1. Command

$ npx news tax-refund-gigantic --verbose --trace

2. Output

INFO: Initializing refund prediction engine for fiscal year 2025-2026...

INFO: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who also serves as the acting IRS Commissioner, reports significant Q1 2026 tax refund forecasts.

INFO: Data point: Many working Americans did not adjust their payroll withholdings after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was enacted in July 2025.

"I can see that we’re gonna have a gigantic refund year in the first quarter because working Americans did not change their withholdings."

- Scott Bessent, "All-In Podcast"

DEBUG: User-side misconfiguration detected. Tax cuts applied retroactively to the beginning of the year, but users continued over-withholding.

WARN: Estimated individual tax reduction by OBBBA for 2025 is a substantial $144 billion.

WARN: The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan group, estimates that up to $100 billion of this could manifest as higher direct refunds.

INFO: Average household refunds are projected at $1,000 - $2,000, according to Bessent and confirmed by the Tax Foundation.

DEBUG: So, instead of a gradual increase in take-home pay, taxpayers are set to receive a sudden, large lump sum. Surprise!

+------------------------------------+|  ALERT: Large Refund Anomaly       ||  Expected System-wide in Q1 2026   ||  Reason: OBBBA retroactive application ||          + static withholding config |+------------------------------------+

INFO: Key OBBBA provisions contributing to these large refunds include increases to the child tax credit and standard deduction.

INFO: Additionally, a higher SALT deduction cap, and new or expanded deductions for seniors, auto loan interest, tip income, and overtime pay are included.

--- a/taxpayer_wallet.cfg 2025-07-04+++ b/taxpayer_wallet.cfg 2026-01-01@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ # Tax withholding percentage-withholding_rate = 0.15+withholding_rate = 0.12 # OBBBA 2025 adjustment # ... other tax parameters ...-child_tax_credit_enabled = false+child_tax_credit_enabled = true # OBBBA enhancement

ERROR: The IRS withholding tables were not adjusted immediately after the law passed, causing this significant imbalance.

DEBUG: This isn't a bug, it's a 'feature' that delivers an unexpected windfall.

3. Stacktrace (If This News Were Code)

Error: Unexpected 'gigantic' value in refund_amount_variable    at calculateRefunds (refund_processor.js:78:12)    at applyTaxLegislation (tax_engine_v3.py:214:9)    at processPayroll (payroll_service.java:55:7)    at main (system_bootstrap.go:30:3)Caused by: ConfigurationMismatchException: Withholding tables out of sync with tax law.    at IRS.updateWithholdingTables (irs_api.dll:1024:1)    at OBBBA.enact (legislation_module.rb:45:5)    at main.init (system_bootstrap.go:25:2)Segmentation fault? No, just a massive payout!

4. Patch Notes

• + Feature: Enormous Q1 2026 tax refunds for many working Americans now active.
• - Fixed: Previously, too much money was withheld from paychecks. Now, it's returning as a substantial lump sum.
• ! Alert: Average refunds could potentially be up by $1,000, with some households seeing $1,000-$2,000.
• * Refactor: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has been applied retroactively to January 2025.
• ! Warning: The IRS did not immediately adjust withholding tables post-legislation, leading to this 'feature.'
• + Added: Significant enhancements including child tax credit, standard deduction increases, and a higher SALT cap.