

174 hours but I've seen about a quarter

of an inch all the way up to about 3/4

of an inch of rainfall there over the

next 10 days at least for central and

southern Florida northern Florida could

get a little bit more now probably two

inches but southern Florida looks at

hang in there with below about a half an

inch of rain so if you don't like the

rain go down across the South where

there's not going to be any flawed

problems or go north where there's not

going to be any heavy rain concerns

there all right so we're gonna get to

weather models and we're gonna look

actually at the ice accumulation

forecast here for the South for the

mid-atlantic states here and this only

goes out actually 60 hours so this is

going to render further and further and

this is the latest model here I got the

latest model run here 12z run and you

can see with what the latest prediction

actually shows here between a quarter of

an inch all the way up to probably

getting close to an inch and a half of

ice accumulations right in here also

sleet sleet and ice and some snow

accumulations here really gonna make

travel very difficult to nearly

dangerous okay that's the whole threat

here that we're looking at so lots of

ice a little bit of snow lots and lots

of rain and you can see here in the

higher elevations here of the Georgia

and all

so the valleys three inches okay oops

why did I eat mean to click on that so

you can see they're even four inches I

thought I just saw four inches there let

me see here and yeah like they're 4

point 11 inches of ice and sleet

potentially so that's going to ask for

big trouble there if you're living in

that area obviously one last sector I do

want to cover is down here where I think

there will be some ice over the next

some ice at least or quite a bit of ice

actually we could be looking at a half

an inch to maybe a quarter of an inch of

ice and remember freezing rain is

created when colder air jumps under or

sneaks under the warmer air and the

ingredients are freezing rain everyone

so I sure hope I covered a lot of detail

in this video if I did please make sure

you do subscribe to the YouTube channel

to get latest detailed weather updates

on a very good detailed basis I'm like

everyone says I'm the most detailed out

there and I'm glad I am but also you can

also share your donations and support by

also supporting the YouTube channel on

patreon I also upload videos there too

if you want to check that out and then

of course subscribe to the YouTube

channel which I will bring up here right

now very quickly because again you guys

are so awesome and I am proud of being

so awesome here for you all all right so

that's gonna do with this video if I do

have time today or most likely tomorrow

I will be streaming live definitely by

tomorrow I'll see if I can make another

updated version video today on the

latest flood threat but I don't think

I'll need to alright see you guys back

here tomorrow anyways

Thank you

For more infomation >> How Much Snow ??, How Much Rain ??, How Severe will the Flooding be ? (Heavy Rain, Heavy Snow) - Duration: 15:15.

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How Much Life Insurance Do I Need? (3 ways to tell) - Duration: 6:33.

If you're wondering how much life insurance you need we're going to talk

about that in this video and while it isn't a black and white answer in this video

I'm gonna give you some specific ways you can tell and figure out how much you

need I posted something to Facebook about life insurance and I got this

comment from a reader that is just kind of stuck with me

you know because I think the truth is that most of us haven't experienced

something like this but this is real life and unexpected stuff happens and it

would be wise of us to be ready for the unexpected now I do need to add that I'm

not a life insurance agent I'm an enthusiast I'm someone who's interested

in this stuff so definitely consult a professional if you feel uncomfortable

making any decisions and just view this content as educational and with all that

out of the way let's get to it

so the first in easiest way probably to tell how much life insurance you need is

to actually use a calculator and typically a calculator like this is

going to ask you a number of specific questions about your financial situation

to help you determine you know how much you actually need because this isn't a

one-size-fits-all answer and the calculator that I use for this is over

at Policy Genius and I went ahead and ran a sample scenario using this

calculator so you can kind of get a feel for how this calculator works now we are

affiliate partners with policy genius so if you do decide to use this and we'd

appreciate if you use our link because it'll help support the channel support

our mission of what we're trying to do I mean we'll have all those links up above

or down below in the description as well and so to give it at this calculator all

you need to do is just click on this page here and I will have a link up

above so you can get over there and then they have a big button to calculate

coverage you can just click on that and then it will get you started going

through this process so that is probably the easiest and quickest way to get the

most accurate estimate for how much life insurance you need now there are two

other fairly popular methods for kind of determining how much life insurance you

need so we'll go ahead and cover those now and one of them is called the 10x Rule

and basically the gist of this is that you take your annual salary and you

multiply it by ten and that's the amount of coverage that you need so if you make

$50,000 a year then you would want to get $500,000 of coverage and I view this

more as a general rule of thumb maybe like a more of a ballpark number to

consider because everybody's financial situation is so much different if you're

you know in your mid-30s and you have five kids and you have a wife who stays

at home and you have much savings like that's gonna look

a whole lot different than if your empty-nesters you know when you have a

big retirement savings and all your debt paid off like those are two very

different scenarios and while rule of thumb like this can give you a ballpark

to kind of consider and get started you probably should dive a little bit deeper

to get something a little bit more accurate for your specific situation and

that leads us to another popular method of determining how much life insurance

you need and that is The Dime Formula and in the case of this formula D.I.M.E.

stands for Debt Income Mortgage and Education and these are the four factors

to consider when determining how much life insurance you need and basically

this would work like this you would take all the debts that you have exclude your

mortgage but just focus on all your other debts and total them up and next

you would go look at your income and you would figure out what your annual income

is and hopefully you know that and they would multiply that by the number of

years that you think your family would need support without you being there and

then after that you would look at the mortgage and you would figure out how

much mortgage debt you have and they do would take that number and then finally

for the education component you would add up all of the estimated education

expenses for all of your kids and now you would take all four of those numbers

and add them up for one grand total and that is the amount of coverage that you

need and as you might be thinking even with a formula like that there is

there's definitely some gray area and there's some things that just aren't

really really clear and so that's the thing it's like it's just an estimate

but the bottom line is that it's a whole lot better to have some life insurance

than to have no life insurance so even if you're underinsured a little bit it's

just far better than not having any insurance at all alright so last week I

get a question from a reader asking this I'd like to get your take on someone who

