Nonprofit to state on tax savings for low-income families: Check your math

The state miscalculated the benefits of the federal tax overhaul to low-income families in Hawaiʻi, a new analysis concludes.

The source of the confusion: The scope of the tax savings that the child tax credit benefit would offer very low-income families (those earning up to $10,000 a year).

A state calculation released in mid-March said those families would save an average of $1,182 when they file taxes in 2019.

But the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center said the average tax savings would actually be more like $75.

The state has acknowledged it probably overestimated the tax benefits to low-income families, and has taken down a report that included the calculations.

The Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center also dinged the state for understating the benefits of the federal tax overhaul to high-income households.