What to expect (or not) from your tax refund this year

The federal tax overhaul that went into effect last year promised relief for millions of tax payers. But some early filers were disappointed to find smaller refunds than expected. Some even report owing money. According to the IRS, the average refund is down about 8 percent from the same time last year.

To be clear, this doesn't necessarily mean people are paying more taxes. Studies show approximately 80 percent of Americans did receive a tax cut as a result of the GOP-backed reform. But a complicated stew of adjusted withholding tables, updates to what can be written off, and capped deductions for people from high-tax states is triggering frustration.

Monday, on MPR News with Kerri Miller, we talked about it. Two experts in personal finance and tax policy joined us to discuss the expectations versus the realities.

Guests:

Sandra Block— Senior editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Ralph Martire— Executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a bipartisan think tank based in Chicago

Listen to the conversation by clicking the audio player above.