Garden State accountants say less than half of their clients have reviewed and updated their paycheck withholdings this year.

The survey comes after a Government Accountability Office report that warned that a higher number of workers are not having enough money withheld from their paychecks because of uncertainty about the federal tax law signed by President Donald Trump last year.

In the New Jersey survey of CPAs, 13 percent said about half of their clients will owe money to the IRS because of underwithholding, and 19 percent said most or all of their clients will owe.

“That’s kind of disturbing because many of these folks will probably be in for a surprise when it comes time to file their tax return. They probably will have a liability," said Ralph Thomas, executive director of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants.

“It could be a rude awakening for some, so take advantage of the window that’s opened here.”

So why aren’t New Jerseyans paying attention to this situation?

“I think people have not necessarily delved into the tax reform package and they should be looking to adjust their withholdings to address that,” said Thomas.

“Many of our accounts are calling their clients and urging them to come in for a review cause the last thing a CPA wants to do is have situation where a client had a refund last year, they don’t get one this year and then it’s 'What went wrong? What did you do wrong?'”

The IRS is still working on providing information on tax changes and some CPAs may be waiting to get clarification on those adjustments before sitting down with clients and reviewing their situation.

Thomas said people should call their accountants now.

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You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com

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