General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm Old, on Social Security, and Just Finished Doing My Taxes [View all]inwiththenew
(972 posts)What was your effective tax rate both years? Also how much in dollar amounts did you pay each year.
The reason why I say a refund isn't the best indicator is let say your Federal tax obligation is $15k for both 2017 and 2018. In 2017 you paid $17k throughout the year from withholding on your paycheck through work. In 2018 they only withheld $16k. In both years your actual tax obligation was $15k. In 2017 you would have overpaid by $2k and in 2018 you would have overpaid by $1k. Your refund went down but your taxes were the same.
That is an oversimplification and there are other factors that could increase or decrease your tax obligation based on the law but I wouldn't just look at what you got back and use that to gauge whether your taxes went up or down. I'm speaking in general terms here not directly to OP.