doesn't have a lot of debt in a nice sum say for retirement in the need for life

insurance so question is basically this do you need life insurance if you're

debt-free and if you have a big retirement savings and I told her that

that's actually our situation pretty much as well and so we have all of our

debts paid off and we have a decent amount say for retirement but I have two

kids and a third on the way and I have wife who stays at home with them and so

I think it makes a good amount of sense for me to have insurance to kind of

cover my family now even if I wasn't the breadwinner in the family there are

still things to consider like funeral expenses because you would hate to have

to pull money out of your 401k or borrow equity from the house to cover the

funeral expenses and especially with life insurance particularly term insurance

being so cheap that it just it makes sense to get it if you can and so

the next question you probably have is what I had the first time I did this and

that is how do I get the cheapest policy I don't want to pay too much for it I

won't give the cheapest policy that's gonna get the job done and the answer is

that you need to shop around you need to look at different insurance carriers

because they're all different in depending on your actual situation

you're going to find a different rate and this is why Policy Genius has been

my go-to recommendation after all these years of looking at all these different

insurance sites because they do this so well they let you compare quotes from

dozens of insurance companies all on one page and then they could take care of

all the paperwork for you as well and then on top of that they have

noncommissioned agents who will answer your question so these guys are doing it

right and they really make it as simple as it possibly can be so like I said

before we are affiliate partners with them so you can support us by using the

links in the description up above down below to get over their website and just

in case you think that I am recommending them just because we're affiliated

partners the truth is is we could be affiliate partners with any of the life

insurance companies out there and this is actually the one from my years and

years of doing this I actually like that I actually use and that's why we've

chosen to be affiliate partners with them and as a little bit more incentive

for you if you decide to get life insurance and kind of go through our

link to get to policy genius to do it I would be happy to send you a copy of our

book completely for free so if that interest you will have instructions down

in the description below so we can get you all hooked up and if you're new to

our channel welcome so glad you're here and what we do here is we talk about

practical ways to kind of put more money in your pocket and to be wise with money

but then we also talk about some of the timeless biblical principles and how to

manage our money wisely and so if that's something that resonates with you you

can consider subscribing so you can hear from us as we create more hopefully

awesome content that you will enjoy alright that is all for today and I will

leave you with one last thought regardless of how you do it just make

sure your family is insured make sure that you have life insurance coverage

just in case you happen to meet Jesus a little bit before you expect we want them taken care of

so that's all for today have a great rest of your day and I'll see you soon

For more infomation >> How Much Life Insurance Do I Need? (3 ways to tell) - Duration: 6:33.

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I owe how much? Some Americans shocked by smaller refunds under new tax law. Chicago Tribune - Duration: 4:56.

I owe how much? Some Americans shocked by smaller refunds under new tax law. Chicago Tribune

Wait, I owe the ?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Ore. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe dollar 10,160 this year.

I will never forget the moment, I thought We look good and then we added in the next W 2 and my jaw hit the floor, Kraft said. There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate.

President Trump promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. And by most measures, the majority of Americans will see one. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about dollar 1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. Thats because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didnt have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. That has taxpayers feeling a bit unmoored.

We were very comfortable with our tax law, it had basically been there since 1986, suddenly all these things that were very important to people changed ... its all different, said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but hes still stunned. He even tried to reverse engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct.

The couples effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government.

I feel like I have reached a stage of grief of acceptance, he said. In a twisted way I should have been paying this all year and now I just have to pay it in one lump sum.

A number of experts such as Gleckman are urging taxpayers to obsess less about their refund or what they owe when measuring the effect of the new tax law. These are just a sliver of your tax picture.

But the truth is, many Americans have come to rely on refunds. About three quarters of U.S. taxpayers typically get one and they had averaged around dollar 2,800. For some low income households it is the biggest cash infusion of the year.

The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was dollar 1,949, down 8.7 percent from the year earlier. The total number of refunds is down 16 percent.

Experts caution it is too early to draw conclusions about a tax season that ends in April. Plus, the number of returns — 27 million as of Feb. 8 — is down 10 percent from a year ago, due in part to the partial government shutdown. The picture will become much clearer as more filings are processed, refunds are issued and the IRS gets back up to full speed.

All the same, the initial results have surprised early filers and worried those who havent yet tackled their taxes.

Part of the problem centers around how employees and employers adjusted or didnt adjust withholdings from paychecks to account for the laws changes. The government issued updated withholding guidelines to help employers determine how much to set aside from an employees paycheck to cover taxes. Withhold too much and you get a refund at tax time; too little and you owe.

It is at best, an estimate. But its an estimate that grew drastically more difficult to make under the new law.

The estimated in a report last summer that about 30 million workers had too little withheld from their paychecks, which made their take home pay bigger but increased their tax liability. Thats about 3 million more workers than normal.

Few taxpayers appear to have heeded the IRS advice to do a paycheck checkup to make sure they had the proper amount withheld. Payroll processor , which is responsible for paying one out of every six Americans, said the vast majority of people in its system didnt update their withholdings last year.

Some taxpayers who did make adjustments found they couldnt get it quite right.

Kevin McCreanor of Milton, Georgia and his wife normally get a sizeable refund each year — it was more than dollar 12,000 last year. While they know waiting for a large refund isnt the best strategy financially, they like a refund and they put anything they get back toward their daughters education. Their income, earned primarily from his wifes job in telecom, can vary greatly, so there was comfort in never facing a big bill.

The couple increased her paycheck withholdings to ensure the same but found they are only getting back dollar 519 this year. Their income and tax rate did increase, and McCreanor acknowledges there is probably more he could have done to prepare but he is very disappointed all the same.

Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refund will be less than expected or that they owe money to the after years of receiving refunds.

People have taken to social media, using the hashtag GOPTaxScam, to vent their...

