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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m J u n e 2 0 19 • I NSIGH T | 41 > wealth management B y M a r y B e t h M a t z e k Tax law changes require additional planning Sowing confusion Ask any accountant or tax expert and they'll tell you this past tax season was among the worst they can remember. anks to the 2017 tax law combined with the longest-ever government shutdown, which delayed guidance being sent out on the new rules and regulations, the season kept everyone on their toes. "e tax rules changed completely," says Kurt Heling of Alberts & Heling, CPAs, which has offices in Green Bay and Neenah. "In basketball, it's like a basketball hoop going from 10 to 12 feet tall. It's a whole new world." Accountants weren't the only ones flustered. Many taxpayers also were surprised to learn their refund had shrunk and deductions they were used to taking didn't count. But now that everyone has been through the initial season with the new laws in place, advisers say now is the time to plan ahead to prevent surprises on their 2019 returns. According to the Internal Revenue Service, the average refund in the 2019 tax season was $2,833, compared to $3,186 in the 2018 tax season. For the most part, the smaller refunds resulted from the IRS redoing its withholding rates, which meant workers brought home slightly more money in each paycheck. Heling says observant workers may have noticed, but most probably missed it. "If you're withholding less, you're going to get back a smaller refund because you're not putting that extra money aside and sending it off to Uncle Sam," Heling says. Heling says if clients are worried about how much they are withholding, he can work with them to make sure it's a number that makes sense. "It's a delicate game. You don't want to withhold too much and get a giant refund since that means the government just held your money for you for months, but you also don't want to under-withhold and not be putting aside enough money." e law's biggest changes — adjusting the number of tax brackets and raising the standard deduction to $24,000 for a married couple — affected taxpayers across the board, Heling says. e higher standard deduction meant itemizing no longer made sense for many things people were used to doing. Being able to deduct charitable giving from their overall income, for example, went away. at led to some surprises [continued ] »