Republicans predict paychecks will grow as IRS issues new tax withholding guidelines

Workers who are up for a tax cut should start seeing bigger paychecks in the coming weeks, now that the Internal Revenue Service has released guidance for employers about how much tax they should withhold from employees’ take-home pay in 2018.

Companies have been awaiting details from the IRS since late last month, when lawmakers passed a sweeping tax overhaul that changes tax rates and brackets, increases the standard deduction and repeals personal exemptions. Employers should begin using the new withholding tables as soon as possible, but not later than Feb. 15, the IRS said in a notice issued Thursday.

“This is outstanding for families in Texas and taxpayers across the country,” House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said in a statement. Nine out of 10 taxpayers “will see a boost in their take-home pay within the coming weeks,” he said.

Republicans have promised that American wage earners will see bumps in their paychecks starting in February — after employers have made the withholding adjustments. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) has said taxpayers should “check their check.”

Two congressional Democrats have expressed concern that the new tables would “systematically underwithhold income taxes during the 2018 tax year.” That sort of move would boost workers’ pay before the November 2018 congressional elections but could leave them “owing federal income tax when they file in 2019,” according to a Jan. 8 letter to the Treasury Department from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.).