Some surprises were welcome, however. Brian Goodell and his wife typically face a tax bill of anywhere from dollar 10,000 to dollar 15,000 each year. But this year the Tigard, Oregon, couple is getting a dollar 15,000 refund. They believe they got some benefit from the increased child tax credit. They also made more charitable donations and increased their withholdings. While Goodell isnt entirely sure why it worked out so well, hell gladly take the refund.

Taxpayers can get a better sense of how they fared by looking at their tax liability or effective tax rate. This information is often available on the summary received from an accountant or tax preparation software. They can also look at the total tax on those summaries or form 1040. These are not perfect measures either, but provide some perspective.

And remember that getting a refund is not necessarily a good thing. Breaking even is really the best outcome from an economic point of view. If you get a refund, that means the government has been holding onto your money when you could have been using it.

Additionally, consider that taxes are rarely an equal comparison from year to year, said Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment and a CPA and certified financial planner. Peoples lives change in ways that can dramatically influence their taxes, such as marriages, divorces, kids, moving or job changes. The average taxpayer may not realize the full impact some of these changes might have.

I am not surprised by the reaction people are having, Bronnekant said. I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others.

Follow on Facebook and on Twitter.

Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Ore. The couple...

For more infomation >> I owe how much? Some Americans shocked by smaller refunds under new tax law. Chicago Tribune - Duration: 4:56.

-------------------------------------------

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:05.

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law

Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Oregon. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe dollar 10,160 this year.

"I will never forget the moment, I thought We look good and then we added in the next W 2 and my jaw hit the floor," Kraft said. "There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate."

President promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. And by most measures, the majority of Americans will see one. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about dollar 1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. Thats because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didnt have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions, and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. That has taxpayers feeling a bit unmoored.

"We were very comfortable with our tax law, it had basically been there since 1986, suddenly all these things that were very important to people changed ... its all different," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but hes still stunned. He even tried to reverse engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct.

The couples effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government.

"I feel like I have reached a stage of grief of acceptance," he said. "In a twisted way I should have been paying this all year and now I just have to pay it in one lump sum."

A number of experts such as Gleckman are urging taxpayers to obsess less about their refund or what they owe when measuring the effect of the new tax law. These are just a sliver of your tax picture.

But the truth is, many Americans have come to rely on refunds. About three quarters of U.S. taxpayers typically get one and they had averaged around dollar 2,800. For some low income households it is the biggest cash infusion of the year.

The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was dollar 1,949, . The total number of refunds is down 16 percent.

Experts caution it is too early to draw conclusions about a tax season that ends in April. Plus, the number of returns — 27 million as of Feb. 8 — is down 10 percent from a year ago, due in part to the partial government shutdown. The picture will become much clearer as more filings are processed, refunds are issued and the IRS gets back up to full speed.

All the same, the initial results have surprised early filers and worried those who havent yet tackled their taxes.

Part of the problem centers around how employees and employers adjusted or didnt adjust withholdings from paychecks to account for the laws changes. The government issued updated withholding guidelines to help employers determine how much to set aside from an employees paycheck to cover taxes. Withhold too much and you get a refund at tax time; too little and you owe.

It is at best, an estimate. But its an estimate that grew drastically more difficult to make under the new law.

The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report last summer that about 30 million workers had too little withheld from their paychecks, which made their take home pay bigger but increased their tax liability. Thats about 3 million more workers than normal.

Few taxpayers appear to have heeded the IRS advice to do a "paycheck checkup" to make sure they had the proper amount withheld. Payroll processor ADP, which is responsible for paying one out of every six Americans, said the vast majority of people in its system didnt update their withholdings last year.

Some taxpayers who did make adjustments found they couldnt get it quite right.

Kevin McCreanor of Milton, Georgia and his wife normally get a sizeable refund each year — it was more than dollar 12,000 last year. While they know waiting for a large refund isnt the best strategy financially, they like a refund and they put anything they get back toward their daughters education. Their income, earned primarily from his wifes job in telecom, can vary greatly, so there was comfort in never facing a big bill.

The couple increased her paycheck withholdings to ensure the same but found they are only getting back dollar 519 this year. Their income and tax rate did increase, and McCreanor acknowledges there is probably more he could have done to prepare but he is very disappointed all the same.

Some surprises were welcome, however. Brian Goodell and his wife typically face a tax bill of anywhere from dollar 10,000 to dollar 15,000 each year. But this year the Tigard, Oregon, couple is getting a dollar 15,000 refund. They believe they got some benefit from the increased child tax credit. They also made more charitable donations and increased their withholdings. While Goodell isnt entirely sure why it worked out so well, hell gladly take the refund.

Taxpayers can get a better sense of how they fared by looking at their tax liability or effective tax rate. This information is often available on the summary received from an accountant or tax preparation software. They can also look at the "total tax" on those summaries or form 1040. These are not perfect measures either, but provide some perspective.

And remember that getting a refund is not necessarily a good thing. Breaking even is really the best outcome from an economic point of view. If you get a refund, that means the government has been holding onto your money when you could have been using it.

Additionally, consider that taxes are rarely an equal comparison from year to year, said Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment and a CPA and certified financial planner. Peoples lives change in ways that can dramatically influence their taxes, such as marriages, divorces, kids, moving or job changes. The average taxpayer may not realize the full impact some of these changes might have.

"I am not surprised by the reaction people are having," Bronnekant said. "I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others."

Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.

Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. 

© 2019 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Data is a real time snapshot asterisk Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Data also provided by

For more infomation >> I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:05.

-------------------------------------------

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:10.

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law

Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Oregon. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe dollar 10,160 this year.

"I will never forget the moment, I thought We look good and then we added in the next W 2 and my jaw hit the floor," Kraft said. "There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate."

President promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. And by most measures, the majority of Americans will see one. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about dollar 1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. Thats because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didnt have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions, and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. That has taxpayers feeling a bit unmoored.

"We were very comfortable with our tax law, it had basically been there since 1986, suddenly all these things that were very important to people changed ... its all different," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but hes still stunned. He even tried to reverse engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct.

The couples effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government.

