A recent change in tax law means that Utah families that had previously been able to reduce their tax liability by claiming deductions for each child will now lose that advantage. The cost to individual households, depending on their size and income, could be nothing, a few hundred dollars or as much as $1,000.
And it all happened without the Utah Legislature doing a thing.
Which — even if you like large families paying more taxes for the schools they fill — is not a good way to make tax policy.
The changes are a result of the new federal tax bill, which balanced a much larger standard deduction for households by removing the individual deductions for dependents. Many families, in Utah and elsewhere, will find themselves coming out ahead on their IRS Form 1040.
