Fatten Your Paycheck -- And Still Get a Refund

If you adjust your withholding now, Uncle Sam will take a smaller tax bite each month and still owe you next spring.

As we hit the midyear mark, most taxpayers already have banked a healthy tax refund for next spring.

After all, the average tax refund this year was almost $2,700. Assuming it will be about the same next year (and history suggests it will be slightly higher), that means, on average, taxpayers who get refunds are letting the IRS take about $225 more out of their paychecks each month than the government deserves.

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Kevin McCormally
Chief Content Officer, Kiplinger Washington Editors
McCormally retired in 2018 after more than 40 years at Kiplinger. He joined Kiplinger in 1977 as a reporter specializing in taxes, retirement, credit and other personal finance issues. He is the author and editor of many books, helped develop and improve popular tax-preparation software programs, and has written and appeared in several educational videos. In 2005, he was named Editorial Director of The Kiplinger Washington Editors, responsible for overseeing all of our publications and Web site. At the time, Editor in Chief Knight Kiplinger called McCormally "the watchdog of editorial quality, integrity and fairness in all that we do." In 2015, Kevin was named Chief Content Officer and Senior Vice President.