"I feel like I have reached a stage of grief of acceptance," he said. "In a twisted way I should have been paying this all year and now I just have to pay it in one lump sum."

A number of experts such as Gleckman are urging taxpayers to obsess less about their refund or what they owe when measuring the effect of the new tax law. These are just a sliver of your tax picture.

But the truth is, many Americans have come to rely on refunds. About three quarters of U.S. taxpayers typically get one and they had averaged around dollar 2,800. For some low income households it is the biggest cash infusion of the year.

The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was dollar 1,949, . The total number of refunds is down 16 percent.

Experts caution it is too early to draw conclusions about a tax season that ends in April. Plus, the number of returns — 27 million as of Feb. 8 — is down 10 percent from a year ago, due in part to the partial government shutdown. The picture will become much clearer as more filings are processed, refunds are issued and the IRS gets back up to full speed.

All the same, the initial results have surprised early filers and worried those who havent yet tackled their taxes.

Part of the problem centers around how employees and employers adjusted or didnt adjust withholdings from paychecks to account for the laws changes. The government issued updated withholding guidelines to help employers determine how much to set aside from an employees paycheck to cover taxes. Withhold too much and you get a refund at tax time; too little and you owe.

It is at best, an estimate. But its an estimate that grew drastically more difficult to make under the new law.

The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report last summer that about 30 million workers had too little withheld from their paychecks, which made their take home pay bigger but increased their tax liability. Thats about 3 million more workers than normal.

Few taxpayers appear to have heeded the IRS advice to do a "paycheck checkup" to make sure they had the proper amount withheld. Payroll processor ADP, which is responsible for paying one out of every six Americans, said the vast majority of people in its system didnt update their withholdings last year.

Some taxpayers who did make adjustments found they couldnt get it quite right.

Kevin McCreanor of Milton, Georgia and his wife normally get a sizeable refund each year — it was more than dollar 12,000 last year. While they know waiting for a large refund isnt the best strategy financially, they like a refund and they put anything they get back toward their daughters education. Their income, earned primarily from his wifes job in telecom, can vary greatly, so there was comfort in never facing a big bill.

The couple increased her paycheck withholdings to ensure the same but found they are only getting back dollar 519 this year. Their income and tax rate did increase, and McCreanor acknowledges there is probably more he could have done to prepare but he is very disappointed all the same.

Some surprises were welcome, however. Brian Goodell and his wife typically face a tax bill of anywhere from dollar 10,000 to dollar 15,000 each year. But this year the Tigard, Oregon, couple is getting a dollar 15,000 refund. They believe they got some benefit from the increased child tax credit. They also made more charitable donations and increased their withholdings. While Goodell isnt entirely sure why it worked out so well, hell gladly take the refund.

Taxpayers can get a better sense of how they fared by looking at their tax liability or effective tax rate. This information is often available on the summary received from an accountant or tax preparation software. They can also look at the "total tax" on those summaries or form 1040. These are not perfect measures either, but provide some perspective.

And remember that getting a refund is not necessarily a good thing. Breaking even is really the best outcome from an economic point of view. If you get a refund, that means the government has been holding onto your money when you could have been using it.

Additionally, consider that taxes are rarely an equal comparison from year to year, said Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment and a CPA and certified financial planner. Peoples lives change in ways that can dramatically influence their taxes, such as marriages, divorces, kids, moving or job changes. The average taxpayer may not realize the full impact some of these changes might have.

"I am not surprised by the reaction people are having," Bronnekant said. "I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others."

Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.

Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. 

© 2019 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Data is a real time snapshot asterisk Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Data also provided by

For more infomation >> I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:10.

-------------------------------------------

Malia Obama's Secret Facebook Account Reveals How Much She Hates Trump - Duration: 2:31.

Can you imagine being brought up with so much hate at such a young age?

Well..it seems Malia Obama's secret Facebook page has reportedly been found, and it divulges

her true feelings about President Donald Trump.

Malia Obama described President Trump as 'evil' on her secret Facebook page where she exchanges

messages friends including Joe Biden's granddaughter, Daily Mail revealed.

The Facebook page operates under a pseudonym and does not appear to have been publicly

updated since 2017.

Its cover photograph is of a row of pink post-it notes which read: 'Donald Trump is President,'

'This is not normal', 'Donald Trump is evil' and 'Don't be complacent.'

Among the comments written beneath the photograph is one by Biden's 20-year-old granddaughter

Finnegan.

She said: 'Never saw this.

I like it.'

There were some other political activity on the page, including a petition demanding action

after the shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival left 58 people dead.

Malia is attending Harvard and had moved into freshman dorms in August 2017, a few months

after she posted it on her profile.

She had been living in New York City in the months beforehand while interning at The Weinstein

Company.

Weinstein offered Malia an internship as a favor to her father, Barack Obama.

There are some other personal posts and pictures as well, showing the travels Malia took during

the year before starting Harvard University.

Read the full story via Daily Mail Amazing how she calls President Trump "evil"….yet

she was interning for Weinstein who has sexually abused many women in Hollywood.

The left never ceases to amaze me.

And nothing is scarier than when radical leftists have children.

They raise them to be hateful human beings.

These kids are subject to full-court-press Leftist propaganda 24/7.

Malia Obama is another example of a brainless liberal.

Once you've declared someone "evil" there are no barriers for anything you do

to them.

No more analysis or intelligent evaluations to be made.

She has long since joined the ranks of "useless idiots."

Funny…

She doesn't want to talk about her daddy who financed terror via Iran to the tune of

$150 billion dollars.

She doesn't know the definition of evil.

The apple sure doesn't fall very far from the tree..this poor soul is just about as

dumb as her racist father and mother.

For more infomation >> Malia Obama's Secret Facebook Account Reveals How Much She Hates Trump - Duration: 2:31.

-------------------------------------------

What Is A Good Amount Of Feedback To Seek - Duration: 1:05.

James Schramko here and I'm just filming a little video. I had a question from

someone and that is, who should they get feedback from for a new book and I said

you know what, not too many people.

