Where Is The Refund? Tax Code Changes Causing Confusion

NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA) — What happened to my refund?

That is the question many are asking as tax season begins.

Newport Beach financial planner and tax consultant David Hanzich has been answering this question for his Orange County clients.

The new tax code, he says, changed the withholding structure, taking less money out all year -- anticipating that your taxes are going to be less.

"So at the end of the day when they come in and do their taxes, they're going to find out there's no refund," said Hanzich.

For 2018 taxes there is little you can do to change it now.

"If their whole strategy was to get a tax refund they should have lowered their exemptions. I don't think that happened," said Hanzich.

"I went from getting a huge check to writing a medium-sized check. That's frustrating," said Joe Vasco.

"I moved to Texas and just moved back for family reasons. Because in Texas I kept a lot more of my money," said Rich Krebs.

"It's terrible as a business owner. You have to pay, pay, pay," said salon owner Mark Akhabain.

Hanzich says take heart -- a lower refund doesn't necessarily mean you're paying higher taxes.

He says the real surprise will come for those who thought they could deduct unreimbursed employee expenses but no longer can. And for those who own homes with high property taxes and state and local income taxes. There's now a cap on what they can write off -- just $10,000.

"I don't know how it's going to affect me and I'm actually a little nervous because I used to get deductions and I used to get a refund," said Sam Davidson.

And new homeowners can only write off their mortgage interest up to $750,000.