Don't get too much feedback.

When I put out my book, I had two people read it other than Kelly Exeter and myself.

It was two students and there were different types and I took their notes and then I just

made a few changes and that was it. If you get too many people to give you

feedback, you end up with a book by a committee.

Same for videos and sales, letters and all of that. I'm often looking at my student's work videos,

presentations, sales pages, book drafts to give feedback but they trust me to give

them a seasoned feedback that then they can go and work on. Because if they ask

their wife or their partner or their spouse or their friend from down the

road at the pub, they're probably not going to get the right feedback. And if they

asked too many people, they're going to be dragged all over the place. So

hopefully this is helpful and also it's less work.

I'm James Schramko, this is typical of the sort of thing that I'm talking about inside SuperFastBusiness

Membership on a regular basis. I hope to see you in there sometime.

For more infomation >> What Is A Good Amount Of Feedback To Seek - Duration: 1:05.

-------------------------------------------

Kevin Friend salary revealed: How much does Chelsea vs Man Utd referee get paid? - Duration: 2:34.

 Kevin Friend issued two yellow cards during his Premier League refereeing debut between Wolves vs Fulham, and handed out his first red three months later to Sunderland captain Lorik Cana

 The 47-year-old has gone on to dictate play in 196 Premier League fixtures in total, showing 696 yellow and 20 red cards during that time, but how much does he earn? Premier League referees are salaried so they get paid a regular wage with match fees on top of that

 Referees in the top-flight of England can earn as much as £70,000 per year. They are paid a basic yearly retainer of between £38,500 and £42,000 based on experience, and then are paid £1,150 per match on top of that

 The Bristol-born ref will take charge as Chelsea take on Manchester United in the FA Cup this evening

 Friend has taken charge of 25 Chelsea games during his career, with the Blues winning 13 and losing just four of those matches

 The refereeing veteran has been involved in 20 United fixtures, with the Red Devils winning 14 and losing just twice

 Friend began he refereeing career at the age of just 14 in home county of Leicestershire

 He was promoted to the Select Group of Referees prior to this 2009-10 season where he then made his debut in the top-flight

 A notable season for Friend was the 2007–08 season, when he showed an incredible 11 red cards across just 41 games and dished out 100 yellows

 Friend has taken charge of several high-profile matches during his career, including the 2012 Community Shield at Villa Park and the 2013 League Cup final at Wembley

For more infomation >> Kevin Friend salary revealed: How much does Chelsea vs Man Utd referee get paid? - Duration: 2:34.

-------------------------------------------

I owe how much? Some Americans shocked by smaller refunds under new tax law. Chicago Tribune - Duration: 4:51.

I owe how much? Some Americans shocked by smaller refunds under new tax law. Chicago Tribune

Wait, I owe the ?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Ore. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe dollar 10,160 this year.

I will never forget the moment, I thought We look good and then we added in the next W 2 and my jaw hit the floor, Kraft said. There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate.

President Trump promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. And by most measures, the majority of Americans will see one. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about dollar 1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. Thats because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didnt have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. That has taxpayers feeling a bit unmoored.

We were very comfortable with our tax law, it had basically been there since 1986, suddenly all these things that were very important to people changed ... its all different, said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but hes still stunned. He even tried to reverse engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct.

The couples effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government.

I feel like I have reached a stage of grief of acceptance, he said. In a twisted way I should have been paying this all year and now I just have to pay it in one lump sum.

A number of experts such as Gleckman are urging taxpayers to obsess less about their refund or what they owe when measuring the effect of the new tax law. These are just a sliver of your tax picture.

But the truth is, many Americans have come to rely on refunds. About three quarters of U.S. taxpayers typically get one and they had averaged around dollar 2,800. For some low income households it is the biggest cash infusion of the year.

The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was dollar 1,949, down 8.7 percent from the year earlier. The total number of refunds is down 16 percent.

Experts caution it is too early to draw conclusions about a tax season that ends in April. Plus, the number of returns — 27 million as of Feb. 8 — is down 10 percent from a year ago, due in part to the partial government shutdown. The picture will become much clearer as more filings are processed, refunds are issued and the IRS gets back up to full speed.

All the same, the initial results have surprised early filers and worried those who havent yet tackled their taxes.

Part of the problem centers around how employees and employers adjusted or didnt adjust withholdings from paychecks to account for the laws changes. The government issued updated withholding guidelines to help employers determine how much to set aside from an employees paycheck to cover taxes. Withhold too much and you get a refund at tax time; too little and you owe.

It is at best, an estimate. But its an estimate that grew drastically more difficult to make under the new law.

The estimated in a report last summer that about 30 million workers had too little withheld from their paychecks, which made their take home pay bigger but increased their tax liability. Thats about 3 million more workers than normal.

Few taxpayers appear to have heeded the IRS advice to do a paycheck checkup to make sure they had the proper amount withheld. Payroll processor , which is responsible for paying one out of every six Americans, said the vast majority of people in its system didnt update their withholdings last year.

Some taxpayers who did make adjustments found they couldnt get it quite right.

Kevin McCreanor of Milton, Georgia and his wife normally get a sizeable refund each year — it was more than dollar 12,000 last year. While they know waiting for a large refund isnt the best strategy financially, they like a refund and they put anything they get back toward their daughters education. Their income, earned primarily from his wifes job in telecom, can vary greatly, so there was comfort in never facing a big bill.

The couple increased her paycheck withholdings to ensure the same but found they are only getting back dollar 519 this year. Their income and tax rate did increase, and McCreanor acknowledges there is probably more he could have done to prepare but he is very disappointed all the same.

Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refund will be less than expected or that they owe money to the after years of receiving refunds.

People have taken to social media, using the hashtag GOPTaxScam, to vent their...

Some surprises were welcome, however. Brian Goodell and his wife typically face a tax bill of anywhere from dollar 10,000 to dollar 15,000 each year. But this year the Tigard, Oregon, couple is getting a dollar 15,000 refund. They believe they got some benefit from the increased child tax credit. They also made more charitable donations and increased their withholdings. While Goodell isnt entirely sure why it worked out so well, hell gladly take the refund.

Taxpayers can get a better sense of how they fared by looking at their tax liability or effective tax rate. This information is often available on the summary received from an accountant or tax preparation software. They can also look at the total tax on those summaries or form 1040. These are not perfect measures either, but provide some perspective.

And remember that getting a refund is not necessarily a good thing. Breaking even is really the best outcome from an economic point of view. If you get a refund, that means the government has been holding onto your money when you could have been using it.

Additionally, consider that taxes are rarely an equal comparison from year to year, said Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment and a CPA and certified financial planner. Peoples lives change in ways that can dramatically influence their taxes, such as marriages, divorces, kids, moving or job changes. The average taxpayer may not realize the full impact some of these changes might have.

I am not surprised by the reaction people are having, Bronnekant said. I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others.

Follow on Facebook and on Twitter.

Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Ore. The couple...

For more infomation >> I owe how much? Some Americans shocked by smaller refunds under new tax law. Chicago Tribune - Duration: 4:51.

-------------------------------------------

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:10.

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law

Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Oregon. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe dollar 10,160 this year.

"I will never forget the moment, I thought We look good and then we added in the next W 2 and my jaw hit the floor," Kraft said. "There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate."

President promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. And by most measures, the majority of Americans will see one. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about dollar 1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. Thats because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didnt have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions, and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. That has taxpayers feeling a bit unmoored.

"We were very comfortable with our tax law, it had basically been there since 1986, suddenly all these things that were very important to people changed ... its all different," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but hes still stunned. He even tried to reverse engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct.

The couples effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government.

"I feel like I have reached a stage of grief of acceptance," he said. "In a twisted way I should have been paying this all year and now I just have to pay it in one lump sum."

A number of experts such as Gleckman are urging taxpayers to obsess less about their refund or what they owe when measuring the effect of the new tax law. These are just a sliver of your tax picture.

But the truth is, many Americans have come to rely on refunds. About three quarters of U.S. taxpayers typically get one and they had averaged around dollar 2,800. For some low income households it is the biggest cash infusion of the year.

The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was dollar 1,949, . The total number of refunds is down 16 percent.

Experts caution it is too early to draw conclusions about a tax season that ends in April. Plus, the number of returns — 27 million as of Feb. 8 — is down 10 percent from a year ago, due in part to the partial government shutdown. The picture will become much clearer as more filings are processed, refunds are issued and the IRS gets back up to full speed.

All the same, the initial results have surprised early filers and worried those who havent yet tackled their taxes.

Part of the problem centers around how employees and employers adjusted or didnt adjust withholdings from paychecks to account for the laws changes. The government issued updated withholding guidelines to help employers determine how much to set aside from an employees paycheck to cover taxes. Withhold too much and you get a refund at tax time; too little and you owe.

It is at best, an estimate. But its an estimate that grew drastically more difficult to make under the new law.

The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report last summer that about 30 million workers had too little withheld from their paychecks, which made their take home pay bigger but increased their tax liability. Thats about 3 million more workers than normal.

Few taxpayers appear to have heeded the IRS advice to do a "paycheck checkup" to make sure they had the proper amount withheld. Payroll processor ADP, which is responsible for paying one out of every six Americans, said the vast majority of people in its system didnt update their withholdings last year.

Some taxpayers who did make adjustments found they couldnt get it quite right.

Kevin McCreanor of Milton, Georgia and his wife normally get a sizeable refund each year — it was more than dollar 12,000 last year. While they know waiting for a large refund isnt the best strategy financially, they like a refund and they put anything they get back toward their daughters education. Their income, earned primarily from his wifes job in telecom, can vary greatly, so there was comfort in never facing a big bill.

The couple increased her paycheck withholdings to ensure the same but found they are only getting back dollar 519 this year. Their income and tax rate did increase, and McCreanor acknowledges there is probably more he could have done to prepare but he is very disappointed all the same.

Some surprises were welcome, however. Brian Goodell and his wife typically face a tax bill of anywhere from dollar 10,000 to dollar 15,000 each year. But this year the Tigard, Oregon, couple is getting a dollar 15,000 refund. They believe they got some benefit from the increased child tax credit. They also made more charitable donations and increased their withholdings. While Goodell isnt entirely sure why it worked out so well, hell gladly take the refund.

Taxpayers can get a better sense of how they fared by looking at their tax liability or effective tax rate. This information is often available on the summary received from an accountant or tax preparation software. They can also look at the "total tax" on those summaries or form 1040. These are not perfect measures either, but provide some perspective.

And remember that getting a refund is not necessarily a good thing. Breaking even is really the best outcome from an economic point of view. If you get a refund, that means the government has been holding onto your money when you could have been using it.

Additionally, consider that taxes are rarely an equal comparison from year to year, said Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment and a CPA and certified financial planner. Peoples lives change in ways that can dramatically influence their taxes, such as marriages, divorces, kids, moving or job changes. The average taxpayer may not realize the full impact some of these changes might have.

"I am not surprised by the reaction people are having," Bronnekant said. "I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others."

Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.

Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. 

© 2019 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Data is a real time snapshot asterisk Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Data also provided by

For more infomation >> I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:10.

-------------------------------------------

Update I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:19.

Update I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law

Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Oregon. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe dollar 10,160 this year.

"I will never forget the moment, I thought We look good and then we added in the next W 2 and my jaw hit the floor," Kraft said. "There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate."

President promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. And by most measures, the majority of Americans will see one. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about dollar 1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. Thats because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didnt have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions, and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. That has taxpayers feeling a bit unmoored.

"We were very comfortable with our tax law, it had basically been there since 1986, suddenly all these things that were very important to people changed ... its all different," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but hes still stunned. He even tried to reverse engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct.

The couples effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government.

"I feel like I have reached a stage of grief of acceptance," he said. "In a twisted way I should have been paying this all year and now I just have to pay it in one lump sum."

A number of experts such as Gleckman are urging taxpayers to obsess less about their refund or what they owe when measuring the effect of the new tax law. These are just a sliver of your tax picture.

But the truth is, many Americans have come to rely on refunds. About three quarters of U.S. taxpayers typically get one and they had averaged around dollar 2,800. For some low income households it is the biggest cash infusion of the year.

The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was dollar 1,949, . The total number of refunds is down 16 percent.

Experts caution it is too early to draw conclusions about a tax season that ends in April. Plus, the number of returns — 27 million as of Feb. 8 — is down 10 percent from a year ago, due in part to the partial government shutdown. The picture will become much clearer as more filings are processed, refunds are issued and the IRS gets back up to full speed.

All the same, the initial results have surprised early filers and worried those who havent yet tackled their taxes.

Part of the problem centers around how employees and employers adjusted or didnt adjust withholdings from paychecks to account for the laws changes. The government issued updated withholding guidelines to help employers determine how much to set aside from an employees paycheck to cover taxes. Withhold too much and you get a refund at tax time; too little and you owe.

It is at best, an estimate. But its an estimate that grew drastically more difficult to make under the new law.

The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report last summer that about 30 million workers had too little withheld from their paychecks, which made their take home pay bigger but increased their tax liability. Thats about 3 million more workers than normal.

Few taxpayers appear to have heeded the IRS advice to do a "paycheck checkup" to make sure they had the proper amount withheld. Payroll processor ADP, which is responsible for paying one out of every six Americans, said the vast majority of people in its system didnt update their withholdings last year.

Some taxpayers who did make adjustments found they couldnt get it quite right.

Kevin McCreanor of Milton, Georgia and his wife normally get a sizeable refund each year — it was more than dollar 12,000 last year. While they know waiting for a large refund isnt the best strategy financially, they like a refund and they put anything they get back toward their daughters education. Their income, earned primarily from his wifes job in telecom, can vary greatly, so there was comfort in never facing a big bill.

The couple increased her paycheck withholdings to ensure the same but found they are only getting back dollar 519 this year. Their income and tax rate did increase, and McCreanor acknowledges there is probably more he could have done to prepare but he is very disappointed all the same.

Some surprises were welcome, however. Brian Goodell and his wife typically face a tax bill of anywhere from dollar 10,000 to dollar 15,000 each year. But this year the Tigard, Oregon, couple is getting a dollar 15,000 refund. They believe they got some benefit from the increased child tax credit. They also made more charitable donations and increased their withholdings. While Goodell isnt entirely sure why it worked out so well, hell gladly take the refund.

Taxpayers can get a better sense of how they fared by looking at their tax liability or effective tax rate. This information is often available on the summary received from an accountant or tax preparation software. They can also look at the "total tax" on those summaries or form 1040. These are not perfect measures either, but provide some perspective.

And remember that getting a refund is not necessarily a good thing. Breaking even is really the best outcome from an economic point of view. If you get a refund, that means the government has been holding onto your money when you could have been using it.

Additionally, consider that taxes are rarely an equal comparison from year to year, said Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment and a CPA and certified financial planner. Peoples lives change in ways that can dramatically influence their taxes, such as marriages, divorces, kids, moving or job changes. The average taxpayer may not realize the full impact some of these changes might have.

"I am not surprised by the reaction people are having," Bronnekant said. "I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others."

Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.

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© 2019 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Data is a real time snapshot asterisk Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Data also provided by

For more infomation >> Update I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:19.

-------------------------------------------

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:05.

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law

Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Oregon. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe dollar 10,160 this year.

"I will never forget the moment, I thought We look good and then we added in the next W 2 and my jaw hit the floor," Kraft said. "There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate."

President promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. And by most measures, the majority of Americans will see one. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about dollar 1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. Thats because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didnt have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions, and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. That has taxpayers feeling a bit unmoored.

"We were very comfortable with our tax law, it had basically been there since 1986, suddenly all these things that were very important to people changed ... its all different," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but hes still stunned. He even tried to reverse engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct.

The couples effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government.

"I feel like I have reached a stage of grief of acceptance," he said. "In a twisted way I should have been paying this all year and now I just have to pay it in one lump sum."

A number of experts such as Gleckman are urging taxpayers to obsess less about their refund or what they owe when measuring the effect of the new tax law. These are just a sliver of your tax picture.

But the truth is, many Americans have come to rely on refunds. About three quarters of U.S. taxpayers typically get one and they had averaged around dollar 2,800. For some low income households it is the biggest cash infusion of the year.

The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was dollar 1,949, . The total number of refunds is down 16 percent.

Experts caution it is too early to draw conclusions about a tax season that ends in April. Plus, the number of returns — 27 million as of Feb. 8 — is down 10 percent from a year ago, due in part to the partial government shutdown. The picture will become much clearer as more filings are processed, refunds are issued and the IRS gets back up to full speed.

All the same, the initial results have surprised early filers and worried those who havent yet tackled their taxes.

Part of the problem centers around how employees and employers adjusted or didnt adjust withholdings from paychecks to account for the laws changes. The government issued updated withholding guidelines to help employers determine how much to set aside from an employees paycheck to cover taxes. Withhold too much and you get a refund at tax time; too little and you owe.

It is at best, an estimate. But its an estimate that grew drastically more difficult to make under the new law.

The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report last summer that about 30 million workers had too little withheld from their paychecks, which made their take home pay bigger but increased their tax liability. Thats about 3 million more workers than normal.

Few taxpayers appear to have heeded the IRS advice to do a "paycheck checkup" to make sure they had the proper amount withheld. Payroll processor ADP, which is responsible for paying one out of every six Americans, said the vast majority of people in its system didnt update their withholdings last year.

Some taxpayers who did make adjustments found they couldnt get it quite right.

Kevin McCreanor of Milton, Georgia and his wife normally get a sizeable refund each year — it was more than dollar 12,000 last year. While they know waiting for a large refund isnt the best strategy financially, they like a refund and they put anything they get back toward their daughters education. Their income, earned primarily from his wifes job in telecom, can vary greatly, so there was comfort in never facing a big bill.

The couple increased her paycheck withholdings to ensure the same but found they are only getting back dollar 519 this year. Their income and tax rate did increase, and McCreanor acknowledges there is probably more he could have done to prepare but he is very disappointed all the same.

Some surprises were welcome, however. Brian Goodell and his wife typically face a tax bill of anywhere from dollar 10,000 to dollar 15,000 each year. But this year the Tigard, Oregon, couple is getting a dollar 15,000 refund. They believe they got some benefit from the increased child tax credit. They also made more charitable donations and increased their withholdings. While Goodell isnt entirely sure why it worked out so well, hell gladly take the refund.

Taxpayers can get a better sense of how they fared by looking at their tax liability or effective tax rate. This information is often available on the summary received from an accountant or tax preparation software. They can also look at the "total tax" on those summaries or form 1040. These are not perfect measures either, but provide some perspective.

And remember that getting a refund is not necessarily a good thing. Breaking even is really the best outcome from an economic point of view. If you get a refund, that means the government has been holding onto your money when you could have been using it.

Additionally, consider that taxes are rarely an equal comparison from year to year, said Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment and a CPA and certified financial planner. Peoples lives change in ways that can dramatically influence their taxes, such as marriages, divorces, kids, moving or job changes. The average taxpayer may not realize the full impact some of these changes might have.

"I am not surprised by the reaction people are having," Bronnekant said. "I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others."

Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.

Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. 

© 2019 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Data is a real time snapshot asterisk Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Data also provided by

For more infomation >> I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:05.

-------------------------------------------

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law - Duration: 4:38.

I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trumps tax law

Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government.

Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Oregon. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe dollar 10,160 this year.

"I will never forget the moment, I thought We look good and then we added in the next W 2 and my jaw hit the floor," Kraft said. "There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate."

President promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. And by most measures, the majority of Americans will see one. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about dollar 1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. Thats because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didnt have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions, and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. That has taxpayers feeling a bit unmoored.

"We were very comfortable with our tax law, it had basically been there since 1986, suddenly all these things that were very important to people changed ... its all different," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but hes still stunned. He even tried to reverse engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct.

The couples effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government.

"I feel like I have reached a stage of grief of acceptance," he said. "In a twisted way I should have been paying this all year and now I just have to pay it in one lump sum."

A number of experts such as Gleckman are urging taxpayers to obsess less about their refund or what they owe when measuring the effect of the new tax law. These are just a sliver of your tax picture.

But the truth is, many Americans have come to rely on refunds. About three quarters of U.S. taxpayers typically get one and they had averaged around dollar 2,800. For some low income households it is the biggest cash infusion of the year.

The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was dollar 1,949, . The total number of refunds is down 16 percent.

Experts caution it is too early to draw conclusions about a tax season that ends in April. Plus, the number of returns — 27 million as of Feb. 8 — is down 10 percent from a year ago, due in part to the partial government shutdown. The picture will become much clearer as more filings are processed, refunds are issued and the IRS gets back up to full speed.

All the same, the initial results have surprised early filers and worried those who havent yet tackled their taxes.

Part of the problem centers around how employees and employers adjusted or didnt adjust withholdings from paychecks to account for the laws changes. The government issued updated withholding guidelines to help employers determine how much to set aside from an employees paycheck to cover taxes. Withhold too much and you get a refund at tax time; too little and you owe.

It is at best, an estimate. But its an estimate that grew drastically more difficult to make under the new law.

The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report last summer that about 30 million workers had too little withheld from their paychecks, which made their take home pay bigger but increased their tax liability. Thats about 3 million more workers than normal.

Few taxpayers appear to have heeded the IRS advice to do a "paycheck checkup" to make sure they had the proper amount withheld. Payroll processor ADP, which is responsible for paying one out of every six Americans, said the vast majority of people in its system didnt update their withholdings last year.

Some taxpayers who did make adjustments found they couldnt get it quite right.

Kevin McCreanor of Milton, Georgia and his wife normally get a sizeable refund each year — it was more than dollar 12,000 last year. While they know waiting for a large refund isnt the best strategy financially, they like a refund and they put anything they get back toward their daughters education. Their income, earned primarily from his wifes job in telecom, can vary greatly, so there was comfort in never facing a big bill.

The couple increased her paycheck withholdings to ensure the same but found they are only getting back dollar 519 this year. Their income and tax rate did increase, and McCreanor acknowledges there is probably more he could have done to prepare but he is very disappointed all the same.

Some surprises were welcome, however. Brian Goodell and his wife typically face a tax bill of anywhere from dollar 10,000 to dollar 15,000 each year. But this year the Tigard, Oregon, couple is getting a dollar 15,000 refund. They believe they got some benefit from the increased child tax credit. They also made more charitable donations and increased their withholdings. While Goodell isnt entirely sure why it worked out so well, hell gladly take the refund.

Taxpayers can get a better sense of how they fared by looking at their tax liability or effective tax rate. This information is often available on the summary received from an accountant or tax preparation software. They can also look at the "total tax" on those summaries or form 1040. These are not perfect measures either, but provide some perspective.

And remember that getting a refund is not necessarily a good thing. Breaking even is really the best outcome from an economic point of view. If you get a refund, that means the government has been holding onto your money when you could have been using it.

Additionally, consider that taxes are rarely an equal comparison from year to year, said Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment and a CPA and certified financial planner. Peoples lives change in ways that can dramatically influence their taxes, such as marriages, divorces, kids, moving or job changes. The average taxpayer may not realize the full impact some of these changes might have.

"I am not surprised by the reaction people are having," Bronnekant said. "I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others."

Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.

Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. 

© 2019 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Data is a real time snapshot asterisk Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Data also provided by